Leaderboard

Just happened to check Craigslist yesterday 7 minutes after a gentleman posted a 418-8 for sale, $400. Picked it up this morning and mowed with it. It has a 42” recycler deck and electric lift. Has an adjustable seat that’s stuck so my short legs barely reach the pedals As I was leaving he said he had a couple more things for it. Turned out to be a set of 50lb steel wheel weights. I’ll be cleaning it up and changing the fluids later today. Need to clean the deck too. I can tell by the way it cuts that’s it’s all clumped up underneath. Loving it so far, other than a big pop when it starts…

Cut the back 40 then did the clean up machine thing

A 3 for 1 here.

How about Battle Ship Gray as a tribute to the U S Navy?

Picked up these brand new Carlisle All-Trails this morning I found on FBM.. now to decide which rig gets em!

Your ride - you decide. But - Green & Yellow are off the table......

This is the last progress on the dump truck till I recover from surgery that I will get on Monday. I got the transmission mount made and the excess angle iron cut off. After my surgery I will dismantle everything so I can flip it over and do the final welding of the frame and frame stiffeners and install the jack shaft supports, brake linkage, and whatever else pops up. I'll have a couple hours in the morning I'll use to clean up and put away tools.

IMO, gear oil with no additives has a long life if it is clean. If you have any indication it may have been contaminated with water or metal chips from a noisy bearing or gear. drain , flush, and refill.

hey Paul - - let me know how the twin runs -- compression - oil use - valves - fuel - etc -- i have TWO C175s -- a Series 1 and a Series 2 -- always looking for insights -- Bill

Steering problem resolved. I need to order 1/2 " heim joints to build the drag link. The drag link shown is temporary for testing.

so the answer to my thread question of how long to wait to apply painters tape to just painted Tractor tins is 24 hrs - I called PPG help line who were very informative -- then went to local Sherwin Williams paint store and the staff there also very helpful - so i bought a yellow Frog Tape product that's is specialized for applying to "fresh " paint - - its labled "delicate" as you can see at top of label in photo attached - i put it on the black grill section i had painted the day prior having been advised to wait 24 hrs --- however, label said it was for latex paint so to be sure the oil based Rustoleum would not go through the thin "delicate" tape - i put the blue Scotch brand tape on top of the Frog tape -- Feeling secure the delicate Frog tape would peel off without damage to the new spray paint from day prior - coupled with the blue tape on top to stop any bleed through - - i proceeded to spray the adjacent area -- The Frog tape came off easily and the grill black paint from day prior was perfect -- none of the red over spray leaked through ---- -- The hood photos show some sun reflection and nearby shadows but came out pretty good - I will wait a few days for more curing to attach the new decals --- thanks for the advice on the above thread ........... Bill

Seasonal de-mousing of the 314 woods beater today. Hadn't been run in a couple months, and when I fired it up got a puff of chaff out the right side. Yeah I know what that usually means, checked for airflow and not much coming out. So parked it in a shady spot and drug out the small wrenches. Air filter cover off and two capscrews out of the inspection (regulator) module, look in with flashlight. Yep, packed full of grass, sticks, seeds, you name it, your basic happy mouse home. Four more capscrews out and pulled the main shroud loose. Picked and poked awhile and blew it out with air hose. Spark wire been chewed on, but still more than half left, sometimes good enough is good enough. Back together it goes and back into service.

Been looking for a Wheelhorse Tub cart and finally found one on FB marketplace for $50. Picked it up today. With a little of elbow grease should get a nice patina out of it.

If it ain't broke, don't fix it. Unless a leak or mechanical noise dictates draining & dis-assembly, if it is clean & JUST oil, run it. A mess of milky oil means it is contaminated with water, time to drain, flush, new boot and a drain & refill.

Sounds like a "lean" condition for one cylinder... The twins were known to have intake vacuum leaks... Those weights look like Simplicity weights like I have - worth half alone what you paid for all. Looks like it is a candidate for a new set of adjustable tierods... well worth the money...

Best wishes Jay. Hurry back.

@Lagersolut regularly pull my dip sticks , clean and full , once eliminating shift boot issues , mine have been , years since drainage , have had axel seals fail , that makes for a fluid change , my shift boots all have a chassis grease INSIDE the lower edge allowing it to effortlessly slide over the irregularities on the sop of the trans , another detail for longer life , is to put a TYE WRAP , JUST ABOVE a full fit of the boot , have had zero problems , also regularly look things over for any problems . since going to LUCAS climbing gear lube , no noise or shifting issues at all . have a regular tank top off , inspection , check trans , STABIL FUEL ADDITIVE , check engine oil , maybe something itself , plan on a modification fix . never put it back to fail as it was . pete

Just thinking out loud Jay and it's hard to know just from the pics. And I'm no mechanical engineer either. Maybe you should test that steering under load. The leverage length of the new pieces appears like it could possibly bend that steering plate on the Ross system. Try turning it lock to lock on the ground with someone standing on the front of the frame or add a bunch of weight. Traveling will add force against the steering so try to simulate that. The added length going down from the fulcrum point of that Ross steering will make it turn faster too (less steering wheel turning lock to lock). That looses some of the mechanical advantage of the gearing plus it adds quite a bit more leverage force back against that steering piece. Or, it's perfectly fine and I'm over thinking again.

Check this video out from VinsRJ on youtube. He does basically what you're describing and very quickly.

Jest a guess

i painted this 1971 Raider with Rustoleum Farm Implement paint. Used Acetone thinner and Hardener with a FH gun. It'a lot better then Rustoleum spray cans. The main difference is the drys fast, it was painted last year so don't if it will hold up longer.

Great introduction and a wonderful backstory on the life and legend of your Grandfather's Raider. You aren't the first person to run into the dilemma of mounting this type of Kohler where it wasn't born. Fortunately for us Jay @JPWH documented his build including several photos while overcoming this challenge.

@PWL216 very nice pick up on that , might suggest that under deck clean out , break the grungle cycle , want to especially do this before a winter storage set up , have it in an oil soak state , for months , absolutely stops rust , pete

8-10 years Think 8 was in a WH publication My L-107 that father bought in may 1967 is still doing just fine in weekly service running on 40 wt motor oil changed a couple three times...but she has probably only been outside over night 2-3 times in 57 years and never in the rain

All the best!!! Prayers for a successful surgery!

If needed, I have the power steering setup I was going to put on Skittles. You are welcome to it. Might even trade it to you for a seat 😁

Nice score!!! Hope to find one myself one day. Those twins sure do sound good!!

here is a decal disc stripper i bought a few yrs ago and just used for first time - worked well -- it's used in drill motor - it's a soft rubber material - no paint damage

After getting its electric pump, the 16 Onan was not really smooth. Hicupped now and again. I had raised the float to its max with the pulse pump for the inclines and that was now kicking me. Set to stock and she mowed the backyard with ease. No incline was too steep. Incredibly smooth and started immediately. Was excited enough to lubricate the old Snapper RER. Did that, leveling the deck, and then was excited enough to try that guide for sharpening blades and it worked great. Great day! Took the RER then out to enjoy the blade and the magneto died. Really weak spark. It's been 25 years so, can't blame the thing. Sigh. More parts. Not excited.

@wallfish I tried what you show in the picture. I couldn't get enough travel without binding the pitman arm. I will test what I have some more when everything is welded up.

I don't know but the tire is listed as 16x6.50-8 2 ply and a replacement is still available for $648.99. No part number for the wheel listed. https://www.partstree.com/parts/toro-118070 for wheel and tire. The 2nd kit 8-0494 was available 1998-2000 and replaces 8-0490 80490, 8-0491 80491, 8-0492 80492 and 8-0493 80493

Maybe something like this Maybe @Handy Don can chime in on some thoughts as he's pretty good at figuring stuff out on paper and using his fancy mathmagician skills LOL. Whereas I'm just a trial and error type.

If you want Rustoleum spray cans to dry fast, immediately after spraying the last color coat spray on a coat of Rustoleum Chrystal clear. then a 2nd coat of clear 15 min later. Paint will be dry enough to handle in a couple of hours.

If the HD spindles are a little longer just toss a few washers on the shaft between the inside of the wheel and the gusset. Those are substantially stronger.

I saw a muffler at my local TSC with a 1"inlet that would work nicely in a application like this. They even had the flapper for the top.

Nice stack. Could you tell me more about the old air compressor in the background. Looks like an old Wayne.

I've used both. The biggest difference performance-wise is that "farm implement" has a significantly higher gloss finish on the finished product. It also tends to dry a little slower. If this translates to a more durable finish, it's hard to tell.

Idk if it's the secret to thinning the herd but I did sell my C105 today. It was my 1st Wheel Horse. I need a hydro lift & 2stage snowblower so a C105 just wouldn't do. Local Amish guy bought it. Showed up with cash & a driver with a trailer. Need to make room in garage cause I finally bought a truck & wanna park it inside.

Not really doing it with an actual Horse but the past week I went through all of the spare parts in my shed Got some plastic totes and threw out a bunch of beat up boxes. Found a few things I forgot I had and a triple pulley I needed in June and couldn't find. Made a lot of room without throwing anything away. Wrote everything down and I am going to put it in a file on the computer. When I use or sell something I can delete it.

It's your fault for being at the show an extra day.

I would like to lose a couple…but just today I signed a contract for a new 10x20 shed (room for more!!)

Yes, you can use a longer bar to get into a more consistent area of the ways. Often, not that it's a great practice, you end up making cuts on one area of the bore and then adjusting the gibs and moving down and taking some more passes. Not great to do it that way, but if you hold your mouth right, you can often get away with it. For this job, I would be trying to get into an area of the ways that are consistent enough that I can do the full length. If you take light cuts, you won't need a steady. Steadies often cause problems, hit a chip and bounce the bar. Go with a bigger bar and you have less flex. IDK, a good running steady is definitely a possibility. I have a shop made steady but likely won't use it for this. This job, I would be taking real light cuts, slow speed (have back gearing that gets me down around 60 RPM, IIRC), slow feed, and sneaking up on my finish diameter. With dead centers and a drive dog, it's possible to pull the bar and take measurements in between passes. Like I said, I'm not being paid for this job, time isn't an issue. Doing it just right is more important. That's the perennial question. I'll be shooting for a shop rate of $150/hr minimum. If people are willing to pay what it costs, I'll do small engine work or whatever. This isn't vanity, but I doubt I'll have trouble getting work. The machinists that taught me had journeymen's papers, by the time I came along, the apprenticeships were gone as the unions were busted. Great recession happened, and there were many layoffs. Pay was terrible. Few people stayed in the trade in my generation. I'm 43 and have been the youngest guy in the shop for most of my career. There are more young guys around now, but they suffer for lack of good mentorship. Most machinists are very old and retiring or dying. I know my value and the value of my work. I also know my rarity. I'm going to charge what the market will bear. I plan on a firm 40hr week max rule. If the backlog is 6mo, it is what it is. That would be really awesome! No rush. If it will fit, I'll post a step-by-step pictorial on how I do it. It will likely be a few months. Yup, that's why I want to know that one dim. I'm looking for the shortest distance from center of bore to a roughly perpendicular plane. That determines if I can do it with the machine I have. I have around 30" on length. 3" or so, at best, over the carriage with cross and compound removed. Bore is 3.5" diameter. So, 1.75" to center of bore. It might be possible.

You don't even wanna try that. You need an end mill with boring bar , unless your lathe and skills are such that you can get your bore precisely centered and perfectly square in every direction to the milling cutter, and I have never seen a hobby lathe capable of that... If your rig or cross slide flexes even .0005 (half a thou) in any direction, your milling job is gonna be screwed up, and I just don't see how you'd achieve that rigidity mounting the block on the bearing plate surface, considering even that may not be perfectly perpendicular to the bore.. (even the cast iron will have a tiny bit of flex to it which is why you'd want it mounted on the base.) I would not even dream of trying to do such a precision job on a lathe.. I'd take it to a machine shop that knows and understands how to do small engine blocks (or at least a speed shop with the precision equipment to do the job) If you have ever seen the machines and set-ups a shop needs to bore out Kohler blocks (Which I have) you'd understand the problems you're facing.. so if you do go ahead and bore that thing on a lathe, and it actually works the way you think, then you should go buy a lottery ticket because that'd be one hell of a stroke of luck!

Both sides of the nearly complete '74 C160-8 Tecumseh Horse. Our newly aquired tractor Trina has named after my recently passed father. The "UGLY BRUCE".