Friday, April 15, 2016

Weedcutter!

Short post about my tractors...Still working through issues on the Broadmoor.  I have all my parts now though, so I should be able to assemble tomorrow.  My exhaust valve kinda gave me fits...cuz I slipped with the grinder when I was setting my clearance.  Blew the clearance by about, oh, 15 thousandths of an inch!  Max spec is only 11 thousandths, so I really screwed the pooch.  I was able to save it though, thanks to the toolroom at work.  I have a comparator, surface grinder, rotary vice, etc.  I was able to regrind the valve on the seating surface, and bring it back into spec.

 Anyway, this is NOT the reason I'm writing this post.  I'm pretty excited about my newest acquisition.  I got the most ridiculously dangerous, awesome attachment ever!  Its called a weedcutter.  Those of you who are familiar with Simplicity probably know what this monster is.  For those who DON'T know, let me try to describe it.

Its a front mounted attachment.  It has four blades, and they are designed to blaze trails through light forest undergrowth or through pastures.  Long grass, small sticks, that sort of thing.  Think DR trimmer, but on steroids.  The blades are solid, not flails...so they don't "give" when they strike something solid, like a rock or someone's leg.  I LOVE IT!  I don't have any real use for it, but I'll figure something out.  I can cut my folks walking paths through the woods at their house.  I can cut some stuff on the hunting property, if I want...but don't need to do any of that.  I have access to a 40 HP Kubota with a 3 point, rear mounted brushhog.  My sovereign IS more maneuverable than the Kubota though.

The attachment does need some work.  Its missing an arbor and blade.  Those parts are no longer available, so I'll have to make something.  The bearings are stiff, and probably junk.  Those are still available.  The belts are in surprisingly good condition, considering this attachment is almost 50 years old.  Its from 1967.  It needs a paintjob too.  It will be done in due time.  It was one of those items that popped up for sale and I dropped what I was doing to try and get it.  Obviously, it worked out.  I'm happy to have a relatively rare piece.  This one was number 3 off the production line too...Yes, the serial number tag is still intact. Eventually, I want a tractor from the same era to put it on.  Something like this...

The best, most awesome part of this attachment?  The Decal, that says "DANGER ROTATING KNIVES" Anyway, here are a couple pictures...


Workbench DONE!

Finished my workbench tonight.  Turned out really nice, and even better, exactly like I expected it too!  I think it MUST weigh 150 pounds.  Here is the thing...my first real woodworking project in my new shop was for my mechanics addiction!  I used woodglue, and these new type of lag screws to hold it together.  They have a flange head, torx drive, and self tapping, anti split head.  Worked really well.  I still pre-drilled, because oak it HARD.  Anyway, here are the pics!



 

Sunday, April 10, 2016

New Workbench

So, a little bit different from working on my tractors, but this will definitely help in the process.  I built a new shop last winter, so that I had a place to do my projects.  In addition to playing around with Garden Tractors, I like to do some woodworking.  My garage just wasn't big enough, so I built a 30 x 24 shop in my backyard.  Its two story, and I would love for it to be double the size that it is, but my dumb township limits outbuilding size, based on lot size.  So, it is the maximum size it can be, both in square footage AND volume!

Anyway, moving from a 2 stall garage that is really only a single stall (20 x 20...SMH) to a dedicated shop space is exciting and daunting, at the same time.  Daunting because I need to think about EVERYTHING that I put in there.  My interests are so varied, I need different areas.  My wife refinishes furniture on the side and I have a woodworking bug.  Both of those areas require a finishing area to be clean and dust free.  But everyone knows that woodworking generates a ton of dust.  Oh, and I like messing around with mechanical things, fabrication, and machining.  The machining I currently do at work, but I fire up the torches, welders and grinders from time to time.  All of those things generate sparks and heat...both detrimental to the other two activities that happen in the shop!

That's a lot of information that most of everyone doesn't need to know.  My whole point is this.  I need to build a stupid workbench.  I've been using every flat surface I can find for a table, plus my cheap portable workbenches that I used in the garage.

 Here is my design.  It will be 1 x 4 oak, and will hold an old steelcase desktop that is 30" x 72."  This is workbench one.  I will build another for woodworking in the future, that will have a nice Ash top, probably on edge...Not sure which one will weigh more!

Update...I have WOOD!  Haha...My dad and I spent a couple hours today milling rough sawn lumber down for some projects.  I have my workbench (obviously) and he's working on a headboard and some bunkbeds for my niece and nephews.  I got all my wood planed, run through the joiner, and ripped to width.  Over the next couple days, I'll get everything cut to length.  I do have to order some forstner bits to help with my joint strategy (lag bolts) but those are only 2 days away with Amazon Prime!  Here is a pic of the wood we were working with

The Cut pieces are for my bench...the rest is for my Dad's projects.  

Interesting story about the lumber pictured...It started as a few trees.  Yeah, I know, it all does.  But these particular trees are ones that WE cut down, and had milled.  So, yeah, its not "free" but it sure beats the hell out of anything you can buy at Menard's.  There are a couple of 1 inch thick by 11 inch wide boards there without a single knot in them.  12 feet long, and clear as Lake Superior.  Nice stuff...also NOT what I'm building my bench out of.  Mine will have some knots and imperfections.  The knots are tight, no cracks, and I left the dimensions at their full measurements.  In other words, my 1 x 4 lumber actually measures 1 x 4 instead of 3/4 x 3.5.  Pictures of the completed bench to follow!

Saturday, April 9, 2016

Pretty Colors

Today was all about paint.  Not a lot of words, but pretty picture intensive.  I spent A LOT of time cleaning...those engine blocks have many places for gunk to hide.  Its pretty tough to get clean too, as it gets baked on by the heat of the engine while running.  Hot water is your friend at this point.  Lacquer Thinner is also great...plus numerous brushes, rags, and abrasive pads.  Something that REALLY helped was a spray bottle full of hot water.  I was able to blast the dirt out of the deeper holes that I could not reach with a brush.  I think next time, I'll make a soap solution with hot water for the spray bottle, and rinse from the bucket.  

Anyway, everything now has a nice coat of paint on it.  I'm going to bring the head to work with me next week, and beadblast it.  I heard that keeping the head unpainted will help it run about 20 degrees cooler!  Anyway, here we go...

Masked off, and ready for paint.

Masked and Ready for paint 2

Painted Block!


Engine shrouds and various covers...
 The "tools" of the day.  Zinc Chromate Primer, purchased at Napa Paint Retailer, and Duplicolor engine paint.  The Orange-Red is very close to Simplicity Orange. It applied pretty well, without too much blotchiness.  I was really impressed with the black color.  It was awesome.  The block turned out really well.  Not sure how it looks in pictures, but its a nice even tone and gloss in person.


Friday, April 8, 2016

More "Depth"

I sometimes wonder about my myself, and whether I have a real problem or not.  I just can't seem to leave we enough alone.  What started as replacing a motor quick (like in a weekend) has grown into stripping the motor down, and painting it...

Once I got the covers off, I noticed that the engine had a LOT of Oily buildup on it, and had at LEAST one critter condo under the shroud.  Once I started cleaning the black, nasty mess off, I realized that the clearcoat on the engine was discolored, and starting to flake off.  I don't want that in my relatively nice Broadmoor.  This pic illustrates my point.  That yellow/brown discoloration is clearcoat with what I assume is oil underneath.  Looks nasty...
My motives were not entirely vain however, I also wanted to get underneath the flywheel, and make sure there wasn't anything living there, past or present!  Finally, I wanted to totally remove the recoil starter, so I don't have to worry about vertical clearance at all.

I studied the web quite a bit, trying to figure out how to remove the post for the recoil...you can see it sticking up in this picture.  Turns out, it is an extension piece that is threaded into the crankshaft.  Those clever engineers at Briggs and Stratton figured out how to use the same crank for both recoil and electric start engines.  While I was searching, I also found a fan kit that will fill in the gaps left

Post to Hood Clearance
from removing the recoil.   Finally, since the kit didn't come with a flywheel bolt, I picked up a new one of those.  

Here is where it gets a little dicey...I KNEW the extension was threaded into the crank, but it didn't have any type of drive feature on it...in other words, there was nothing for me to grip and put any amount of torque on.  I checked with my local Fastenal store, and they happened to have 5/8-18 jam nuts, in stock!  I figured I'd use two of them tightened against each other, and spin the extension out.  I rushed home from work, excited to continue my project.

I got the first nut installed, and to my dismay, there was not enough thread cut onto the shaft for the second nut.  I dug through my toolbox for some Loctite and was only able to find the blue stuff.  I had my doubts, but applied it anyway.  I tightened the nut down against a flange then went to the house to have some dinner.  Afterward, I tried again to remove the extension.  No dice, the nut broke free...blue Loctite wasn't strong enough.  At this point, I was getting impatient, so I tried vice grips on the smooth end of the shaft.  That didn't work either...just slipped, and gouged the shaft.  Last effort for the night, I got my electric heat gun out, and got the extension hot enough to boil the penetrating oil out.  I tapped it a couple times with my screwdriver and it sounded like two pieces of metal...Could it be?  I grabbed my vice grips again, crossed my fingers, and gave them a turn.  FREEDOM!  It spun right out with very little effort.  Red Loctite was applied at the factory.  I have a love/hate relationship with that stuff...Heat always does the trick but I never seem to know when I need to apply heat.
The extension, In Place on the crank

Free from its home














I worked on getting the rest of the block cleaned up after that.  Hot water with dish soap, a couple rags, purple scubbie pad, and a stainless bristle brush did a pretty good job.  I also used a deburring brush in my drill to get into the nooks and crannies.  Cleaning round one is done.  I'll get back after it tomorrow with a fresh scrubbie pad and some lacquer thinner...that should remove the last of the grease and oil.  I'll probably have to wash with soap and water one more time, just to float the last of the clearcoat that I loosen by scrubbing away.  Prep is the key to a successful paint job, that goes double for aluminum.






Saturday, April 2, 2016

Mockups...

Short post to end the day.  Wanted to see how the engine would fit, and if it was even worth the struggle.

Its nice when the research you do before starting a project and the reality of that project when you start mesh.  This engine lines up with the mounting holes perfectly!  What I was most worried about was the grill clearance and keeping the hood unmolested.  The barrel top hood, with the deep v front is the thing I love most about this machine.  If this engine wouldn't have fit without modifiying that hood, I would have done something different.

I mentioned that it will be tight...and it is.  The gas tank straps will need some re-engineering to clear the shroud.  Also, the grill is in the standard location.  I will have to change the strap that goes across the front.  The vertical height is no longer correct, and I believe it will need to be "flattened" out a bit.  With the hood on, it looks as though the recoil assembly will be close...so I will have to buy a new fan and screen to eliminate that.  I will also need to figure out a place for a battery and electrical system.  Without a recoil, I will need to utilize the electric start on this engine.  All and all, pretty minor stuff.   I'm getting really excited about this project now!



Out with the Old

At the end of last cutting season, The old girl was really starting to struggle.  It got to where the engine would just stop...so, instead of risking a catastrophic failure, I pushed her to the barn, and used one of my other mowers (I have three total) to finish out the season.  It sat all winter that way.

April 01, 2016 I started pulling the hood and grill apart to get the old engine out.  Finished up on the morning of the second.





I took some measurements, and its gonna be TIGHT, but I think it will all look stock when done!  The new engine is physically much bigger than the old, but the mounting pattern is the same, and its an L-Head design, so overall length is pretty close.  Its much taller and wider though.  I have lots of clearance in those two dimensions, so I'm hoping that with very minor modifications, this new engine will look right at home.

Speaking of engines...




Old on the left, new on the right.  The new one is double the HP of the old one, and almost double the displacement!  I have it stripped down to the shortblock right now, correcting valve clearance, and removing mouse nests from the cooling fins.  I want new gaskets on this engine.  It had a lot of oily dirt buildup on it, and rather than install it, and clean up messes, I want it to be a nice clean install from the start.  I can't stand leaky equipment.  I'm off to order a gasket kit!

Big Engine for a Little Tractor-the beginning.

I have this 1965 Simplicity Broadmoor Rider that I picked up for 200 bucks last year.  Its an AWESOME little tractor, perfect for my little 0.25 acre yard city lot.

Its pretty great for a 50 year old machine!  Its been restored once in its life, and is in really good shape.  No rust, very minor dents, and the tires all hold air.  The paint could use some freshening up, but overall, pretty nice.


It is almost as maneuverable as a zero turn and lays stripes like you wouldn't believe. The deck is 32" wide, and has three blades!  It cuts better than anything I've ever seen, including pro grade equipment.  For real...If I wanted to, I could double cut and make a checkerboard to rival any big league baseball stadium.



However, The engine is also 50 years old.  Its a little 6 horse vertical Briggs with a pull start.  Still runs, but the more I used it, the more it started failing on me.  Would be good for a parade, but mowing my yard seems to be pushing it too hard.  I also HATED all the grass clipping that this thing shoots out all over.  I found a NOS (new, old stock) mulching kit for my deck which is awesome.  However, mulching kits need more power, and I'm already noticing a lack of that.  So began the search for a new engine.

I found a possible donor in a Simplicity 5010 on craigslist.  It didn't run, and a kid bought it to screw around with.  Tranny locked up, so he took it apart, and then lost interest.  It came with a tiller and a 12 HP engine of the type I was looking for.  I gave him 100 bucks for it, and drug it home.



This is where the purists might want to stop reading!  That 12 HP is going in my 65 Broadmoor!