Dan Dubeau
Ultra Member
Yep. It pushes on the arm with the clamp pad. It helps to drive the tool in under the bead to, but it also helps to hammer it in to start.
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Welcome to Westwood Metalworks, What is he building in there?
- Thread starter Dan Dubeau
- Start date
Dan Dubeau
Ultra Member
What normally takes 10 minutes, but took an hour today?
Driving my new to me tractor home from the next town over.
New girl, meet old
I knew the 165 was bigger than the 35, but its almost laughable parked side by side. I've been waiting a long time to find another tractor, this one should serve me well for a while.
Some pics from the drive
Normal 10 minute drive took just over an hour today. Was a lot more fun though. Managed to dodge the rain a bit too. Started out a bit wet, but quit after about 20 minutes.
Driving my new to me tractor home from the next town over.
New girl, meet old
I knew the 165 was bigger than the 35, but its almost laughable parked side by side. I've been waiting a long time to find another tractor, this one should serve me well for a while.
Some pics from the drive
Normal 10 minute drive took just over an hour today. Was a lot more fun though. Managed to dodge the rain a bit too. Started out a bit wet, but quit after about 20 minutes.
140mower
Don
That's how to win with a grin..... awesome, enjoy the new toy. 😀
Dan Dubeau
Ultra Member
Thanks, already am
I used to mow this pasture, now that its been 5-7 years plus since i've touched it nature has taken over again. Not for long.....
I also pushed out another stump, and dropped/back bladed a bucket of topsoil on the depression in the front yard left from digging the well line that has been driving the Wife nuts for 2 years. See what I did there boys? 😉 it was the first thing she said when she just walked in the door...... Guess who's happy about the new tractor NOW..... 😀 All that in about 30 minutes. Cat's pissed though, she loved sitting in that ditch......
Probably going to just use it as is and catch up on some stuff around here long neglected. But eventually I want to add a front pump to run the loader, and build a SSQA plate for it and some pallet forks and a grapple. The loader right now runs off a diverter valve, and splits the 3point. Same deal on my old 35, but I'm going to do something about this one. It's in pretty good shape. great runner, zero smoke, and only 1500 hours. Not 100% sure I believe that hourmeter.... but it works and certainly runs like it does. Looks about 50 years old though....
Lots of projects to catch up on....
I cut off the bucket on my loader, had a welder mount a SSQA plate on. Then built what I call a jib boom on a SSQA plate. I never did figure out a lock for the plate so a couple 1/2" bolts have worked
In theory if I ever want to use forks or something else I can, it's just not one hundred percent engineered for safety sake
In theory if I ever want to use forks or something else I can, it's just not one hundred percent engineered for safety sake
Dan Dubeau
Ultra Member
Sounds Fun. Susquatch is about to have a fit 😀
A bucket, grapple, pallet forks, boom pole, are some of the first ones for a ssqa that come to mind. I have 3pt forks I built years ago for my 35 that are pretty handy. Would be nice to have them on the front.
I might have to look at upgrading some of my implements though, the new girl is a bit wider in the hips.....
Awesome Dan!
What's not to love about tractors!
I have both front and rear forks. Hardly ever use the rear ones. Also have a 3pt boom pole, a backhoe, a front bucket, and a rock basket. Perhaps the coolest thing I did was to buy a cherry picker box from a rental equipment outfit. Then I bought loader plates to adapt the the cherry picker to the loader frame. It's awesome for pruning trees, cleaning out tent caterpillars, and working up high. Nothing like the stability of a tractor for that comfy safe feeling.
My geriatric shop assistant was my chase truck a couple times, in the cities. First time was...
brakes? nope
seatbelt? nope
lights? nope
seat bolted in? nope
horn? nope
Turns out tire chains don't corner on pavement like you'd expect and he never let me forget it 😀
Dan Dubeau
Ultra Member
Got some nice seat time tonight finishing the project I was doing when my old tractor quit running about 7-8 years ago..... Removing the last of the old paddock fence out behind the barn.
Tough to see, but there's a wood rail fence along there and a couple of my implements are buried/grown into it and in this picture 😀.
First up, my plough
Next back blade
Then my old split open manure bucket
Fits in the new bucket with room to spare 😀
Then I towed the bush hog out and up to the house so I can go through it and make sure it's good to run. It's too small for the new tractor, but it'll work for now.
Next was the fence itself. It put up very little resistance....To top snapped off, but I managed to catch what was left in the ground and push it all out.
Then I carted off all the wood to the burn pile
Then back on the lawnmower which felt like a childs toy now and cleaned it all up.
Loving the new tractor, it's so nice to have equipment again 😀.
Tough to see, but there's a wood rail fence along there and a couple of my implements are buried/grown into it and in this picture 😀.
First up, my plough
Next back blade
Then my old split open manure bucket
Fits in the new bucket with room to spare 😀
Then I towed the bush hog out and up to the house so I can go through it and make sure it's good to run. It's too small for the new tractor, but it'll work for now.
Next was the fence itself. It put up very little resistance....To top snapped off, but I managed to catch what was left in the ground and push it all out.
Then I carted off all the wood to the burn pile
Then back on the lawnmower which felt like a childs toy now and cleaned it all up.
Loving the new tractor, it's so nice to have equipment again 😀.
1018Machine
Ultra Member
So cool Dan! and handy to have if you own property!
It's amazing how quickly the jungle takes over @Dan Dubeau.
I have a few impliments I need to get out before a growing tree breaks them up and eats them too.
Thanks for the reminder.
I have a few impliments I need to get out before a growing tree breaks them up and eats them too.
Thanks for the reminder.
Dan Dubeau
Ultra Member
As I told the Wife and her Mother, it's not a toy, it's a tool and a necessity....😀 The fact that it just so happens to be fun is purely coincidence.
Dan Dubeau
Ultra Member
Seems like yesterday I put all this stuff on a shelf and "will get back to it later". Life got in the way. I have a 4" birch tree growing up through my spike harrows......
The tree in that last picture did not exist when we bought the place. There's another one that's kinda tough to see in the background there that's grown up through the gate of the open stall door on that run in shed there.
The buildings in behind will be coming down and I will be leveling the ground for a couple of sea cans. Still toying with ideas on what I want to do, but I'm thinking one 40', with two 20's sticking out from the ends leaving a gap in the middle for an open space. Not sure I'll get it all done, but if I can at least get one 20' before the winter I'll be happy.
Google maps shows what it used to look like. Red show the location of the trees that are now about 8" dia and ~30' tall
I remember going to an auction many years ago and things were going very cheap. there was a set of discs that went for $20, but there were 2 trees growing up through them, and a few others around. Getting them out was a days work so I didn't even bid. The guy that did thought he got the deal of a lifetime lol. It woulda been a fun adventure at least.
Dan Dubeau
Ultra Member
Not much happening shop wise, but I did pick up a new toy for the tractor yesterday. A woodland mills WC68 wood chipper. Nice machine, been doing a ton of research the past few weeks and was settled on that model. Was going to buy a new one as they're on sale, when a nice good shape used one came up semi locally leaving some more money in my wallet on Wednesday night (owner upgraded to bigger model). Getting it home was fun as my trucks rear diff puked not far from home on the way back. I haven't really looked at it yet to assess the damage or course of action, but I managed to get the chipper off the trailer today and put it to use...
So....apparently my well thought out rigging plan to get it off the trailer without forks, failed to notice the hydraulic belt tensioner arm that tried to occupy the same space as the loader bucket cutting edge....I got about 5 minutes of use from it before the hydraulic feed motor stopped working and I noticed it had spit the drive belt....
This was the reason. (disregard the messy pile of life on the bench)
No problem, I can fix that. I decided to get a little fancy and use my digital angle gauge to check progress and a pipe slipped over the axle to bend it.
Zeroed on the flat.
A little tweaking
A little more, close but I can do better.
nailed it.
Taking a step back though it looked WAY off.
WTF. Not sure what is up with that angle finder, but I have checked it before against squares and angle plates and it was bang on. I tweaked the bracket back down to 90* with the square, greased it up and put it back on the machine and back to work. All good, but one brand new belt smoked in the process though.....Good thing the previous owner JUST serviced it before selling and included the old belt in the box of blades and stuff.
Works great, cleaned up a bunch of brush out behind the barn that's been down since last springs windstorm....Doesn't take long to make a pile of chips. There is always a never ending supply of branches to get rid of, and burning them takes forever. Wife also wants them for gardens and chicken bedding, so they'll go to good use.
Should get a lot of use around here in the coming months. I think I'll just wait until cooler weather though. Today was a scorcher. It was worse in the shop than outside.
So....apparently my well thought out rigging plan to get it off the trailer without forks, failed to notice the hydraulic belt tensioner arm that tried to occupy the same space as the loader bucket cutting edge....I got about 5 minutes of use from it before the hydraulic feed motor stopped working and I noticed it had spit the drive belt....
This was the reason. (disregard the messy pile of life on the bench)
No problem, I can fix that. I decided to get a little fancy and use my digital angle gauge to check progress and a pipe slipped over the axle to bend it.
Zeroed on the flat.
A little tweaking
A little more, close but I can do better.
nailed it.
Taking a step back though it looked WAY off.
WTF. Not sure what is up with that angle finder, but I have checked it before against squares and angle plates and it was bang on. I tweaked the bracket back down to 90* with the square, greased it up and put it back on the machine and back to work. All good, but one brand new belt smoked in the process though.....Good thing the previous owner JUST serviced it before selling and included the old belt in the box of blades and stuff.
Works great, cleaned up a bunch of brush out behind the barn that's been down since last springs windstorm....Doesn't take long to make a pile of chips. There is always a never ending supply of branches to get rid of, and burning them takes forever. Wife also wants them for gardens and chicken bedding, so they'll go to good use.
Should get a lot of use around here in the coming months. I think I'll just wait until cooler weather though. Today was a scorcher. It was worse in the shop than outside.
Dan Dubeau
Ultra Member
Not much shop time, nor motivation for it this summer. Been too busy filling my spare time with golf, fixing broken stuff, house and property projects.
Took the week off and today I actually felt like shop work so I got back to kicking an old project another step closer to the finish line.
This is the base for my belt grinder, minus the uprights that are currently holding it up right now that have been tacked in place to a temporary baseplate for the past year and a bit.....
There's only this base, the belt tensioner handle scales, the vfd arm, and paint before I can call the main grinder itself done 100%. I'm off work till Monday, and I would really like to finish those things and get it painted while it's all apart.....Then maybe start building some of the attachments....
This will probably be the last post about it in here, as once I get those things done, and paint it I'll finally start a build thread on it....
Took the week off and today I actually felt like shop work so I got back to kicking an old project another step closer to the finish line.
This is the base for my belt grinder, minus the uprights that are currently holding it up right now that have been tacked in place to a temporary baseplate for the past year and a bit.....
There's only this base, the belt tensioner handle scales, the vfd arm, and paint before I can call the main grinder itself done 100%. I'm off work till Monday, and I would really like to finish those things and get it painted while it's all apart.....Then maybe start building some of the attachments....
This will probably be the last post about it in here, as once I get those things done, and paint it I'll finally start a build thread on it....
1018Machine
Ultra Member
Nice a sturdy Dan! Mass is on our favor for belt grinders, helps dampen vibration.
Dan Dubeau
Ultra Member
Yep, Just like machine tools. This is a pretty beefy build and it works very well. Cant wait to wrap it up and show it. Next time ill do a thread from the start...thought id do it different this time because projects around here are always so long and drawn out.
Dan Dubeau
Ultra Member
Had to do a little welding repair on one of the wife's yarn display racks this morning. The casters are only secured via a m8 nut welded in two spots/tacks. This rack was used once before 3/4 casters went wonky and 2 broke right off. The tube is very thin also. My fix was some 3" lengths of angle welded to the frame so I can through bolt the casters.
Welded with my little toolium lunch box using 3/32 7018.
Apparently she told me about this after her last show, but we both forgot until this morning when she was leaving for another one....
Welded with my little toolium lunch box using 3/32 7018.
Apparently she told me about this after her last show, but we both forgot until this morning when she was leaving for another one....
Your welds are BEAUTIFUL......
Dan Dubeau
Ultra Member
Thank you Sir. Always working on it....