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It’s that time of the year in Indiana where you have to keep the grubs at bay unless you want a mole problem. The particular dry product I use has to be watered in soon after application. Water hose don’t reach everywhere so I set the 416h to spread and water all in one shot

Get a mother in law to sit on the seat!

Nah, way too noisy...

A pipe over the end for leverage and some heat at the bend.

What was the old Samsonite suitcase commercial for one that was overstuffed.... "We'll get Mommy to sit on it"

Mowed the tiny baseball/whiffleball field in back yard. We get a lot of use out of it

Oh and I pulled/cut weeds and vines away from this pool shack cover thingy. Used the plow to pull and push/dig the stuff flat. Not bad for a weekend. ...

The limbs of my honey locust shade tree were brushing the roof of the barn. So, when Mrs. K wasn't looking, I climbed up on the roof and trimmed the branches. Three loads of brush and more firewood.

So I went to move the 856 out of the garage today. I grabbed the steering wheel and threw my leg over the seat to sit down and SNAP ! The wheel busted. I wasn't surprised because I knew it had some cracks around the center hub. Just cought off guard. So... for thoughs of you who have had to replace them you know how much fun it is. The plastic broke away from the center easily enough. The roll pin and the aluminum center piece were not budging. Got the grinder out with a cut off wheel and cut away a section of that center hub. Took a small chisel and hammer and removed the remaining piece. The roll pin keep breaking like glass when ever I tried hitting it or grabbing it with pliers. Had to get the drill to drill out the center. Called my buddy to see if he had any steering wheels. He said he had a couple. Not Wheel Horse wheels but I don't care. So I picked one up. Had to grind a little off the sleeve of the wheel to get the hole to line up. Greased the steering shaft and wheel, slid it on and used a nut and bolt instead of a roll pin and called it done. Works fine. Even is an inch or two higher then old one. Like I said I don't care it's not original wheel. Remember this tractor sat out in the wood for decades until I brought it back to life.

They know everything...

Oh you’ll get busted for sure on that

I normally mow my grass twice a week. Weather has not been cooperating lately so I had to resort to this. Marv

I got bored today and within a few hours, I had a spring field on the floor that magically fell apart. or that's what I told my dad when he walked in and asked, what the hell is this mess? but I got it apart, and nothing fought me not even the roll pins for once, I got it all apart and pressure washed it and once it was apart and washed I wet sanded and once I got that done I sprayed it with super clean, scrubbed, pressure washed agin then set to the side and repeated that till I was done and I got it apart and cleaned and I will try to have it back together by tommrow I just need to get clear coat, then hang and clear coat and reassemble, the parts that I did do cleaned up amazing and the frame now that you can see in the pictures is also amazing, the parts there are to have a rolling steering chassis besides the rear wheels I am putting tires on them

Here’s one that’ll make a man smile @stevasaurus! We made it home safe from Symco today and drove straight to Grandma’s (95) and Grandpa’s (85) birthday party. Mrs. P’s cousin had her son Gordon there. Well he heard I have tractors with me and couldn’t leave without a ride.

With a 4 ' pipe , you should be able to easily cold bend that bar with 50lbs of force.

And here ladies and gentlemen we have 1970s vintage Minimalist Movement Art at its very finest. Note the clean even straight lines. The skeletal form of the subject having been stripped of all that tacky unnecessary attachment to the "extras" in life, like hinges and headlamps. Or the whole damn tractor.

Trina got a neat picture of our frog pond yesterday. The angle makes it look HUGE. The snake is one we've seen several times this summer. It's been staying in the woodpile under the side deck. This is large for a garter snake. We're hoping it's pregnant. And this.... this is a chicken. But this chicken has taken to imitating the DOG. She's been vocalizing with one clean clear crisp "bark"..

I do appreciate that. Like most anything I do it’s out of necessity. I spread a few yards in town and being able to slow the spinner down is a must. First time I used it I was bouncing fertilizer off the neighbors house lol

550 suburban repowered with predator motor. Still have the original electric start 5.5hp lauson but the block is broke where the exhaust comes out of it, it was still running when swapped it for a 5hp briggs. Wore it for 25+ yrs., now has the predator... I guess it will out last me this time...

On a recent 37 in Mower Deck thread, a member @TractorEd installed a removable plug for his side discharge to help improving the mulching of the grass. He did a heck of a job to make it look perfect. There were a bunch of great comments and ideas, so I thought I would try to give the effort to see if it will work or not. The test deck is a 42 in Side Discharge that’s under a 1986 414-8. I have shaped up a cardboard template that will eventually become steel. Thinking I will weld on a few tabs so the Mulching Plug / Shroud could be easily removed. So will this work? Good question. Has this been done before? One way to find out. Please let me know your thoughts. I will wait for comments prior to cutting the steel. Thanks for the inspiration! Steve

I just picked my scores up this weekend.

The trip went very well and I didn't seem to have any fatigue although I did get tired easy and had to sit a lot to rest a few minutes when walking or while loading the trailer. I had a good visit with @953 nut as we unloaded my trailer with his tractor and hydro transaxle and unloaded his pickup to my trailer. My wife made the trip with me and wanted to do some looking around the area so Dick let me leave my loaded trailer at his shop. I wanted to hit some flea markets and she wanted to ride to Cherokee. I found a few tools at the flea market and we contributed to the economy in Cherokee. On the way home we had to stop and check out these old vehicles. There is a large flea market in Athens i have not been to in 15 years so we stopped to check it out. (It is huge but not as good as it used to be.) I had taken a picture of the trailer loaded and hooked up this morning but somehow it got deleted. Here is what I went to pick up. Thank you Mike @squonk for the tiller, Randy @rjg854 for the breather elements and points cover, Richie @19richie66 for the plow, and Jo Mrs Buckrancher @buckrancher for the pan seat cushions. I also want to thank Dick for his generous contribution for the metal pieces ont the trailer and the nice seats for the Dump Truck build. PS I also want to thank roadapples brother Guy for the 8 speed transaxle. In the picture above under the two wheel dolly.

So another idea I have been using to increase the chopping is to sharpen the gator blade uplift tines. There are 3 tines but only the outside 2 do anything. The two outer ones are all that gets sharpened. Just wanted to share this because I have to agree with most that the gator blade improves, but could be better. Steve

Click on the picture in the link

Thank you sir. Yes it’s electric. I used a choke cable I had laying around to open and close the gate in the bottom of the spreader. I also installed a speed controller and dial to adjust spinner speed. It was originally setup to just spin at one speed

I nominate @rjg854 for the best Side shot post to Date. Nice going Randy

Just installed this engine today…

Just an old 414-8, very well used and still going strong. IMG_2354.mov

So yesterday I installed the steering wheel. Today I just took a few minutes to put a little detail paint on it. Took it for a cruise .

It's only been 10 years but finally did the hitch switch on the C-145 to my 417- 8 works great for moving larger trailers to mow around... Little fabrication, a weld or two and added ball.....

Nice!!! At the risk of kicking the hornets nest, I'll make a plug here for folks in areas where deer populations are high to please consider taking more doe this year... I know, it ain't sexy, but here in southern Michigan we have a real problem, and it's not with bucks... I know folks who won't take a doe. For the sake of the herd in our area it's a problem. Michigan is moving towards encouraging more doe kills, but with hunting numbers on the decline it's not enough...

The modification is complete! Now the testing will begin. Should be interesting to see what happens. Thanks for the project today @TractorEd. Steve

I see you took the deck off ?? How is the horse running for you. I'm thinking you wouldn't let the little guy run it if it was acting up. The steering is a little sloppy...but fixable. How was the show? I was wondering when you were getting home. How about a phone call after the dust settles.?? Did you guys take any pictures of the festivities ??

What am I going to do with you ? @rjg854

Progress! 16 Gauge basic cut and rolled.

I know I have used a 42 inch Recyling deck with the baffle inside for several years. I don’t mow every time with it but I particularly like to use it early in the year when the fresh grass growth is quick and the lawn gets high. I think the recycler does a great job. Less wind rows than a regular rear discharge deck. i also use a 1974-B-80 with a 36 inch rear discharge deck and have two Oregon Recycler blades on the outer spindles. It works well and I use it off and on during the year!

This is most likely a 2 person job. Applying the upward force is pretty straight forward. Getting the tractor to stay put doing so might require some creative "fixturing" to keep it from lifting. Steady force - not impact...

Some thoughts on you cleverly ambitious idea! - I think it’ll largely work - The cutting wings on the top of the blade are angled to create an outward and downward from center airflow forcing the clipping against their cutting edges. Where this happens, the mulched clippings are now below the balde and likely fall to the ground - However, the blades are all turning in the same direction--CCW looking from below. Clippings staying above the blade might tend to move across the front to the blade near the now-blocked discharge. That blade’s airflow/clippings might or might not swing back along the curved rear baffles to the center and right blades to be revisited. Or the mulched grass, encountering the friction against the new blocking plate slow and fall along that edge. Either way, a slower forward speed would likely offset this. (The WH recycler also needs a slower forward speed than an open discharge mower--handy to have a hydro for this!) Good pictures of before and after in different types of grass (dry, wet, tall, short) and with leaves would be very appreciated!

You have an interesting thought there.....

Before plunging in it is always a good idea to take a look at the service manual You can download this one here. (Click on the fuzy picture)

You can see this goes back a couple years and likely it'll never matter but I learned recently that the above spring CAN BE installed upside down. Some Previous Owner made an executive decision that turned out to be... UNDERSTANDABLY... flipped.

She's gettin' there Ed. Appreciate the encouragement. I'm hoping to see this one drivable by Sept so it can go visit @JCM at his Meet n Greet. Seems reasonable if I can keep the pace.

Here is a Side Shot of a 108-5 on its side.

Success! Garden tractor platform storage achieved. winched it up a few inches at a time with a boat winch, kept walking back and forth to fine-tune the steering as it went up the ramp. Slow and steady, but finally got it! I quickly learned I could *not* pull it up the ramp backwards, (rear wheels first) by myself, because the front wheels wouldn't stray straight, they wandered off-center too much. But pulling it forward, front wheels first, was much easier, I just stopped and made small adjustments to the steering as needed. The deck *just* cleared, raised all the way up, with a 12-foot ramp.