Another one saved from the scrap guy

[kpinnc 12,028]

For me, growing up literally dirt poor- you took care of anything "nice" that you have. Garden tractors were by our standards, luxury items. While I may have come across harshly with my previous post- it's difficult to imagine someone throwing something like this away. Maybe my age is showing too much...

 

My grandfather picked up an old round fender JD 110 or whatever it was because the engine had siezed. I don't think he ever got it fixed before he passed, and to my knowledge was the only type of garden tool he ever owned that didn't require pushing or pulling on foot. 

 

I guess I'm showing my age. Almost every tractor I have was formerly on it's way to the trash heap. Just a little bit of love put them back to work- and I do mean work. While I'm sure I'm guilty on some level- I hate waste and don't do it consciously.

 

Edited December 11, 2021 by kpinnc

[ohiofarmer 3,269]

41 minutes ago, Handy Don said:

Soapboxes are useful. I appreciate the reply!

I'm struggling with many of the concerns you raised. I worked with and taught my children, as did my Dad during visits. They each took a small, well-equipped toolbox with them to college. (The art major was hanging an exhibit and pulled out her level--the other students were astounded. "You have your own level?!") What I haven't figured out is how to reach and guide the kids that would be great candidates to learn, and earn a good living from, a manual trade.

 

 Funny you should mention that.  On move in day to college, we always took a small tool box and a wheeled cart. everybody else would be tugging loose items up the sidewalks to the dorms and the farm family just piled the poly tubs on the cart and did it like a boss. I had to keep close tabs on my set of wrenches , sockets , and Allen wrenches as people struggled with their futon furniture. To this day, the landlord often needs to borrow a fastener or a battery drill from my daughter when he forgets something. We took two carts after the first year and tried to allocate them carefully to older couples or female only move in crews.  Just the looks on many faces of "Why didn't I think of that were something to see"

 There are trade schools at high school level that teach academics and trades. i taught carpentry for a few years in the Eighties until they reduced the size of the program. now that same school has a Caterpillar warehouse next door and places students into work programs there

 

[Handy Don 12,226]

19 minutes ago, ohiofarmer said:

 

 Funny you should mention that.  On move in day to college, we always took a small tool box and a wheeled cart. everybody else would be tugging loose items up the sidewalks to the dorms and the farm family just piled the poly tubs on the cart and did it like a boss. I had to keep close tabs on my set of wrenches , sockets , and Allen wrenches as people struggled with their futon furniture. To this day, the landlord often needs to borrow a fastener or a battery drill from my daughter when he forgets something. We took two carts after the first year and tried to allocate them carefully to older couples or female only move in crews.  Just the looks on many faces of "Why didn't I think of that were something to see"

 There are trade schools at high school level that teach academics and trades. i taught carpentry for a few years in the Eighties until they reduced the size of the program. now that same school has a Caterpillar warehouse next door and places students into work programs there

 

 We had a very popular hand truck! One year it stayed behind as a loaner and we collected it on Parents' Weekend a month later. Your daughter is probably both pleased and a bit surprised that her practical skills and tools are not common.

 

About a dozen school districts in our county fund a "Board of Cooperative Education Services" (BOCES) that has a couple of locations where they teach a number of trades, but entry is pretty competitive (not enough capacity) and since you have to travel to the central sites, the students are largely separated from their local high school circle of friends--for teens that's a big discouragement. It also prevents someone who is primary academically focused from easily adding wood shop or auto shop or cooking, for example, to their usual "college prep" courses as you could before the "STEM" craze and budget cutbacks (as you noted). Sigh.

[SylvanLakeWH 25,557]

Regarding all the above comments, it is sad really. And frightening. The consumer mentality is costing us far more than we realize in the short and long term… we are running low on home grown fixers, knowers and makers… having outsourced these to many other areas of the world…

 

I am amazed at the comments I get when people see my 3 early 80’s Black Hoods… as if they are museum pieces… folks cannot conceive of a 40 plus year old machine that still “works”…

 

My nieces and nephews know when they come over they will get two things: some opportunities to help “fix” the SL&WHN RR and of course, a ride as the fruit of their labors…! One kid at a time…

 

 

[ebinmaine 67,496]

21 minutes ago, SylvanLakeWH said:

I am amazed at the comments I get when people see my 3 early 80’s Black Hoods… as if they are museum pieces… folks cannot conceive of a 40 plus year old machine that still “works”…

 

Yessir. 

 

"You WHAT??" 

 

"Are you serious??" 

 

"Man  that's awesome."

 

"I  wish I could I could do that..."

 

 

Well.  You could. 

 

👍

 

[ohiofarmer 3,269]

Maybe the inability to fix things is related to the increase of lawn care services. Many of the urbanized youth do not even know how to start a lawn mower, let alone service one. Actually, it is not all that easy to start one with all the safety switch overkill. For my own use, I have a Huskee 54 inch deck with 24 HP [the old fake HP rating] that has a nikki electric carb. Rarely use it because the fuel cost is so high  I disconnected the kill wires and use the carb that automatically kills the gas feed to stop the engine. What I see when I go to Ann Arbor is very few ppl mowing their own stuff.

  Out here in Deploraville, we measure yards by the half acre for a little one and usually about an acre for the 1800 feet of modern  leach field.That's when you need at least two good riding mowers and a few more ----, as in nine more in my case because of acquisition rules of this forumof always one more than you have ---for stealing a part  from if you need one. .

 

  Anyway, it sounds like if you have an in with a scrapper the quick fixes available to almost anyone could result in a bigger wealth gain per hour than a job for wages. My c-160 for 300 bucks will attest to that

Edited December 11, 2021 by ohiofarmer

[SylvanLakeWH 25,557]

 

Grew up in Ann Arbor… made a boatload of money as a kid and through college mowing (old POS push mower) and shoveling (with a shovel)… tried to find a neighborhood kid to mow Dad’s yard and shovel a few years ago…hahaha… no way… only option was commercial… 

 

You are spot on in your assessment…

 

My kids both made good money mowing, shoveling, leaves, gutters etc…and knew how to maintain the equipment… kids doing lawns nowhere to be found today… all commercial… nothing like zero turns on a 40’ lot… 5 minutes for $40-50… 

 

Ok off …

 

To keep on topic… so let’s all commit to saving one more  then we have room for in 2022 and show a kid how it’s done… 

[Jrain 276]

I can  not tell you how many Middle and high school shop class rooms in the early 90s  I removed the exhaust systems out of  for the making of new class rooms and I noticed a trend from different school boards , for example if the school was located in a majority  of a Asian  community these shop classes were always converted to Music class rooms ,but the main thing is they were almost all done away with  , I also worked on many   new regional Tech schools and mostly they were either Science based or culinary based , Now let me tell you my tool box story , when I was in 7th grade I had a choice of elected classes , I could take it was either  wood or metal Shop , I elected to take Metal shop after the first few weeks there we were ready to make are first project , I remember walking in to the class room and on one of the work benches stood  a very nice ornate table Lamp and after my teacher explain the lamp and how we all were going to make one to take home and then the teacher split us up in small groups  and said ok get started ,as everyone of us started grabbing our materials My teacher came over to me and said follow me, he took me in to the tool room and reached down under the workbench and pulled out a tool box and said to me you are going to make this .. I said why.. he said well I have watched you for the past few weeks and I feel you have very good skills but dont take this the wrong way but I have a feeling you will need this in Life , 7 years later I became a apprentice for a Union  I was sent by my Union to work for a small specialty metal shop I did not realize it at the time but I was learning under true Master craftsmen after many months of working in the shop, A call came in to the shop from a field Forman to send out the kid to the job tomorrow , after 34 years in my trade II will tell you I have worked on many well known iconic  buildings in NYC, but nothing comes close to that day when I was told Kid  take your tools home and tomorrow your going to go over to liberty Island and start work on the Statue of liberty Project , I still have that old hand riveted sheet metal toolbox, it was long retired from from job sites, it houses all my plumbing tools today ,but every once in awhile I need a plumbing tool and when I reach under my work bench and grab it , A smile comes to my Face .

[Brockport Bill 1,662]

3 hours ago, Jrain said:

I can  not tell you how many Middle and high school shop class rooms in the early 90s  I removed the exhaust systems out of  for the making of new class rooms and I noticed a trend from different school boards , for example if the school was located in a majority  of a Asian  community these shop classes were always converted to Music class rooms ,but the main thing is they were almost all done away with  , I also worked on many   new regional Tech schools and mostly they were either Science based or culinary based , Now let me tell you my tool box story , when I was in 7th grade I had a choice of elected classes , I could take it was either  wood or metal Shop , I elected to take Metal shop after the first few weeks there we were ready to make are first project , I remember walking in to the class room and on one of the work benches stood  a very nice ornate table Lamp and after my teacher explain the lamp and how we all were going to make one to take home and then the teacher split us up in small groups  and said ok get started ,as everyone of us started grabbing our materials My teacher came over to me and said follow me, he took me in to the tool room and reached down under the workbench and pulled out a tool box and said to me you are going to make this .. I said why.. he said well I have watched you for the past few weeks and I feel you have very good skills but dont take this the wrong way but I have a feeling you will need this in Life , 7 years later I became a apprentice for a Union  I was sent by my Union to work for a small specialty metal shop I did not realize it at the time but I was learning under true Master craftsmen after many months of working in the shop, A call came in to the shop from a field Forman to send out the kid to the job tomorrow , after 34 years in my trade II will tell you I have worked on many well known iconic  buildings in NYC, but nothing comes close to that day when I was told Kid  take your tools home and tomorrow your going to go over to liberty Island and start work on the Statue of liberty Project , I still have that old hand riveted sheet metal toolbox, it was long retired from from job sites, it houses all my plumbing tools today ,but every once in awhile I need a plumbing tool and when I reach under my work bench and grab it , A smile comes to my Face .

great story -- thats why the STEM programs are so important today for workforce training - learn the basic skills and have a lifetime of work - all portable skills - never go hungry - and many of those skills adaptable to other tasks - critical thinking, problem solving etc

[peter lena 8,627]

@Jrain might sun suggest an oil lubrication rub down to save patina , and have it shed moisture like a good wax job . aerosol lubricant of your choice and a clean rag , let it soak in for a day or 2 , rub it down till dry and do it again . wd40 ,marvel mystery oil, etc . done that on every old dried steel that I have ever got , once that lubricant feeds the paint , you have saved what's there . also done that , and finished with a cleaning polish ,and 6 " palm buffer . brought the paint right out , really a surprising finish , do what ever you would like , pete 

[ohiofarmer 3,269]

On 12/11/2021 at 6:30 AM, ebinmaine said:

 

Yessir. 

 

"You WHAT??" 

 

"Are you serious??" 

 

"Man  that's awesome."

 

"I  wish I could I could do that..."

 

 

Well.  You could. 

 

👍

 

  You could indeed. The C-160 I got was from a guy who got it from his dad. This guy worked and collected hot rod chevys--way beyond my pay grade.  i think the problem was a weak connection to the Ammeter., very common..Even though the hot rod guy could not find the problem, i brought a battery and put my thumb over the spark plug hole and knew it had some compression. Did the work around simple wiring and the deep thump from the single cyl makes me smile every time.

i agree get one and save it. i haven't been skunked yet by buying the tractors that do not run. i have a 141 for 200 that came with a blade ,deck and a pull handle for non running pickup trucks. it has a sloppy cylinder that begs to be rebuilt, My first rebuild will be the raider10 that got me into C style series to start with.  

Even if you don't have a complete tractor, just buy a simple machine without an engine and put in a little predator. Savin it still is a starting point and stuff to improve it will find you. THE guys here are great. i traded a briggs to a kid who was briefly on this forum for a 8 HP k engine. Eric gave me some blue tins that i buffed off since the one i traded for lacked some stuff. not repainting those tins, as they tell a story

  So, yeah the origins of the the thread is saving these mowers

[kpinnc 12,028]

On 12/11/2021 at 11:19 AM, SylvanLakeWH said:

To keep on topic… so let’s all commit to saving one more  then we have room for in 2022 and show a kid how it’s done… 

 

Agreed 100 percent! 

[JohnD 145]

On 12/11/2021 at 11:24 AM, Jrain said:

 I removed the exhaust systems out

Our middle school has a really nice set of welding benches - in the back of the dressing rooms... 

 

The main reason I mentor our school robotics team - the only way kids get any hands on experience with tools these days. 

[WheelHorse_of_course 99]

Keep up your animal rescue operation!

 

Save a horse - a Wheel Horse of Course!

[Handy Don 12,226]

On 12/11/2021 at 11:19 AM, SylvanLakeWH said:

To keep on topic… so let’s all commit to saving one more  then we have room for in 2022 and show a kid how it’s done… 

I'm going to count the one I just got this week, for which I'm scrambling to find room, as my 2022 acquisition! (Details and pictures to follow, of course.)

[WheelHorse_of_course 99]

On 12/10/2021 at 10:38 PM, kpinnc said:

For me, growing up literally dirt poor- you took care of anything "nice" that you have. Garden tractors were by our standards, luxury items. While I may have come across harshly with my previous post- it's difficult to imagine someone throwing something like this away. Maybe my age is showing too much...

 

I tend to agree, but I will say this. Dislocation can be a factor. I had to move from a house to a town house a few years back. While I did manage to sell my 3-wheel Cushman and my Wheel Horse (and a of implements) I did not have time/energy to sell a huge amount of electronic test equipment I had :(. The best I could do was donate it to an e-recycling place where I knew it would get sold, or worst case properly disposed of. Very painful.

 

This was during the 9 year period of underemployment for me.

 

Likewise, after my father's death it was very sad how much stuff wound up in dumpsters (none of it equivalent to a WH, but still, perfectly usable items). The estate sale people just were not worth the bother. I imagine that a lot of these Wheel Horses at the scrap yard are things that grandpa had and no one in the family had time or energy to take them, especially if not local. When you are facing eviction, or a property has been sold, painful decisions have to be made.

 

Very sad, and very wasteful. I am not making excuses, just sharing.

[kpinnc 12,028]

4 hours ago, WheelHorse_of_course said:

Very sad, and very wasteful. I am not making excuses, just sharing.

 

You make valid points that I hadn't considered. My experience in making saves at the dump have always been with someone who appeared to struggle finding where the gas went on these tractors, and my tiny mind keeps going back there. I really shouldn't think that way in retrospect, because I've been guilty of using the scrap yard on occasion when I needed to make ends meet during harder times. 

[WheelHorse_of_course 99]

Annnnnyway, always nice to hear about one saved. I grew up on 2 acres (a lot of it wooded) and we would have loved to have had a 502 like Grandpop had on his gentleman's farm. Instead we used a push mower and dragged stuff around in wagons and wheelbarrows. But my Dad put us all through college so I am not complaining

 

Happy Holidays .

 

 

[WheelHorse_of_course 99]

On 12/10/2021 at 11:36 PM, Handy Don said:

<snip>

 

About a dozen school districts in our county fund a "Board of Cooperative Education Services" (BOCES) that has a couple of locations where they teach a number of trades, but entry is pretty competitive (not enough capacity) and since you have to travel to the central sites, the students are largely separated from their local high school circle of friends--

<snip>

Glad to hear BOCES still exists.We need more access to trades education not less.