Sunday Sortie

This afternoon was a good time to move the Super X3 mill in its crate away from the door of the Tractor building so the 8N Ford could be put away. Once I remembered I have a perfectly good overhead lift which runs across the tractor bay, it was simply a matter of rigging a couple “straps” to lift the crate. The chains from Wal-Mart were ten feet long which was about three feet too short. Two chains and a towing strap later I was ready to give it a try. The crate lifted off the floor and was then pushed across the bay. This left room for the 8N Ford to return to the bay. Well, almost enough room. It is quite cramped in the bay now.

Soon I will have either a new work table or a Harbor Freight mill stand #47599 to hold the Super X3 milling machine. You can see the little work room is a bit cluttered too. The X2 mill will go elsewhere and the room will get cleaned up.

I am certainly happy the 1952 8N Ford tractor was able to lift the 420 pound crate with it attached to the middle location of the boom. That is one tough old tractor. It starts easily and does the work every time.

 

Tractor Boy

Back to the blog

Yes, I am back blogging. 

Today I hope to hoist the new mill with my overhead crane/lift and then slide it along. Too much fun. I will take pictures. I do wish I had taken pix of the moving operation yesterday. It was decidedly scary. No injuries and only a few scars to the land from the weight so all was well. I visited Hubert's work room and saw his X3 mill. It is really three times bigger than the X2 we also both have. I need a much bigger table! Maybe I could mount it on the one I have, but it sure could use wheels. I need 17 inch clearance for the base front to back and 27 inch clearance for the entire front to back area (for the column as well as the front handle). The X2 fits on the 14 inch wide table with room to spare as you have seen. I need 39 inches height clearance too. This is BIG, but some people consider it small still. It is easy to have a thousand pound milling machine instead of one which weighs 390 pounds. J

 

Tractor Boy

Saturday struggle

Yesterday I managed to use my 1952  8N Ford tractor to haul the 420 pound crate of X3 milling machine to my Tractor Building. It was a challenge because I was unsure the hydraulic lift would be strong enough to lift the crate fastened to the middle of the boom I have for the tractor. It was strong enough; however, a greater challenge was absence of appropriate lifting straps for the task. I had a towing strap about 15 or twenty feet long and used it. To make things better (maybe), I tied the strap around the top portion of the crate with rope. Then to further insure things did not slip, I used a bit of chain with hooks to fasten to the steel straps on the crate. Well, as I started to lift, the tow strap stretched, the steel strap snapped like it was paper, the tractor groaned, I groaned, and the crate lifted off the ground. As we (crate, tractor, me) drove around the house to the back yard where the Tractor Building is located, the soggy ground showed every inch of the trip, the crate jostled, and began to disassemble itself. I backed into the opening of the Tractor Building, lowered the crate, managed to untie from it after some effort, and got the tractor out of the way.

 

Today I will probably borrow a furniture dolly to somehow put under the crate, disassemble the crate from the base so I eliminate some of the looseness which I now have for the crate, and move it into the work room space. Fortunately the door is large enough. Of course I need to clean the area we will pass through and pick up clutter. If I can borrow a hydraulic engine lift, I will somehow lift the mill onto a stand and then can clean it up. Maybe I will clean it up first while it is still in the tractor bay. That actually seems more sensible to me. Anyway, I will take pictures and post the whole thing to my tractor bog. I forgot to take pictures yesterday while doing this. Maybe I did not really want a record in case a disaster happened. J

 

Tractor Boy

Running Cub

‘Tis a fine day in Central Texas. The air is 35 degrees and it is sunny, with a cool North wind. It is a perfect day to go for a drive on the 1949 Farmall Cub. That is just what I did. I saw it had not leaked gasoline anywhere so I disconnected the six volt battery charger and connected the negative battery cable. I managed to touch the battery box while snugging the cable and threw a nice spark which told me both that the battery is charged and to be more careful. Then I climbed aboard using the clever step device dangling from the platform, pulled the choke, pulled the ignition switch, and then the starter. The old Cub started right away and soon I had figured out how to give it just enough choke to keep it going while it warmed up. We backed into the yard and went for a drive ‘round and ‘round we went in second gear, making about five laps of the back yard. I stopped it in the sun to take pictures and to “bleed” the hydraulic system. That thing howled and squealed and scared me quite a bit. Then it settled down and was pretty quiet. I am guessing the air is out of the lines and the inner works are lubricated again.

 

We drove around a few more times and then back to the Tractor Building. Shift to first gear and slowly through the door to its standing place. I pushed in the ignition switch, climbed down, and shut off the fuel at the fuel filter. It looks good, runs well, irritates the dogs, throws coolant from the broken JB Weld connection, but hold its gas and oil as well as hydraulic fluid and gear oil. It runs!!!! Yes, it is a good day.

 

Tractor Boy

Nearly Completed the Cub

 

 

Sunday afternoon I took the plunge and added fuel to the gas tank of the Cub. Then I tightened loose connections such as the fuel filter bowl so gasoline would not be dripping. It all seems to be holding. At this time I have perhaps a gallon of gas in the tank to find out whether it will hold properly. Later I can fill it up or at least put maybe four gallons in it.

 

The hydraulic system needed filling so I removed the filler plug and used the last of the five gallon container that I bought for the 8N Ford. I thought I had another 5 gallon pail or bucket and that turned out to be 90 weight gear oil. Had I remembered that, I would have used it to fill the rear end of the Cub instead of buying gallons of the stuff individually. I moved the 5 gallon container to a location where it is visible in my Tractor building so it will be available for use next time.

 

Earlier in the week I had painted the fuel cap and radiator cap IH red color. Both were new replacements for worn original items. It looks good.

 

Finally, after removing the battery box, I cut a one inch hole at the rear of it and added the rubber grommet seen in the photo. To cut the one inch hole I ended up using a small drill bit and drilling holes around the marked one inch circle. Then a Dremel tool was used to cut between the holes and, after a cold chisel finished the cut, a grinding bit was used to smooth the one inch hole. Finally a long round file was used to shape the hole and get to final size. The grommet went on easily. The replacement seven foot long battery cable will be threaded through the hole, run down below by the PTO lever, underneath the platform, up the right side of the tractor, under the hood, and down to the starter.

 

The final thing will be to get the lights working again. I think it is simply a wire to the switch; however, it is pretty crowded back under there now and very difficult to get to. I did manage to short the starter cable to the ground, make sparks, and burn out the twenty amp fuse. Even replacing the fuse was a challenge, yet I got it done.

 

Tractor Boy

 

 

recent Cub work

Nearly Complete. It was warm this week on Monday so I got out and put some decals on my JANUARY 1949 Cub which is now 60 years young. I also put the fuel filter in place and attached rubber fuel line between it and the carburetor. I gave up temporarily on putting the metal line on as the exhaust pipe is in the way. If the Cub is returned to the vertical stack exhaust then the metal fuel line can go on. For now it is rubber.

It is just about time to add gasoline to the tank and see whether it leaks at the fuel filter. I used a sealer so maybe it will be good and tight.

While I was adding decals I painted both the radiator cap and the fuel cap. Both are new so I sprayed them with a couple coats of IH red paint.

The next to the last challenge is to cut a one inch hole in the battery box for the proper placement of the new and very long battery cable (negative cable). The box has a large hole to the front and needs a one inch hole to the rear side of the box. It is a work in progress. This week looks good though.

The final task is to figure out how to attach the one point hitch I hauled back from Illinois at Christmas time.

 

Tractor Boy