Noob Posting Pictures of Herd...

[Jake217 20]

I posted earlier with month with an electrical question and SOI set me on the right path. At that time I promised I would post some pictures, so here is one of my herd in its current state.

Left to right...

1988 520-H with 48" SD deck - runs great, 770 hours, everything works - including the dirty air filter sensor!

1986 312-A with 36" RD deck - runs great now that charging system works! - Thanks SOI! Just needs a new front decal.

1984 C-165 8 speed with FEL - just rebuilt the K341 - no bance gears any more!- my absolute favorite - this one is being buried with me.

1976 A-90 - 4 Speed - deck is off for welding - picked it up for my girlfriend for $50. Hey, she wants to mow the lawn! Can't say no to that.

Also have Single stage 42" snow blower, Wheel Horse Dump Cart, 48" Blade, 44" RD deck, weights chains, etc..

I picked all of these up in various states of disrepair - had a lot of fun bringing them back to the way they should be.

Although I used to be a Wheel Horse "wrench" in a past life and have owned Wheel Horses for years, I just found this site over the winter. This site is the best resource I have experienced for ANYTHING on the net. The people here clearly want to help. Glad to now be a member.

Next project will definitely be a round hood. Need to expand my storage area first. Also, I've got to find an electric or hydo lift kit for the 312A.

Oh yeah, believe it or not, that one armed FEL works great. It comes off and bolts right up to all three "real" tractors in about 45 miutes - in proccess of making an articulated reverse digger bucket for that single arm.

Thanks for all the help and best regards to all,

Jack

[Rooster 191]

:WRS:

Nice Herd!

[Jake Kuhn 1,555]

Very nice collection you have Jack. That loader tractor sure is impressive! Jake

[SousaKerry 501]

Does that loader only have one arm??? Never seen one like that would love to see more pictures of how they compensated for the cantilevered load.

[AMC RULES 37,132]

Oh yeah, believe it or not, that one armed FEL works great. It comes off and bolts right up to all three "real" tractors in about 45 miutes - in proccess of making an articulated reverse digger bucket for that single arm.

Sounds interesting Jack, would really like to see some picts of that too.

:WRS:

[Coadster32 793]

Welcome to RS. Nice herd of horses you have there. :handgestures-thumbupright:

[wallfish 17,021]

:WRS:

That one arm loader looks cool.

QUOTE:

in proccess of making an articulated reverse digger bucket for that single arm.

Like a backhoe bucket? I have some plans if you're interested

[stevasaurus 22,767]

Very nice collection Jack...that one armed bandit sure is interesting...I can see a bucket on that working pretty good. Are you going to check out Wallfish's plans? :) Welcome to Red Square BTW...thanks for sharing the pictures. :bow-blue:

[Foozerush 40]

Awesome herd there sir!!!! Looking at your black hood just wants me to get one real bad now.... Waiting on that money tree in back yard to fill up again.....

[Horse'n Around 22]

Great photo of the kids. That is the coolest FEL that Ive ever seen... saw... whatever! Its just plain cool!

John

[varosd 1,185]

Almost like its saluting!!

[Lane Ranger 10,970]

Great posting Jack!

The kind of stuff all us Red Square folks like to see !

[bowtiebutler956 650]

Nice looking Horses! That is a very interesting loader, I to would like yo see more pics.

Matt :flags-texas:

[Sparky-(Admin) 21,350]

Thanks for the pics! Any idea what that loader is rated to lift??

Mike..............

[WH520 17]

You have a good looking group there. I'd like to find a C to "tinker" with.

Yes, this is about the only forum that everyone's willing to help you and not give you grief for asking a question.

[Wheel-N-It 2,969]

Very nice collection you have in the pic. Welcome to RS!

BTW, I never wanted a Black Hood............................................UNTIL NOW!!!!!!!

[312Hydro 474]

Welcome Jack! Great group photo.Pretty much what everyone else wants to know. Do you have plans or a site to go to on the one armed FEL. Very high Cool Factor!

[neil 2,409]

what a cool collection you have there Jack,

i agree with the other guys that black hood look the dogs dangly bits , i use to have two square hoods like that but never really liked the shape so i sold them , looking at yours i now wish i hadnt

thanx for the pics,, we just need to have some pic/vids of that FEL at work now

Neil

[CRE1992 135]

Nice herd!

[massey 118]

That is a fine looking herd there, congrats. :handgestures-thumbupright:

[Jake217 20]

Thank you to everyone for the great comments. I showed them to my girlfriend because she does not understand why I need so many tractors and still looking for more when I can only drive one at a time. All of your comments help her understand… somewhat. To bastardize a famous quote from the immortal Senator Phil Gramm when he talked about his guns:

"I have as many Wheel Horse tractors as I need, but I don't have as many Wheel Horse tractors as I want."^[

FEL is rated for 300 lbs, but I have had it handle a lot more than that. It is just a matter of how much weight is on the back. I had my 225 lb neighbor stand on the back axle and we moved a really big rock in his yard and carried it about 300 yards. I still need to make a weight box, just need to figure the best way to mount one and then I’ll weld one up. If anyone has any plans on how to mount one, I would love to see them. I am concerned about putting too much weight on the hitch. I have a 2†receiver on there now for towing around the boat trailer etc. – I assume I’ll need to use that as part of any weight box mounting.

The FEL plans came from CADplans.com and the actual kit is from metkit.com – very cool site. I bought the FEL and tractor as a package (you would all cry if I told you what I paid) and pulled the FEL off the 312A (I was really concerned putting all that stress on an Eaton 700) and put it on the C-165. I was obviously concerned about weld quality when I found out that the FEL was home made, but when the PO explained to me that he used to weld tug boats for a living and he had arc and AC/DC mig welders in his garage, I felt a lot better.

FEL attaches to the mid Tach-Matic and the rear Blade/Tiller brackets. There also is a major support arm that attaches to the tractor frame on the left side forward of the engine. The hydro pump sits under the tractor and is mounted to the frame of the FEL set-up. The hydro tank sits on the right side of the tractor and is designed to lift right off the frame (after a quick disconnect of the hydro hoses) and that allows the whole unit to slide out from the left side of the tractor. It is very similar to mounting a large mower deck, but a lot heavier. I just put my floor jack in front of the FEL frame and fulcrum the whole frame into the Tach-Matics. It is surprisingly sturdy/stable and the tractor does not feel out of balance at all when driving. It is it a little tougher to steer, though. I’ve had my five year old grandson on my lap while driving and he steers it around the yard, albeit using every bit of strength he has.

Here are some closer pics of the set-up for the FEL:

Here is a side view - you can see where that support arm mounts to the frame - there is a little bracket you mount to the existing holes in the frame with a couple of bolts.

This is a front view - you can see where the frame of the FEL frame goes under the tractor.

Here you can see FEL frame a little better where it attaches to the mid tach-Matic.

Here is the joystick - right - boom up, left - boom down, forward - bucket up, back - bucket down/dump/flip

Back view - FEL frame attaches to rear tiller/blabe bracket.

Here is the right side - the hydro tank rests in a reciever (similar to a traler hitch). It pops right out when I want to take the FEL off of the tractor. Geez, I need to get some mats for those floor boards.

I should mention that you are not going to be able to build an extension off of the interstate with this tractor/FEL set-up. I use it for turning over my compost pile, carrying rocks, putting really big logs on my splitter, and flipping the bucket over – lifting the front wheels off the ground and grading the work area in my back yard. When I get the digger/backhoe bucket done, I hope to be able to dig/scratch a hole about two feet deep. Without some type of outrigger set-up to stabilize the tractor for digging, I may be hoping for a little bit more than is possible.

Wallfish, I would love to see those plans for the backhoe/digger bucket. I have the bucket already, but it is designed to dig with a forward/push/outward scoop (similar to the loader bucket). A true backhoe should use a reverse/pull/inward scoop, so I need to add a different pivot set up off of the bucket cylinder. I studied the set-up on a Case 540D CK Back hoe and am trying to imitate that design. I have already fabbed up a temporary pivot linkage out of Dexion shelving supports to test the proper movement of a new pivot arm off of the cylinder. I am glad I waited to order the steel and pivot pins for my design. I definitely would like to see Wallfish’s plans; I’m sure they’re better than mine.

Anyways, thanks again for the nice comments and keep the questions coming.

Jack

[wallfish 17,021]

PM me your email address and I can forward some plans. They can't be attached if emailing through Redsquare.

I used a design for the measurements so the bucket would fit and curl correctly but built my own bucket shape because I didn't like the square shape of the one in the design.

Ground breaking force is going to be limited on your machine because there is much less weight on the front of it.

[stevasaurus 22,767]

Extremely cool Jack...thanks for sharing. :)

[Jake217 20]

PM me your email address and I can forward some plans. They can't be attached if emailing through Redsquare.

I used a design for the measurements so the bucket would fit and curl correctly but built my own bucket shape because I didn't like the square shape of the one in the design.

Ground breaking force is going to be limited on your machine because there is much less weight on the front of it.

Wow!!! Wallfish, that design is 1000 times better than what I was planning. PM'ing you now. Thanks!

[Duff 206]

Jack, that is a great herd and a very impressive FEL set-up! Thanks for sharing it with us!

Glad to have you among us!

Duff :thumbs: