Come Together

[farmersammm]

(so.....ok......I grew up in the Beatles generation)

It's all coming together. The culmination of about a dozen threads involving welding, machining (well, for me, gouging), and other metal stuff

We gots a rebuilt sickle, new sections, and head



Which goes in this old gal





Yes...….once again The Uranus Terminator won the grass war World's only modified off road Troybilt with a 6" lift kit

The shop is once again open for bizzzznessss



We got a break......huge storms forecast, passed us over. So the race is on to cut some hay before the frost. By golly, I ain't wupped yet. Enough time to put everything together, cut a path to the highway, and get the old gal out on the road.

[farmersammm]

I figure them small trees should should just smash flat when I move the swather. Even The Terminator has its limits

[Zimm]

Man, you ever thought about buying about 9,000 gallons of round up and a big atz sprayer?

[12V71]

It's a jungle out there.

[SlowBlues]

No chance of getting a neighborhood kid to do it AND wash your windows for 5 bucks? I miss the good old days!

[CAVEMANN]

Looking at that sickle bar brought back memories, my grandad had a blacksmith shop in Caplinger Mills Missouri, He rebuilt sicle bars or anything else that needed done for the local farmers, in the back of the shop was an old treadle grinder, had about a 16 or 20 x 2 -2 1/2 " wheel where my granny would take a seat, set up the jig and sharpen sickle bars, sometimes all day.

[hddnis]

I did that to a mower years ago. Cut the front out and put 10" harbor freight wheels on it. It was a weeds and light brush killing machine.

Also put a chain curtain on the back to give my poor shins some protection.

[oldandslow]

Seeing that mess makes me appreciate living where it doesn't rain much. W got some rain last month, my place is a kind of a mess now but NOTHING compared to Samm's. Soon as it freezes the brush hog will be put into action.

[Sandy]

When I was a kid working for the local 'sod busters' they'd give you their best rusty file, a bucket full of new rusty sickle cutters, tackle box full of rusty rivets, ball peen hammer and a piece of rail road iron. You'd squat in front of that rail road iron and file off the heads of the bent rivets and replace the cutters all day. Seemed counter productive filing the heads off but I guess at 80 cents an hour it made sense to them. Things like punches and pin punches were specialty items they just couldn't keep around. You'd be driving the rivets out with nails and stove bolts which never worked worth a crap but thats what you got paid to do so............

[farmersammm]

Got the oil, hoses, and fittings, together.



This hose is a killer...…………..$7.00/foot. But, locally,, it's about 20 bucks.

It's usually called "transport hose". Has a helical stiff wire wound thru the carcass to keep it from collapsing under mild vacuum. This stuff is used for the oil intake to the pump. The pump puts out around 22gal/min.

Rebuilt drawbar worked like it should (at least for hookup). Let it swing to catch the tongue of the implement. Don't have to be perfectly lined up this way.



Then, once hooked up, you can pull forward, and replace the pins to keep the drawbar centered.

All new hoses are in order. These wouldn't make it through half a day.

[farmersammm]

Slid the sickle bar in. 14 feet long, and dangerously sharp.





I hadn't examined the sickle guards since I tore the swather down. I have some bad ones that might pose a problem.

Note the excessive clearance above the sickle section. The sharp edge has to have something to work against in order to cut. Kinda like scissors in a way. If you have too much space for the sickle section to flop around, it sometimes just pinches the grass, and won't cut it. If it gets real bad...…...the pinched grass will stop the sickle from moving if there are enough bad guards.

This guard has the proper clearance...…...see how tight the space is.

I'm in trouble time-wise,, and really don't have the time to mess with sickle guards. Hopefully they'll do good enough to cut half the hay meadow. I'm only planning on cutting 40 acres...….just enough to fill in the rest of the hay I need for Winter.

Guards are the pits to remove. Generally you have to torch the bolts off. Tedius, time consuming, and needing real care not to damage the cutter bed with the torch. I need to make a tool to keep the bolts inside the square recesses while using an impact.

Anyways...………….the end of the day yielded yet another unpleasant surprise.

It's not so much the money...…...it's the time involved. This kills half a day, or better. Tires probably have to be ordered.

I'm regretting every day I spent on that stupid lathe. This work should have been done at around that time of year when I was fighting the lathe...…....

[farmersammm]

For you guys not familiar with this stuff...……...this is really ancient technology. This machine dates back to around the mid 70's. The sickle system has been completely abandoned. Everything is disc cutters nowdays. Better, and faster. Also able to work in areas where there are small volunteer saplings/runners from trees at the side of the field. Any kind of woody plant will mess up a sickle...……...a disc cutter, within reason, will just cut it and go on its merry way.

But this old thing is paid for, and has paid for itself many times over in its lifetime. I don't do mega acres, so it's ok for me. Just a challenge to keep it running year after year. Not expensive...…..just a PITA to find parts for.

[M J D]

Just use a bottle jack against the bolt head. If it's too big just make a reducer sleeve to fit the head.

[farmersammm]

BTW...……..it was a real pleasure to do the hydraulic hookup. Firm mounts that don't move around when you have to force the coupler sleeves, and no annoying pressure to fight. THAT was one of the best deals in this whole mess

[farmersammm]

Just use a bottle jack against the bolt head. If it's too big just make a reducer sleeve to fit the head.

I was thinking something in the form of a clamp with round recesses that will hold the stovebolts tight so they don't want to turn as they come loose. I tried a jack once, and it tries to lift the header when you apply enough pressure to keep the bolts in their pockets. The header is spring balanced, and floats. Doesn't take much effort to make it rise. They're built that way to keep them from being damaged when you hit rough ground.

[farmersammm]

Seems there's always welding.

In the past, I used to lift the swather using a hi lift jack. About the most dangerous thing ya can do. Decided it was time for a safer way to do things.

The beauty of 7018AC

More beauty

And the final cherry on top...………...



I get fed up dealing with arc blow. AC is some great stuff if you run it right. Drag that rod on the steel...……..no manipulation...….straight drag. HEAVEN.

Anyways, it's doing its job.





The stand is built lower than the height required to work with an inflated tire, and the header frame at full height. Why?, you might ask. Tires go flat,, and ya need to be able to get a jack in there when the frame is sitting lower. This has an allowance of 7" in height difference + 2 more inches for the possibility of unlevel ground.

These machines weigh about 6000#. Lifting is serious business when you're working on dirt, soft dirt, or mud. Mess up, and you can have a real bad day.

[Popeye an old miner]

Sam...you are one amazing guy. Your work reminds me so much of some of the old miners I worked with when I was a kid, give them boys a problem in a 15 minutes they got a plan to correct it, and well on their way to fixin it. Keep goin and be safe

[farmersammm]

Thanks Man! Just keepin' the old iron going...….a piece at a time

We decided (K'kins is the brains of the outfit) that I probably ought to just do an entire rebuild on the machine. We looked at the hay meadow, and the freeze ruined the grass, so ain't gonna be any cutting done till next year. Is what it is I guess.

Now I got time to fix the radiator on the Allis Be nice to see a hood on it again.

[q240z]

Looking good, Sam! Where are you gonna put the varnished mahogany?

[smilindave]

Yay!!!, the tractor was beginning to look naked. I know the look was pizzing you off from your comments. Make her whole again! There is nothing like the look of vintage iron in good shape!
Regards
Dave

[jfutey]

And just like that, so many chiggers are suddenly homeless. Savage.

[farmersammm]

You guys might find this interesting

Called a dood about some hay. Size bales/price was right......but the guy says he's only got a stinger on back of the tractor to load...….no front end loader.

So, I hook up the small trailer, and head out. I figure at least it won't be as expensive to pull the bumper pull trailer if it turns out to be a bust.

Well...……….he had QUITE A STINGER on that old Moline



The extra length allows him to lift higher, and he's got a hydraulic top link on it. Pretty clever. Won't stack 'em, but it works for low profile trailers.

Not bad for something cobbled together. Does a good job with the 5x6 bales. I thought it was cool.

[farmersammm]

Back home, off the road, and back to reality

I hate tire work. I'm too skinny to be a real good tire guy. Doggone near kills me.

New tires have floppy sidewalls, and probably were stacked on top of each other, instead of being put in a rack upright. Makes it a killer to seat the bead

Pretty wide rim.

Only way to get the tire to fit the rim better...……………



Then blast it with the Cheetah...………………..



BINGO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!



Nice to see some AMERICAN MADE TIRES.



The air blaster makes tire work doable. Some tires, like 11r/22.5's are a solid b$tch to seat without them.

[farmersammm]

And, as usual...….there's gonna have to be some welding

I've had the Harbor Freight tire changer for maybe 15yrs, and the bead mount/dismount bar has always been weak. Today it gave up the ghost

Have to cut it at the bend, and insert some solid round stock in there for a splice. The whole handle/bar thingy, except for the ends, is just thin wall pipe.

[docwelder]

being a city boy i have no clue what most of that equipment is for. i find your solutions and repairs very interesting though.