OutlawDrifter
Well-known member
I figured it had to do with the brand, decided not to make it political and get put in GJ jail
Honch's Projects
- Thread starter Honch
- Start date
I figured it had to do with the brand, decided not to make it political and get put in GJ jail
I have been looking at three-point quick hitches for my tractor. A friend has the HF one and it works fine with his implements, I have read mixed reviews and my finish mower works a bit differently than many attachments because it needs to float on its own four wheels. Based on some information I read and some videos I watched I decided I was going to modify my top hook a bit differently than others had. I had some nice 1"x1.5" bar that I welded to the hook, added new mounting holes to raise the hook well above its factory location.
I went to sleep that night all fat, dumb and happy thinking job well done. The next day I was looking at my finished work and realized I had just hard pointed the upper link. Basically if I drove through a dip the front wheels and the mower would try and lift the back wheels off the ground, most likely the mower would be structurally damaged or the upper hook would disconnect. Regardless it was obvious that I had made wasn't going to work.
I found a modified hook for sale on Amazon, that is made a bit differently to fix issues different than mine with the HF quick hitch. I went ahead and purchased it and while I was looking for a different solution I came across a .pdf for the land pride quick hitch "accessories" and it explained everything in three simple pictures.
I needed a floating top link kit or a link item#2 in the last picture. This lets the finish mower float in the upper hook and the link is what picks it up not the hook.
I scrounged through some of my scrap metal and found an old mower blade to make a link out of. I decided I would make a link for just one side and have one of the pins welded to it. This will make it much simpler to connect and should still be more than strong enough for the application.
To disconnect I pull the visible safety pin in the top link and move the retaining pin over 1/4". The plate comes off and it disconnects the upper hook. I was able to lift the back wheels off the ground two feet before the floating link bottomed out in the upper hook, that should be more than enough float. The HF quick hitch was more hassle than I had planned on but still quite a bit cheaper than any other I looked at even with buying another upper hook.
I went to sleep that night all fat, dumb and happy thinking job well done. The next day I was looking at my finished work and realized I had just hard pointed the upper link. Basically if I drove through a dip the front wheels and the mower would try and lift the back wheels off the ground, most likely the mower would be structurally damaged or the upper hook would disconnect. Regardless it was obvious that I had made wasn't going to work.
I found a modified hook for sale on Amazon, that is made a bit differently to fix issues different than mine with the HF quick hitch. I went ahead and purchased it and while I was looking for a different solution I came across a .pdf for the land pride quick hitch "accessories" and it explained everything in three simple pictures.
I needed a floating top link kit or a link item#2 in the last picture. This lets the finish mower float in the upper hook and the link is what picks it up not the hook.
I scrounged through some of my scrap metal and found an old mower blade to make a link out of. I decided I would make a link for just one side and have one of the pins welded to it. This will make it much simpler to connect and should still be more than strong enough for the application.
To disconnect I pull the visible safety pin in the top link and move the retaining pin over 1/4". The plate comes off and it disconnects the upper hook. I was able to lift the back wheels off the ground two feet before the floating link bottomed out in the upper hook, that should be more than enough float. The HF quick hitch was more hassle than I had planned on but still quite a bit cheaper than any other I looked at even with buying another upper hook.
OutlawDrifter
Well-known member
Same issues with my HF quick hitch! Looks like you made a good solution.
The new hook I bought fixes clearance issues with the mount bolts, there are multiple sellers on Amazon, just search HF quick hitch and don't spend over $30.00.
Not the best picture but the new one is pinned to the old one they are the same height at the tip of the hook, the new one is just rotated slightly because of the slop in the holes between the two and the angle of the photo.
Not the best picture but the new one is pinned to the old one they are the same height at the tip of the hook, the new one is just rotated slightly because of the slop in the holes between the two and the angle of the photo.
Last year when I brought the Corvette out of hibernation, the second day I drove it to work as I was pulling into my spot it started throwing messages on the DIC the engine was running horrible and the check engine light came on. I got out of the car and opened the hood and after a quick once over I found one of the plug wires had fallen off on the coil side. I plugged it back in and everything was right again in the world.
When I got home that night I ordered plug wires and since it was at about 88K I decided to replace the 100K plugs. Then we got caught up in buying our current house very quickly and the move. For a short while I lost the plugs and plug wires I had bought and just due to higher priorities I ended up parking the Corvette for the year without getting any of this replaced.
This weekend I had some time to work on it and had a couple other things I wanted to give some attention to. When I pulled the first plug it didn't look too bad for having 90k miles on it. It was the second, third and fourth that had me wondering how this vehicle even ran. The iridium tip along with the rest of the electrode was completely worn to the ceramic.
For comparison this is what a a normal irridium plug looks like.
I also ran into some similar failures with the plug wires. I did not damage them taking them apart, the boots were holding them together.
I ended up finding a couple that were like this.
So nothing here that is probably way out of the ordinary for plugs and wires with this many miles on them along with 14 years of service. For some reason though, I kept being drawn back to my new plugs something was off and I could not put my finger on it. The plugs are AC Delco and are made for supercharged ZR1, its not uncommon to run them being a couple ranges cooler in a NA motor. But that wasn't the issue, it was the gap that just looked goofy, these plugs by default should have a .040 gap. I couldn't get a .010 feeler gauge in the gap and I noticed some marks on the side electrode which appeared that someone had tweaked them.
I didn't feel comfortable bending them back so far to gain the required gap, and I won't be able to return them almost a year later, so I guess I'm out the cost of a new set. It's probably for the better, I have seen side electrodes come off in a motor and it wasn't worth skimping on the $60 it cost for a new set.
When I got home that night I ordered plug wires and since it was at about 88K I decided to replace the 100K plugs. Then we got caught up in buying our current house very quickly and the move. For a short while I lost the plugs and plug wires I had bought and just due to higher priorities I ended up parking the Corvette for the year without getting any of this replaced.
This weekend I had some time to work on it and had a couple other things I wanted to give some attention to. When I pulled the first plug it didn't look too bad for having 90k miles on it. It was the second, third and fourth that had me wondering how this vehicle even ran. The iridium tip along with the rest of the electrode was completely worn to the ceramic.
For comparison this is what a a normal irridium plug looks like.
I also ran into some similar failures with the plug wires. I did not damage them taking them apart, the boots were holding them together.
I ended up finding a couple that were like this.
So nothing here that is probably way out of the ordinary for plugs and wires with this many miles on them along with 14 years of service. For some reason though, I kept being drawn back to my new plugs something was off and I could not put my finger on it. The plugs are AC Delco and are made for supercharged ZR1, its not uncommon to run them being a couple ranges cooler in a NA motor. But that wasn't the issue, it was the gap that just looked goofy, these plugs by default should have a .040 gap. I couldn't get a .010 feeler gauge in the gap and I noticed some marks on the side electrode which appeared that someone had tweaked them.
I didn't feel comfortable bending them back so far to gain the required gap, and I won't be able to return them almost a year later, so I guess I'm out the cost of a new set. It's probably for the better, I have seen side electrodes come off in a motor and it wasn't worth skimping on the $60 it cost for a new set.
I had time to install the plugs I ordered in the Corvette. I don't know it could be just totally psychological, but the throttle response seems so much better, and the **** dyno has it at another 25 hp. Seriously though it probably does run a bit better, it's funny how something like that will degrade over time and it isn't that noticeable until corrected. Since the plugs were in such poor condition, I decided to replace them in the ATS, the mileage on both cars is almost the same, strangely though they were in great physical condition.
I mentioned last week in my Build Thread that I had some parts come in for my dirt sifter project. I need a lot of clean dirt for some projects around the house and last fall I got nine triaxle loads dropped off, most of which is 50/50 mix of dirt and crushed white rock. Getting clean fill dirt has been fairly difficult for me, there is no building happening nearby so I have to settle for what I can get. Fortunately, the nine loads I got are full of rock I can use and not just a bunch of trash. A few weeks ago I decided to build a sifter with a shaker table with some of the scrap metal I have. When It's all said and done Ill have probably around $600 invested, and I hope to recover a few hundred dollars in rock for the side of the shop along with the fill dirt for my yard. When I am done using it I should be able to sell it for at least what I have invested.
I purchased a 7hp engine along with a half shaft, pillow blocks and some pulleys.
This weekend I built the shaker table and attached some 3/4" expanded metal. I plan to put a hoop bar over the top and attach a couple horse stall mats to push the material against the expanded mesh, I'll probably test it first though.
I found some old Rancho shocks that were on my buddies truck and sleeved them with some pipe that fit over the old front springs from my truck. This is how Ill mount them under the shaker deck. The other end Ill hinge with some chain.
While I was cleaning up the metal I tried a Lenox metal cutoff wheel, maybe other people have used these before, I haven't. This is a wheel that is made of metal with a diamond cutting surface. I wasn't overly optimistic that this would work very well but have been very impressed with it the last few weeks I have been using it.
To clean up the metal I used it to trim down areas that I would normally just grind down, using this wheel to trim off the excess first is so much faster, and you can literally control it to the point of shaving the metal off. The difference between both of these photos is literally about 20 seconds.
I definitely will buy more of these cutoff wheels.
I mentioned last week in my Build Thread that I had some parts come in for my dirt sifter project. I need a lot of clean dirt for some projects around the house and last fall I got nine triaxle loads dropped off, most of which is 50/50 mix of dirt and crushed white rock. Getting clean fill dirt has been fairly difficult for me, there is no building happening nearby so I have to settle for what I can get. Fortunately, the nine loads I got are full of rock I can use and not just a bunch of trash. A few weeks ago I decided to build a sifter with a shaker table with some of the scrap metal I have. When It's all said and done Ill have probably around $600 invested, and I hope to recover a few hundred dollars in rock for the side of the shop along with the fill dirt for my yard. When I am done using it I should be able to sell it for at least what I have invested.
I purchased a 7hp engine along with a half shaft, pillow blocks and some pulleys.
This weekend I built the shaker table and attached some 3/4" expanded metal. I plan to put a hoop bar over the top and attach a couple horse stall mats to push the material against the expanded mesh, I'll probably test it first though.
I found some old Rancho shocks that were on my buddies truck and sleeved them with some pipe that fit over the old front springs from my truck. This is how Ill mount them under the shaker deck. The other end Ill hinge with some chain.
While I was cleaning up the metal I tried a Lenox metal cutoff wheel, maybe other people have used these before, I haven't. This is a wheel that is made of metal with a diamond cutting surface. I wasn't overly optimistic that this would work very well but have been very impressed with it the last few weeks I have been using it.
To clean up the metal I used it to trim down areas that I would normally just grind down, using this wheel to trim off the excess first is so much faster, and you can literally control it to the point of shaving the metal off. The difference between both of these photos is literally about 20 seconds.
I definitely will buy more of these cutoff wheels.
Monza Harry
Well-known member
There is a way too small commercially available unit. I have a screen I built years ago that I used for my compost over my wheel barrow. just shock this by hand. I to have a bigger job that needs this done as well. So my plan is similar to the commercially available unit, in that I want to find a good cement mixer and cut windows for the screens, to separate the soil [easier for me to get rid of than mixed trash, and as noted stone is easily used/gotten rid of once separated. Obviously your design is aimed at "Real" power equipment [Bobcat, Front end Loader etc.] but perhaps this is a seedling of an idea you maybe able to grow into something useful to your situation? Harry
Mine is flat and 8' because the used metal I bought was welded in 8' frames, and the sheets were 8'. its literally going to be made the way it is because I am repurposing most everything. My bucket is 6' and I think most skid steers use 6-7' buckets. It being one-foot wider won't hurt a thing and it would have been more work than it was worth to make it narrower.
Finished it will be similar to this type:
The rotary one you linked probably is a more efficient design but is either loaded with a shovel or a belt and would probably be a lot more work to build. Thank you for the information though, I had no idea that they were available non commercially like that.
This obviously is one of those things a normal homeowner may need once and never again, so my plan is to keep and use it till I have enough fill dirt for my projects. Then I can most likely sell it and because the metal for the frame was nearly free, I may even make some money from it. Even if I don't it's been a fun project so far.
Quick update:
Last weekend I was able to spend a little time welding the last of the two sides together. I have been spending a lot of time with cleaning up old welds and fittings on the reclaimed metal, it makes the progress very slow.
My steel tables have feet that are easily adjustable I believe nearly six inches. It makes lining them up with my small welding table very easy and I can compensate for the pitch in the floor.
Today I started seeing some real progress as I was able to start welding the base frame together. I realized I have never really built something this large or heavy from scratch and it was fun trying to use the little welding table to put it together. I was able to make the corners much more square than I would have been able to on the floor.
This puts the basic frame into perspective with the tractor.
I'm a little concerned with some of my dimensions. I wanted the base frame to be high enough that I could scoop dirt out of the back without the loader hitting the sifter. The problem is the shaker deck needs to be around 30° which puts the back of it 8' in the air. My bucket with it partially tilted down to dump dirt is 7"4" so I either need to make the deck with less slope or make the frame shorter.
Since adjusting the height of the deck is going to be much easier than making the frame shorter, I will see how it works with more of 25° angle first. If it doesn't, I'll have to shorten the frame to raise the angle. I think it will work but just take longer tor the material to move across the screen.
Last weekend I was able to spend a little time welding the last of the two sides together. I have been spending a lot of time with cleaning up old welds and fittings on the reclaimed metal, it makes the progress very slow.
My steel tables have feet that are easily adjustable I believe nearly six inches. It makes lining them up with my small welding table very easy and I can compensate for the pitch in the floor.
Today I started seeing some real progress as I was able to start welding the base frame together. I realized I have never really built something this large or heavy from scratch and it was fun trying to use the little welding table to put it together. I was able to make the corners much more square than I would have been able to on the floor.
This puts the basic frame into perspective with the tractor.
I'm a little concerned with some of my dimensions. I wanted the base frame to be high enough that I could scoop dirt out of the back without the loader hitting the sifter. The problem is the shaker deck needs to be around 30° which puts the back of it 8' in the air. My bucket with it partially tilted down to dump dirt is 7"4" so I either need to make the deck with less slope or make the frame shorter.
Since adjusting the height of the deck is going to be much easier than making the frame shorter, I will see how it works with more of 25° angle first. If it doesn't, I'll have to shorten the frame to raise the angle. I think it will work but just take longer tor the material to move across the screen.
Garage Junkie
Well-known member
You'll be fine adjusting the deck down. There is no perfect angle- it really depends on the material you are running, the throughput you want, and how efficient you want each separation pass to be. If you have some heavy clay in there, a lower angle may be better to bust up the clods and give it time to break up and fall through.
Garage Junkie
Well-known member
Mounting a trailer tongue jack on two of the 4 legs might make it easier to level and adjust the angle once you are up and running.
Agreed, most of the soil around here is heavy with clay so a little be longer dwell time probably will work better anyway..
I have been looking at them for a few weeks, unfortunately the side crank ones are almost double the cost of the top crank jacks. Ill try it out before I spend the money on them.
Today I got the base squared up, a beam welded across the top center and another prepped for the front. The drastic change was getting the deck which weighs probably 300lbs on top of the base. Now I can weld some chain hinge across the front and start working on the spring placement.
I made about four welds like this before I realized I didn't have my gas turned on, I decided that was a good point to call it a day.
I had some good progress on the dirt sifter today but didn't take a lot of pictures. Earlier this week I ordered a couple of side crank trailer jacks to make the deck adjustable.
I positioned them so the deck was at its lowest point 7'4", and about 18° this is about as high as I can set it and have my tractor dump a bucket load over the screen. I mounted the jacks upside down with the springs welded to the jack pads. I attached the top of the springs with old shock absorber mounts. This will allow the deck to be raised as high as 8'11" around 28°, and the jacks are toolless removable to store the deck flat. This is how I set the angles on the jacks when I mounted them.
Here is the sifter with the deck set to full height. This configuration won't work for me but would be within the lift capacity of a commercial skid steer. I was going to need some mount that raised the springs about 9" and so the jacks fit the bill for just that alone, having it adjustable is just a side benefit.
Before I finished up tonight I decided to try and lift the sifter, its critical that I can move it around or even load it on a trailer. I still have probably around 250lb of weight to add to it, even so the tractor lifted it to its full height with no struggle at all. Im hopeful that this will actually work according to plan
I positioned them so the deck was at its lowest point 7'4", and about 18° this is about as high as I can set it and have my tractor dump a bucket load over the screen. I mounted the jacks upside down with the springs welded to the jack pads. I attached the top of the springs with old shock absorber mounts. This will allow the deck to be raised as high as 8'11" around 28°, and the jacks are toolless removable to store the deck flat. This is how I set the angles on the jacks when I mounted them.
Here is the sifter with the deck set to full height. This configuration won't work for me but would be within the lift capacity of a commercial skid steer. I was going to need some mount that raised the springs about 9" and so the jacks fit the bill for just that alone, having it adjustable is just a side benefit.
Before I finished up tonight I decided to try and lift the sifter, its critical that I can move it around or even load it on a trailer. I still have probably around 250lb of weight to add to it, even so the tractor lifted it to its full height with no struggle at all. Im hopeful that this will actually work according to plan
This weekend I was only in the shop Saturday, and I only worked on the sifter for about six hours. Before I got much farther on it I wanted to come up with a way to move it around with the bucket. It would be a total pain to swap out the bucket with forks to move it around. When I helped my buddy fab the bumpers for his truck he gave me the tow hooks that were attached to the factory bumper. I cut the mounting brackets off them and trimmed down on side because my bucket would not rotate far enough to fit in the narrow opening.
I also added a 2' long bars at 45 degrees to the hooks to reinforce the lift point.
I added a cross bar 1' off the ground across the front to stiffen the frame and painted everything black.
Later that afternoon my buddy stopped by and helped me move the two .188" sheets of aluminum so I could cut them to length. After I clean the glue off them I will DA them and attach them around the base. This will add around 200lbs they are very heavy. this is the one that will span 8' across the front.
Here I am testing the lift again, this time though with the newly added lift hooks and a sheet of the 2024 .188" clamped across the front. The balance is way off right now but after its complete, I have a plan if necessary for compensating. The important part is I can easily move it with the bucket and I can actually see the end of the project.
I also added a 2' long bars at 45 degrees to the hooks to reinforce the lift point.
I added a cross bar 1' off the ground across the front to stiffen the frame and painted everything black.
Later that afternoon my buddy stopped by and helped me move the two .188" sheets of aluminum so I could cut them to length. After I clean the glue off them I will DA them and attach them around the base. This will add around 200lbs they are very heavy. this is the one that will span 8' across the front.
Here I am testing the lift again, this time though with the newly added lift hooks and a sheet of the 2024 .188" clamped across the front. The balance is way off right now but after its complete, I have a plan if necessary for compensating. The important part is I can easily move it with the bucket and I can actually see the end of the project.
I haven't updated this in a month, because I was traveling and I ran into a problem with how the sifter was functioning.
Four weeks ago I got the motor mounted and started working on the pulley arrangement.
I initially was going to make provisions for the belt to be disengaged, after trying it out I decided it wasn't necessary. At an idle the shake is so minimal there is no need to disengage the belt. Once I had the counterweight up and running, I decided to check out how well it worked.
After seeing the results, I was deciding if the motor would make a nice basis for a drift trike. I dont think I have been that disappointed with something I have built in a long time. You can see the large chunks of white rock on the right of the bar and the problem of having very large pieces still mixed into the "topsoil" on the left. I also was having a hard time dumping on the deck the machine was just too tall.
Obviously the 3/4" raised expanded metal was letting too much through. My only other choice was to buy two more sheets and stagger them or buy some 1/2" expanded sheets. The concern I had with the latter is the 1/2" is flat and I was worried about the material just sliding off without sifting any of the soil out, it was a $250 gamble.
After making the frame one foot shorter and playing with the orientation of the sheets, it worked better than I could have hoped. There are multiple piles in the picture based on some experimentation with the new sheets the last being the pile closest to the tractor with next to no contaminants.
With that sorted out I added a lever arm to the upper frame to hold the sifter level when moving it with the bucket.
That brings me up to yesterday, I started finishing up the aluminum sheets that I was going to use to close in the frame. They had #11 holes with countersinks that I welded closed and then hit the entire panel with 80grit.
After much measuring and cutting I finally got the first sheet in place and mounted. It really adds some stiffness and weight to the lower frame and makes the deck shake versus the whole machine. Now I just need to do the same to the two side plates, get them mounted and trim the new expanded metal sheets.
Almost there.....
Four weeks ago I got the motor mounted and started working on the pulley arrangement.
I initially was going to make provisions for the belt to be disengaged, after trying it out I decided it wasn't necessary. At an idle the shake is so minimal there is no need to disengage the belt. Once I had the counterweight up and running, I decided to check out how well it worked.
After seeing the results, I was deciding if the motor would make a nice basis for a drift trike. I dont think I have been that disappointed with something I have built in a long time. You can see the large chunks of white rock on the right of the bar and the problem of having very large pieces still mixed into the "topsoil" on the left. I also was having a hard time dumping on the deck the machine was just too tall.
Obviously the 3/4" raised expanded metal was letting too much through. My only other choice was to buy two more sheets and stagger them or buy some 1/2" expanded sheets. The concern I had with the latter is the 1/2" is flat and I was worried about the material just sliding off without sifting any of the soil out, it was a $250 gamble.
After making the frame one foot shorter and playing with the orientation of the sheets, it worked better than I could have hoped. There are multiple piles in the picture based on some experimentation with the new sheets the last being the pile closest to the tractor with next to no contaminants.
With that sorted out I added a lever arm to the upper frame to hold the sifter level when moving it with the bucket.
That brings me up to yesterday, I started finishing up the aluminum sheets that I was going to use to close in the frame. They had #11 holes with countersinks that I welded closed and then hit the entire panel with 80grit.
After much measuring and cutting I finally got the first sheet in place and mounted. It really adds some stiffness and weight to the lower frame and makes the deck shake versus the whole machine. Now I just need to do the same to the two side plates, get them mounted and trim the new expanded metal sheets.
Almost there.....
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I did a couple small projects during the week. I like to think they were small but sometimes that isn't always the case. I bought some black door handles for my truck and proceeded to change them out. It's really relatively simple, remove a screw, remove the handle and replace. It should take maybe 30 minutes tops. That is until I removed the first of the back door handles and realized they were installed differently. There is basically a screw that works like a set screw, and you don't remove it all the way. I found that out as the retaining nut fell into the bottom of the door and I spent the next 45 minutes retrieving it.
Now I just need to decide what I want to do with the chrome door moldings.
My second small project was on the Corvette. I have refinished the factory steering wheel twice and it was starting to look nasty again and I hate the feel of a rough steering wheel. Over the last couple of years the prices on aftermarket / replacement wheels have come down quite a bit so I decided to get one.
I was concerned about how slippery the carbon fiber would be, but it is easily gripped the only thing that is a bit strange for me is the flat bottom of the wheel, which I love for getting in and out of the car. It's just a little weird when making big turns during parking lot type driving versus a round steering wheel.
Old wheel.
New wheel.
Lastly I finished up the dirt sifter and in doing so immediately started the project I built it for, fixing the ruts in my lawn. Saturday I got the sides cleaned, welded, sanded and installed. The tractor can still lift it so I can move it where I need it and put it on my trailer if necessary.
Here is a short video of it in action, this was the third bucket of material I ran through it.
I was ending up with some fairly large chunks of clay, so my buddy got my rototiller out and we spread out some of the material and tilled it before I ran it through the sifter, this made a huge difference.
After some experimenting and about 15 buckets of material through the sifter I ended up with seven buckets of nice dirt.
This stuff is extremely dense and after I put it down, I drove over it numerous times with the tractor and had next to no displacement. I don't know if I ever explained what I really wanted the dirt for. My house has geothermal heating which was put in a few years ago. When they installed the loop, it created ruts in the yard that are 4-6" deep. They look horrible and are a pain in the *** when you are mowing. The dirt is to fill in the ruts firstly and if I have any leftover, I'll start filling in low spots and other rough areas.
This is where I started filling in some of the rutted area if you look at where the dirt starts you can see the dark green rut running off to the right, there is the other side of the loop about five feet beyond that rut. Its less visible in this picture, but either of them are deep enough to lift you out of the seat of the mower when you drive over them.
Now I need to figure out what kind of grass this is, I'm not really a lawn guy and I have no idea what seed to buy.
Now I just need to decide what I want to do with the chrome door moldings.
My second small project was on the Corvette. I have refinished the factory steering wheel twice and it was starting to look nasty again and I hate the feel of a rough steering wheel. Over the last couple of years the prices on aftermarket / replacement wheels have come down quite a bit so I decided to get one.
I was concerned about how slippery the carbon fiber would be, but it is easily gripped the only thing that is a bit strange for me is the flat bottom of the wheel, which I love for getting in and out of the car. It's just a little weird when making big turns during parking lot type driving versus a round steering wheel.
Old wheel.
New wheel.
Lastly I finished up the dirt sifter and in doing so immediately started the project I built it for, fixing the ruts in my lawn. Saturday I got the sides cleaned, welded, sanded and installed. The tractor can still lift it so I can move it where I need it and put it on my trailer if necessary.
Here is a short video of it in action, this was the third bucket of material I ran through it.
I was ending up with some fairly large chunks of clay, so my buddy got my rototiller out and we spread out some of the material and tilled it before I ran it through the sifter, this made a huge difference.
After some experimenting and about 15 buckets of material through the sifter I ended up with seven buckets of nice dirt.
This stuff is extremely dense and after I put it down, I drove over it numerous times with the tractor and had next to no displacement. I don't know if I ever explained what I really wanted the dirt for. My house has geothermal heating which was put in a few years ago. When they installed the loop, it created ruts in the yard that are 4-6" deep. They look horrible and are a pain in the *** when you are mowing. The dirt is to fill in the ruts firstly and if I have any leftover, I'll start filling in low spots and other rough areas.
This is where I started filling in some of the rutted area if you look at where the dirt starts you can see the dark green rut running off to the right, there is the other side of the loop about five feet beyond that rut. Its less visible in this picture, but either of them are deep enough to lift you out of the seat of the mower when you drive over them.
Now I need to figure out what kind of grass this is, I'm not really a lawn guy and I have no idea what seed to buy.
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OutlawDrifter
Well-known member
Once you start the change from chrome to black, its hard to stop...door handles, impact strip, mirror caps, emblems, etc etc etc!
Looks like the sifter is working quite well! Nice work!
At some point I need to get my factory wheel recovered on my Z28. Is it just poor materials, or that many miles and sun exposure killing your wheel?
Also noticed the "radar" detector...you know, if you drive close to the speed limit you wouldn't need that
Looks like the sifter is working quite well! Nice work!
At some point I need to get my factory wheel recovered on my Z28. Is it just poor materials, or that many miles and sun exposure killing your wheel?
Also noticed the "radar" detector...you know, if you drive close to the speed limit you wouldn't need that
Bob Heine
ALLIANCE MEMBER
Marc, if you drive a Corvette close to the speed limit, things break (like the Corvette part of my heart).
I sent a video to the contractor that gave me the dirt, our last conversation was I couldn't take any more dirt that wasn't clean. I wanted him to know I was open to more of the type he gave me. He responded back asking about the sifter and what I had planned for it. I hope that at the point I have all the low spots filled in my lawn I can sell it.Once you start the change from chrome to black, its hard to stop...door handles, impact strip, mirror caps, emblems, etc etc etc!
Looks like the sifter is working quite well! Nice work!
At some point I need to get my factory wheel recovered on my Z28. Is it just poor materials, or that many miles and sun exposure killing your wheel?
Also noticed the "radar" detector...you know, if you drive close to the speed limit you wouldn't need that
I believe the wheel on the Corvette is made with leather that isn't very durable. Every time anything brushed against it, it would gouge the surface, even just sliding my jeans against it. These were taken about a year after the first time I refinished it. I would fill all the gouges in with super glue and sand it smooth, then repaint it.
This is what it looked like two years ago when I refinished it the last time.
My truck is seven years old and there isnt a mark on the steering wheel, same with the wife's ATS and its nine years old. Not really sure what it is with this one, I just know I hated how it looked and how it felt with all the nicks and gouges in it.
As far as the radar detector it's more a reminder to not speed than an allowance to do so. In the 11 years I have owned the car I was pulled over once near Chadron Nebraska for doing 61 in a 55, I had just passed a car and its unlikely he actually got a speed reading on me. Corvettes are very hard to get a return on from the front, especially ones from states that don't require front plates.
Bob Heine
ALLIANCE MEMBER
@Honch, there's something about the steering wheel covers on C4 and newer Corvettes. The '87 I bought in '91 had a cover that was twisted. I thought about having it re-covered but it was cheaper to replace it. Since the car came wit wood dash panels, I bought a wood steering wheel. They didn't put airbags in until 1990. At some point an owner had a 1-DIN Sony stereo installed along with a .5-DIN Sony equalizer. When it made smoke I installed a 1.5-DIN Pioneer Stereo (and 12-CD changer).
Friday night after work I ran a few buckets through the sifter, when I ended the night I looked down and saw the tractor was at 50 hours and ready for its first big service.
I have been lubing the loader every 10 hours as recommended, it literally only takes about 5 minutes to hit the 16 or so grease zerks. For the 50 hour the loader gets lubed, the three point arms, the front axle mounts, steering linkage and pedal linkage. The engine oil and filter are changed, the oil pan has two drain plugs because its split where the front drive shaft runs through the center. The last thing was to change the filter for the HST. Its a bit strange that the transmission is basically the reservoir for the hydraulic system but they only call out changing the HST filter and not the hydraulic filter.
Kubota is also very proud of the filters and fluids, this picture would cost over $200 to duplicate, and that's with the local dealer being cheaper than most places I found the items online.
Saturday I had to go into work, so that evening I did the 50 hour service. I also fabbed up a very simple bucket leveler using some conduit beam clamps. Now I can set my bucket level to the ground fairly easily. I tried for weeks to do this with other visual indicators but had no luck, this makes it so much easier to fill the bucket.
With all that done Sunday I was able to run some more dirt through the sifter. I'm not quite half way through the pile and I already have enough rock to cover an area larger than my equipment trailer. This is after I had cleared in front of the machine multiple times.
I have been able to fill in the majority of one half the geothermal loop with the top soil I have sifted off.
I also put together a very rudimentary float that is 8' x 3.5', this section was already welded together and is from the metal I used to build the sifter. I have a 515lb barrel full of degreaser that I am going to strap to it for weight. I used the weight of the tractor to compact the soil then will pull this float over it.
This coming weekend I am looking at putting together a subsoiler/ripper, something similar to this.
I'm just not going to pay $1,200 for the Kubota one, so I'll see what I can do to piece one together. I need it to break up the remaining dirt I have after driving over it dozens of times. I am having a difficult time breaking it up with the bucket and the tiller.
I have been lubing the loader every 10 hours as recommended, it literally only takes about 5 minutes to hit the 16 or so grease zerks. For the 50 hour the loader gets lubed, the three point arms, the front axle mounts, steering linkage and pedal linkage. The engine oil and filter are changed, the oil pan has two drain plugs because its split where the front drive shaft runs through the center. The last thing was to change the filter for the HST. Its a bit strange that the transmission is basically the reservoir for the hydraulic system but they only call out changing the HST filter and not the hydraulic filter.
Kubota is also very proud of the filters and fluids, this picture would cost over $200 to duplicate, and that's with the local dealer being cheaper than most places I found the items online.
Saturday I had to go into work, so that evening I did the 50 hour service. I also fabbed up a very simple bucket leveler using some conduit beam clamps. Now I can set my bucket level to the ground fairly easily. I tried for weeks to do this with other visual indicators but had no luck, this makes it so much easier to fill the bucket.
With all that done Sunday I was able to run some more dirt through the sifter. I'm not quite half way through the pile and I already have enough rock to cover an area larger than my equipment trailer. This is after I had cleared in front of the machine multiple times.
I have been able to fill in the majority of one half the geothermal loop with the top soil I have sifted off.
I also put together a very rudimentary float that is 8' x 3.5', this section was already welded together and is from the metal I used to build the sifter. I have a 515lb barrel full of degreaser that I am going to strap to it for weight. I used the weight of the tractor to compact the soil then will pull this float over it.
This coming weekend I am looking at putting together a subsoiler/ripper, something similar to this.
I'm just not going to pay $1,200 for the Kubota one, so I'll see what I can do to piece one together. I need it to break up the remaining dirt I have after driving over it dozens of times. I am having a difficult time breaking it up with the bucket and the tiller.
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OutlawDrifter
Well-known member
King Kutter makes a Middle Buster that is $225-$275ish on the open market, might give that a look. For busting up dirt it gets the job done.
I'm just shy of my 50 hour service on my tractor as well, and I've had it for 3 years, haha! Mine requires all of the hydro/trans oil swapped and changing the oil in the front axle as well.
I'm just shy of my 50 hour service on my tractor as well, and I've had it for 3 years, haha! Mine requires all of the hydro/trans oil swapped and changing the oil in the front axle as well.
Thanks for the information, I was looking at those when I was trying to decide what I wanted to do. I really like the furrower it has versus just a plain ripper.
Last night I ended up ordering a tow hitch drawbar adapter along with a ripper mounted on a hitch.
I have no illusion that this will even remotely work as well as a Landpride subsoiler or even the King Kutter but for what I need to do I think it will be fine. If I were going through undisturbed soil versus these piles that were made less than a year ago I would probably get something more substantial. Plus I have other plans for the drawbar adapter, I have been watching CL for used jobsite boxes. I would like to mount one to it and use it for ballast/toolbox.
The weak point will probably be the ripper and I have some steel I can either use to reinforce this with or make a new ripper arm from. Both items were less than $60 each so I'm not out much if I need to go plan B. They also sell the furrower blade for around $50 online.
Last night I ended up ordering a tow hitch drawbar adapter along with a ripper mounted on a hitch.
I have no illusion that this will even remotely work as well as a Landpride subsoiler or even the King Kutter but for what I need to do I think it will be fine. If I were going through undisturbed soil versus these piles that were made less than a year ago I would probably get something more substantial. Plus I have other plans for the drawbar adapter, I have been watching CL for used jobsite boxes. I would like to mount one to it and use it for ballast/toolbox.
The weak point will probably be the ripper and I have some steel I can either use to reinforce this with or make a new ripper arm from. Both items were less than $60 each so I'm not out much if I need to go plan B. They also sell the furrower blade for around $50 online.
Beautiful morning, the temp was 81° and low humidity.
I was on my second pass through the dirt pile at a speed that would make it hard to tell I was even moving, when the tractor started moving with no drag. I looked back and could see the ripper was bent, even though I had been going straight. I drove back to the shop to survey the damage.
I took everything back of the tractor and spent about 10 minutes deciding how to reinforce everything and then decided that it was just going to be a forever project if I tried to make it work. The material everything was made of was just thin and cheap. I should have listened to my gut when I bought this **** but I thought it would save me some time and possibly some cash for small amount of work I needed it for.
Instead, I spent the day fabbing up new pieces from material at least twice as thick. The first thing I put together was the drawbar adapter.
The receiver is twice as thick and its four times as long, it also fits into the upper hook much better than the one I ordered. I was so focused on trying to get this done today I didn't really take any in progress pictures. With the drawbar adapter finished I moved on to the ripper. I made the ripper itself using an entire half inch plate I had this size, I think it will be a bit harder to bend and I don't have to cut it.
I also made the hitch about 18" long so the leverage of the ripper isn't focused on the opening of the receiver. On top of the ripper or now rudder, I put a 2" tube and my buddy donated about 700lb of weights to the project.
When I am done using it to turn up the hardpacked piles, I can unbolt the ripper and leave everything else on the tractor for ballast. The drawbar and ripper together weigh easily 120lbs, the weights on it now total 610lbs. Along with the beet juice in both back tires and the quick hitch adapter it brings the total added ballast to over 1,400lbs.
It was too late for me to try this out when I finished tonight so hopefully tomorrow is another 81° day with low humidity.....
I was on my second pass through the dirt pile at a speed that would make it hard to tell I was even moving, when the tractor started moving with no drag. I looked back and could see the ripper was bent, even though I had been going straight. I drove back to the shop to survey the damage.
I took everything back of the tractor and spent about 10 minutes deciding how to reinforce everything and then decided that it was just going to be a forever project if I tried to make it work. The material everything was made of was just thin and cheap. I should have listened to my gut when I bought this **** but I thought it would save me some time and possibly some cash for small amount of work I needed it for.
Instead, I spent the day fabbing up new pieces from material at least twice as thick. The first thing I put together was the drawbar adapter.
The receiver is twice as thick and its four times as long, it also fits into the upper hook much better than the one I ordered. I was so focused on trying to get this done today I didn't really take any in progress pictures. With the drawbar adapter finished I moved on to the ripper. I made the ripper itself using an entire half inch plate I had this size, I think it will be a bit harder to bend and I don't have to cut it.
I also made the hitch about 18" long so the leverage of the ripper isn't focused on the opening of the receiver. On top of the ripper or now rudder, I put a 2" tube and my buddy donated about 700lb of weights to the project.
When I am done using it to turn up the hardpacked piles, I can unbolt the ripper and leave everything else on the tractor for ballast. The drawbar and ripper together weigh easily 120lbs, the weights on it now total 610lbs. Along with the beet juice in both back tires and the quick hitch adapter it brings the total added ballast to over 1,400lbs.
It was too late for me to try this out when I finished tonight so hopefully tomorrow is another 81° day with low humidity.....
Sunday was a beautiful day just hotter and more humid. The best part was the ripper performed flawlessly. I made about 12 passes through the dirt pile at about 3 times the speed and it pulled out big chunks of concrete and 2x4s with no problem. I even made a turn just to see if it would.
I did have to make one modification, the schedule 30 structural pipe I used to hold the weights on broke right above my weld. To keep going I used a piece of 1.25" square bar I had and hammered a piece of PVC over it to take the OD to 2.0". This keeps the weights from sliding and hammering against it, I also took about half the weight off, the stack being shorter will help as well. Ill probably weld some hangers on the drawbar adapter at some point but this works for now.
Some of the hidden gifts the ripper pulled out.
Today I ran the tiller though the entire pile breaking up all the clay clods the ripper pulled up and I ran about 25 buckets through the sifter.
By the end of the day, I had most of the side of the shop covered with rock.
This was taken last fall when they dropped off the seven of the nine triaxle loads.
This is what it looks like now.
I added quite a bit more to the areas I had already filled. I took the mower out and ran over the areas I was filling in and found that I had taken most of the big dip out but created small dips on each side. I needed more dirt over a wider area.
Since my buddy donated 700lb of weights and two 40lb wheel wights, I decided to use some of them instead of trying to strap the barrel to the float. I spent about 30 minutes adding some mounts to the float and put 300lbs on it to drag over the filled areas.
I figure I have two days of dirt/rock still to process. I have enough to fill the remaining ruts, but I need to reclaim the lawn where the dirt was dropped off, so I'll have to process all of it.
I did have to make one modification, the schedule 30 structural pipe I used to hold the weights on broke right above my weld. To keep going I used a piece of 1.25" square bar I had and hammered a piece of PVC over it to take the OD to 2.0". This keeps the weights from sliding and hammering against it, I also took about half the weight off, the stack being shorter will help as well. Ill probably weld some hangers on the drawbar adapter at some point but this works for now.
Some of the hidden gifts the ripper pulled out.
Today I ran the tiller though the entire pile breaking up all the clay clods the ripper pulled up and I ran about 25 buckets through the sifter.
By the end of the day, I had most of the side of the shop covered with rock.
This was taken last fall when they dropped off the seven of the nine triaxle loads.
This is what it looks like now.
I added quite a bit more to the areas I had already filled. I took the mower out and ran over the areas I was filling in and found that I had taken most of the big dip out but created small dips on each side. I needed more dirt over a wider area.
Since my buddy donated 700lb of weights and two 40lb wheel wights, I decided to use some of them instead of trying to strap the barrel to the float. I spent about 30 minutes adding some mounts to the float and put 300lbs on it to drag over the filled areas.
I figure I have two days of dirt/rock still to process. I have enough to fill the remaining ruts, but I need to reclaim the lawn where the dirt was dropped off, so I'll have to process all of it.
Over the last three weekends I spent most of my time running dirt through the sifter. Yesterday I ran what I believe to be the last bucket, Some of the last loads I ran through it had a lot of clay in them so I may run some of them back through but for the most part the pile is gone and I have started filling the land back in where it was located. This area had a valley in it for water runoff that matches both my neighbors land, so I dont have much more to fill in.
The big pile of dirt is what I have left from sifting after filling in most of the area above and the geothermal lines. I plan to use it to fill in some low areas in the front yard next spring.
I'm really happy about the amount of both dirt and rock I have now. All the rock you can see in this picture is from the pile, its 60' long about 20' wide and at least 5" deep. There is still a lot of clay pebbles in it, so now I need some rain to clean it all off and wash some of the clay down in it which will help stabilize it.
I did have a failure last weekend with the sifter, to that point it had run flawlessly for probably 25 hours. The chain hinge I had holding the deck near the counterbalance failed. It wasn't until I tried to fix it that I realized how much the tensioner on the belt was leveraging the deck on the chain. The chain literally pulled a section out of the tube I had welded it to.
To fix it I welded a thick piece of angle iron over the damaged tube. I bought some 3/8" chain and welded two links separately to spread out the load.
The only way I can see to eliminate the load from the belt would be to put the tensioner at the top or bottom of the belt run. There isn't any room to put it at the top and if I put it at the bottom I would have next to no belt wrap on the engine pulley.
Two weeks ago the airport had another equipment auction. It was a virtual / live auction which puts the virtual people at a disadvantage. You basically get to enter your max number virtually but as soon as the live auction starts you are locked out from bidding. The live bidders were apparently suffering from some auction fever because prices got crazy on a lot of things. For example the auction a year ago I bought two flam lockers big enough to hold 55 gallon drums, one for $22.00 the other for $28.00. This auction the two flam lockers less than half the size went for $1000.00 these are 30+ year old cabinets with broken auto closers.
Of the 24 lots I bid on, I won one lot for some planning boards for $40.00. There is a lot of good metal to salvage from them. The closest one has a 3'x4'x3/16" plate on the bottom, plus all the casters and locks.
The other two have 180 slots made of 1/8" steel that are 7" wide and 4' long that will make good material to cap tubes etc.
While I was bringing them home, I stopped at HF to buy a tarp to cover the dirt I'm saving till next spring. Right next to the tarps is the clearance rack and I honestly walked past without looking at it, but one of the boxes caught my eye and you know how that story ends.
I opened the box that had been taped closed at least five different times, fully expecting a used tool or one of the dies to be missing and was pleasantly surprised to see it had never been used. The problem was the poorly designed ring that holds the dies on the jack was too big and someone had tried to force the die on the jack.
I pulled it off with some pliers and found a nice O-ring that will hold the dies on just fine. To this point Not something I really needed but was too good of a deal to pass up.
The big pile of dirt is what I have left from sifting after filling in most of the area above and the geothermal lines. I plan to use it to fill in some low areas in the front yard next spring.
I'm really happy about the amount of both dirt and rock I have now. All the rock you can see in this picture is from the pile, its 60' long about 20' wide and at least 5" deep. There is still a lot of clay pebbles in it, so now I need some rain to clean it all off and wash some of the clay down in it which will help stabilize it.
I did have a failure last weekend with the sifter, to that point it had run flawlessly for probably 25 hours. The chain hinge I had holding the deck near the counterbalance failed. It wasn't until I tried to fix it that I realized how much the tensioner on the belt was leveraging the deck on the chain. The chain literally pulled a section out of the tube I had welded it to.
To fix it I welded a thick piece of angle iron over the damaged tube. I bought some 3/8" chain and welded two links separately to spread out the load.
The only way I can see to eliminate the load from the belt would be to put the tensioner at the top or bottom of the belt run. There isn't any room to put it at the top and if I put it at the bottom I would have next to no belt wrap on the engine pulley.
Two weeks ago the airport had another equipment auction. It was a virtual / live auction which puts the virtual people at a disadvantage. You basically get to enter your max number virtually but as soon as the live auction starts you are locked out from bidding. The live bidders were apparently suffering from some auction fever because prices got crazy on a lot of things. For example the auction a year ago I bought two flam lockers big enough to hold 55 gallon drums, one for $22.00 the other for $28.00. This auction the two flam lockers less than half the size went for $1000.00 these are 30+ year old cabinets with broken auto closers.
Of the 24 lots I bid on, I won one lot for some planning boards for $40.00. There is a lot of good metal to salvage from them. The closest one has a 3'x4'x3/16" plate on the bottom, plus all the casters and locks.
The other two have 180 slots made of 1/8" steel that are 7" wide and 4' long that will make good material to cap tubes etc.
While I was bringing them home, I stopped at HF to buy a tarp to cover the dirt I'm saving till next spring. Right next to the tarps is the clearance rack and I honestly walked past without looking at it, but one of the boxes caught my eye and you know how that story ends.
I opened the box that had been taped closed at least five different times, fully expecting a used tool or one of the dies to be missing and was pleasantly surprised to see it had never been used. The problem was the poorly designed ring that holds the dies on the jack was too big and someone had tried to force the die on the jack.
I pulled it off with some pliers and found a nice O-ring that will hold the dies on just fine. To this point Not something I really needed but was too good of a deal to pass up.
I have a few things to catch up on:
Over the last few months I have been adding a few things to the truck, the first of which was changing out the chrome door handles for black handles. I am not trying to totally dechrome the truck, but I will most likely do at least still do the door molding. The handles were pretty much one screw and swapping on the new one, amazingly easy to change out.
I also picked up a T-Rex grill insert during Prime Day. I really like the looks of their full grills, but I don't like that you need to cut up the original grill shell to use one. This insert went in with about 10 minutes of work and has a fairly conservative less is more type of look.
I also upgraded my $30 dashcam which surprisingly has worked for over 3 years with a BlackVue 4K camera. A friend from work bought it for his Tesla, had it installed for about 3 months and then bought a new Tesla long range that has one built in. He made me a deal I couldn't refuse for the BlackVue. Not the best picture but it installed nicely above the mirror picking up power from the overhead console.
Not pictured is the wireless CarPlay adapter I installed. After renting a Cadillac a few months ago and seeing how well it worked for a week I decided it was worth the money to get one. It takes a bit longer to connect than the factory setup but works quite well and it's so nice not needing to plug in my phone.
This last item is a bit out of the norm for me. I have owned and built a lot of mountain bikes over the years but never a road bike. Last month I was given a unique road bike frame, it's a Vitus Carbone 7 from the mid 80's. It's one of the first if not the first to be constructed from carbon tubes bonded to aluminum lugs, the 7 in the name being the number of tubes. I have over the last two weeks acquired an era correct seat and brakes. All the parts to put it together are readily available but not necessarily at the prices I want to spend. I am not trying to restore the bike, I just want something I can ride near my current home which is fairly devoid of any good mountain bike trails. I'm not in any rush with it so it may turn into a long-term project.
Over the last few months I have been adding a few things to the truck, the first of which was changing out the chrome door handles for black handles. I am not trying to totally dechrome the truck, but I will most likely do at least still do the door molding. The handles were pretty much one screw and swapping on the new one, amazingly easy to change out.
I also picked up a T-Rex grill insert during Prime Day. I really like the looks of their full grills, but I don't like that you need to cut up the original grill shell to use one. This insert went in with about 10 minutes of work and has a fairly conservative less is more type of look.
I also upgraded my $30 dashcam which surprisingly has worked for over 3 years with a BlackVue 4K camera. A friend from work bought it for his Tesla, had it installed for about 3 months and then bought a new Tesla long range that has one built in. He made me a deal I couldn't refuse for the BlackVue. Not the best picture but it installed nicely above the mirror picking up power from the overhead console.
Not pictured is the wireless CarPlay adapter I installed. After renting a Cadillac a few months ago and seeing how well it worked for a week I decided it was worth the money to get one. It takes a bit longer to connect than the factory setup but works quite well and it's so nice not needing to plug in my phone.
This last item is a bit out of the norm for me. I have owned and built a lot of mountain bikes over the years but never a road bike. Last month I was given a unique road bike frame, it's a Vitus Carbone 7 from the mid 80's. It's one of the first if not the first to be constructed from carbon tubes bonded to aluminum lugs, the 7 in the name being the number of tubes. I have over the last two weeks acquired an era correct seat and brakes. All the parts to put it together are readily available but not necessarily at the prices I want to spend. I am not trying to restore the bike, I just want something I can ride near my current home which is fairly devoid of any good mountain bike trails. I'm not in any rush with it so it may turn into a long-term project.
i was out walking through the yard today before the big meal, and i noticed i had grass coming into the areas i filled in over the geothermal lines. Based on some advice I got from a friend I had planted seed just before Halloween. After that I put down some straw and completely ignored the areas. My friend said the seed would lay dormant until next spring and then start to germinate. i guess since Halloween we have gotten enough rain and it has been warm enough that it started to grow now.
All of this has come a long way since i got fill dirt over a year ago, bought a tractor and built the sifter.
All of this has come a long way since i got fill dirt over a year ago, bought a tractor and built the sifter.
Just over a year ago, i purchased a Grizzly 7 horizontal band saw for $50. I brought it home and spent about 3 hours cleaning all the chips out of it. The drain pan was so full they were falling out over the edge. This is what it looked like after "cleaning".
The previous owner told me the coolant pump did not work and he had just been oiling it by hand, which explains the sticky, gummy, residue all over everything. It also had a bad gear in the angle gearbox and was the reason he had stopped using it. After we unloaded it i ended up pushing it into a corner in the back of the shop and that's pretty much where it sat for a year.
Two months ago, I contacted Grizzly tech support, this saw had a parts listing online but no breakdown, so I was not sure what gear to purchase. The gear in the angle gearbox that was bad is made of bronze and appeared to have been superseded on their parts list with an all steel gear. The guy I spoke with on the tech line was very nice and sent me a .pdf breakdown of the saw. He stayed on the line while I identified the right gear but was unable to tell me if it would be compatible with the original worm gear. They did have the complete gearbox which I ended up buying, it is a newer design than what the saw originally came with.
i also took the pump apart, cleaned it up, lubricated the bearings and replace the hose. The system works great and shuts off correctly when the saw is turned off. I'm very happy that it works because Grizzly is very proud of that pump.
i spent the better part of an afternoon cleaning as much of the dark green paint someone had spray bombed it with at some point and also was able to get the massive dent out of the edge of the drip pan. The base is still spray painted but I am done scrubbing for now. i am not trying to restore the saw, just make it functional. unfortunately with the top i made a clean spot and it got out of hand after that. If someone still made this paint i might go further with it.
I also welded up a belt cover from 6065, I think the original one was plastic but it was long gone. Making one out of aluminum was a fun project.
Lastly, I replaced all the guide bearings. As you can see in thsi picture they are way out of adjustment.
The only thing left i want to do is replace the power cord so i bought 25' of 14-3 Southwire which arrives this weekend.
The previous owner told me the coolant pump did not work and he had just been oiling it by hand, which explains the sticky, gummy, residue all over everything. It also had a bad gear in the angle gearbox and was the reason he had stopped using it. After we unloaded it i ended up pushing it into a corner in the back of the shop and that's pretty much where it sat for a year.
Two months ago, I contacted Grizzly tech support, this saw had a parts listing online but no breakdown, so I was not sure what gear to purchase. The gear in the angle gearbox that was bad is made of bronze and appeared to have been superseded on their parts list with an all steel gear. The guy I spoke with on the tech line was very nice and sent me a .pdf breakdown of the saw. He stayed on the line while I identified the right gear but was unable to tell me if it would be compatible with the original worm gear. They did have the complete gearbox which I ended up buying, it is a newer design than what the saw originally came with.
i also took the pump apart, cleaned it up, lubricated the bearings and replace the hose. The system works great and shuts off correctly when the saw is turned off. I'm very happy that it works because Grizzly is very proud of that pump.
i spent the better part of an afternoon cleaning as much of the dark green paint someone had spray bombed it with at some point and also was able to get the massive dent out of the edge of the drip pan. The base is still spray painted but I am done scrubbing for now. i am not trying to restore the saw, just make it functional. unfortunately with the top i made a clean spot and it got out of hand after that. If someone still made this paint i might go further with it.
I also welded up a belt cover from 6065, I think the original one was plastic but it was long gone. Making one out of aluminum was a fun project.
Lastly, I replaced all the guide bearings. As you can see in thsi picture they are way out of adjustment.
The only thing left i want to do is replace the power cord so i bought 25' of 14-3 Southwire which arrives this weekend.
With the saw functioning i started my next project, some craft tables for my wife. I bought a 24' stick of 2x2 to make the frame out of and a 39"x74" butcher block countertop made of Hevea.
i had a ton of problems trying to get a finish on the countertop. I am not a woodworker and have no experience with applying finish to wood. I researched quite a bit and ended up buying water based Minwax Clear Polycrylic. I tried brushing, thinning and finally spraying before getting an acceptable finish that i hit with 600, 800, then 1k and buffed out.
The base I needed to build IKEA style because the table was going into her craft room which is the bonus room above our garage. The staircase leading to it is steep and has a 90° turn halfway up. Getting a table of this weight up that staircase would have been difficult at best.
It also needed to be adjustable to match up to other tables in height. I put adjustable feet which allow it the height to be changed approximately 1.5 inches.
The crossbar between the ends bolts in place, i used nut plates that i welded in place, I prefer the strength of them versus just tapping the metal. Its only slightly more work and I think the end result it better. A small piece of clay on a welding rod makes it easy to put the nut plate in place.
I painted the metal parts with three coats of white Rustolem Professional.
Thursday, I got some visitors help in getting the 110lb top up the stairs and putting the table together.
My wife wants at least three more tables to replace the resin tables she is currently using along with a standing height cutting table.
i had a ton of problems trying to get a finish on the countertop. I am not a woodworker and have no experience with applying finish to wood. I researched quite a bit and ended up buying water based Minwax Clear Polycrylic. I tried brushing, thinning and finally spraying before getting an acceptable finish that i hit with 600, 800, then 1k and buffed out.
The base I needed to build IKEA style because the table was going into her craft room which is the bonus room above our garage. The staircase leading to it is steep and has a 90° turn halfway up. Getting a table of this weight up that staircase would have been difficult at best.
It also needed to be adjustable to match up to other tables in height. I put adjustable feet which allow it the height to be changed approximately 1.5 inches.
The crossbar between the ends bolts in place, i used nut plates that i welded in place, I prefer the strength of them versus just tapping the metal. Its only slightly more work and I think the end result it better. A small piece of clay on a welding rod makes it easy to put the nut plate in place.
I painted the metal parts with three coats of white Rustolem Professional.
Thursday, I got some visitors help in getting the 110lb top up the stairs and putting the table together.
My wife wants at least three more tables to replace the resin tables she is currently using along with a standing height cutting table.
Last week while I was trying to polish the finish on the table I built, my Dynabrade DA kept skipping from locked to DA. I had this happen a couple of times last time I used it, but this time It was doing it fairly consistent when I tried to lock the head. It was a bit frustrating because I have only used this about 3 hours total since I bought it. I went on Dynabrade's website and filled out a support request and while I was there I tried to see if there were any parts available for it. The part number did not even return as an item they sell and after an hour of searching I could not find that they even ever sold this product, yet I can go on Grainger, Zoro etc. and currently order one.
A week later I still have not heard back from Dynabrade so I took the unit apart and found the spindle had migrated far enough out of the bearings that the lock pin was not fully engaging. It has enough slop in the pins sleeve and its spring loaded versus being a positive lock, so the spindle was just forcing it out of the way. I drove it further out by a small amount, added some red Loctite and pressed it back into the bearing. This moved it back down about 0.90" which was enough for the lock pin to engage fully.
It ***** to work on something that you spent a lot of money on and is basically new, but I'm glad it works now.
This week I purchased enough materials to build the frames for three more tables and started cutting the metal to size. I tried a new metal supplier this time, not only was the metal cheaper, it is oiled and has the seam near the edge versus the center of the tube. The downside is this place is a good 45 minutes' drive one way from my house.
Here is the difference in the seams with the new metal on the right side.
The big difference is what it does to the outside of the tubing, the tube on the left is my old metal and requires 3-4 times the amount of sanding if you want a smooth finish on the welded seam. In this case I sanded it at least three times longer than the one on the right and still have a long way to go to remove the valley where the seam is. This may be something that is common knowledge, I did not know that there was this much difference in the same gauge mild steel from different suppliers. Also, the seam is all the way to the right on the right tube the line on the left side is from a forming die I would guess. You really cannot feel the seam on the outside of the newer metal.
I also got the wire in to finish my bandsaw. I'm glad I decided to replace it because once I took the junction box cover off the motor I found it like this:
Based on finding this I am going to rewire the entire saw. It has two other cables running between the on off switch for the motor and the on off switch for the pump. I ordered some new gland nuts and will probably mess with it next weekend.
I also got in my Edge Tamers, we had some forecast for snow, and I decided I wanted to get a pair. We were pretty lucky last few years with the snowfall, I don't expect the same this year.
I also added an Eero Wi-Fi Mesh system to my house and shop. I have 1gb fiber internet service but was trying to make it work with their router, a couple of extenders and an old Netgear router set up as an endpoint in my shop. It worked but still had spotty coverage and the endpoint had to be a seperate SSID, so when I waked from the house to the shop my phone would not always switch over between them.
The Eero system really did not change any of the speeds in the areas that were already covered well with Wi-Fi. It did make a massive difference in the areas that had poor coverage. It was also probably one of the simplest to connect network devices I have ever used. The three mesh routers took about 10 minutes to install and have working. You retain your original SSID and password, everything that was connected before just reconnects to the new router. The only real work was all of the networked items in the shop were now on the same network so I had to reset all of them. It took me longer to remember how to reset them than it did to actually reset them. I was also able to put my laptop in the shop on the wired network. It's the only computer I have on Ethernet making its connection almost double the speed of any of my wireless devices. Not a bad connection with it being over 100' from my router.
Lastly, I went to HF to pick up some clamps they had on Black Friday sale and found they had their big gun case $70 off. I had not bought a case for my CZ457, so I picked one up and foamed it this weekend. Initially when I was looking at it I thought it would be way too big for my rifle, once I laid it in the case, I realized I probably wouldn't find one that fit it better. I had a couple issues with the cut along the top of the barrel, it wasn't as clean as I would like. It was cold in the shop, and I didn't have the wire cutter turned up high enough, so it tore the foam along the edge in a couple places. Overall, it came out good, or well it will have to be good enough because I don't have any more foam pieces that large.
I haven't secured all the pieces in place yet because I may put something else in the case with it, I just haven't decided yet because the case was more of an impulse buy than a plan
A week later I still have not heard back from Dynabrade so I took the unit apart and found the spindle had migrated far enough out of the bearings that the lock pin was not fully engaging. It has enough slop in the pins sleeve and its spring loaded versus being a positive lock, so the spindle was just forcing it out of the way. I drove it further out by a small amount, added some red Loctite and pressed it back into the bearing. This moved it back down about 0.90" which was enough for the lock pin to engage fully.
It ***** to work on something that you spent a lot of money on and is basically new, but I'm glad it works now.
This week I purchased enough materials to build the frames for three more tables and started cutting the metal to size. I tried a new metal supplier this time, not only was the metal cheaper, it is oiled and has the seam near the edge versus the center of the tube. The downside is this place is a good 45 minutes' drive one way from my house.
Here is the difference in the seams with the new metal on the right side.
The big difference is what it does to the outside of the tubing, the tube on the left is my old metal and requires 3-4 times the amount of sanding if you want a smooth finish on the welded seam. In this case I sanded it at least three times longer than the one on the right and still have a long way to go to remove the valley where the seam is. This may be something that is common knowledge, I did not know that there was this much difference in the same gauge mild steel from different suppliers. Also, the seam is all the way to the right on the right tube the line on the left side is from a forming die I would guess. You really cannot feel the seam on the outside of the newer metal.
I also got the wire in to finish my bandsaw. I'm glad I decided to replace it because once I took the junction box cover off the motor I found it like this:
Based on finding this I am going to rewire the entire saw. It has two other cables running between the on off switch for the motor and the on off switch for the pump. I ordered some new gland nuts and will probably mess with it next weekend.
I also got in my Edge Tamers, we had some forecast for snow, and I decided I wanted to get a pair. We were pretty lucky last few years with the snowfall, I don't expect the same this year.
I also added an Eero Wi-Fi Mesh system to my house and shop. I have 1gb fiber internet service but was trying to make it work with their router, a couple of extenders and an old Netgear router set up as an endpoint in my shop. It worked but still had spotty coverage and the endpoint had to be a seperate SSID, so when I waked from the house to the shop my phone would not always switch over between them.
The Eero system really did not change any of the speeds in the areas that were already covered well with Wi-Fi. It did make a massive difference in the areas that had poor coverage. It was also probably one of the simplest to connect network devices I have ever used. The three mesh routers took about 10 minutes to install and have working. You retain your original SSID and password, everything that was connected before just reconnects to the new router. The only real work was all of the networked items in the shop were now on the same network so I had to reset all of them. It took me longer to remember how to reset them than it did to actually reset them. I was also able to put my laptop in the shop on the wired network. It's the only computer I have on Ethernet making its connection almost double the speed of any of my wireless devices. Not a bad connection with it being over 100' from my router.
Lastly, I went to HF to pick up some clamps they had on Black Friday sale and found they had their big gun case $70 off. I had not bought a case for my CZ457, so I picked one up and foamed it this weekend. Initially when I was looking at it I thought it would be way too big for my rifle, once I laid it in the case, I realized I probably wouldn't find one that fit it better. I had a couple issues with the cut along the top of the barrel, it wasn't as clean as I would like. It was cold in the shop, and I didn't have the wire cutter turned up high enough, so it tore the foam along the edge in a couple places. Overall, it came out good, or well it will have to be good enough because I don't have any more foam pieces that large.
I haven't secured all the pieces in place yet because I may put something else in the case with it, I just haven't decided yet because the case was more of an impulse buy than a plan
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OutlawDrifter
Well-known member
The Edge Tamers work well, mine are on and ready for season #2.
I have the same Apache hardcase. Did yours not come with the cut foam blocks? Or did you swap that for a solid piece of foam?
Love the rifle! CZ makes great stuff.
I have the same Apache hardcase. Did yours not come with the cut foam blocks? Or did you swap that for a solid piece of foam?
Love the rifle! CZ makes great stuff.
I saw yours on one of your posts and that was a trigger for me to go ahead and get some. I could see some use for the Edge Tamers beyond just snow removal. I have good control of my bucket now, but it can change so quickly if the tractor rolls into a dip relative to the bucket. Being able to float the bucket and not dig up the lawn regardless of the position of the tractor will be useful.
My case came with pluck foam but I was trying to avoid this look:
None of the foam I had was long enough to use so I bought a piece for $30 off Amazon.
I have wanted a precision 22 for a long time but wasn't willing to spend the money on a VooDoo or similar. I started researching CZ's, and they got very favorable reviews. I decided on the CZ 457 LRP (Long Range Precision), but none were available and no one from CZ could tell me when the would be, so I ended up purchasing the Varmint Precision Chassis model. The only difficulty I had was finding a scope base that would fit the 11mm dovetail on it, along with 30mm scope rings. It didn't help I was trying to buy the rifle and accessories in the middle of COVID.
OutlawDrifter
Well-known member
I saw yours on one of your posts and that was a trigger for me to go ahead and get some. I could see some use for the Edge Tamers beyond just snow removal. I have good control of my bucket now, but it can change so quickly if the tractor rolls into a dip relative to the bucket. Being able to float the bucket and not dig up the lawn regardless of the position of the tractor will be useful.
My case came with pluck foam but I was trying to avoid this look:
None of the foam I had was long enough to use so I bought a piece for $30 off Amazon.
I have wanted a precision 22 for a long time but wasn't willing to spend the money on a VooDoo or similar. I started researching CZ's, and they got very favorable reviews. I decided on the CZ 457 LRP (Long Range Precision), but none were available and no one from CZ could tell me when the would be, so I ended up purchasing the Varmint Precision Chassis model. The only difficulty I had was finding a scope base that would fit the 11mm dovetail on it, along with 30mm scope rings. It didn't help I was trying to buy the rifle and accessories in the middle of COVID.
Your solution is definitely more appealing to the eye. I should have picked up another one while they were on sale. Need to get one of their mid-sized units for handguns as well.
I don't own a CZ long gun, but have been impressed with those that I have shot and handled. I am however, a CZ pistol owner and lover
Your solution is definitely more appealing to the eye. I should have picked up another one while they were on sale. Need to get one of their mid-sized units for handguns as well.
I don't own a CZ long gun, but have been impressed with those that I have shot and handled. I am however, a CZ pistol owner and lover
I did a HF case for one of my pistols a couple years ago, they are simpler and more fun than a rifle. I think this took me about an hour, it took longer to decide what to put in the case and where.
Here is a link to the hot wire cutter I use.
Hot Wire Cutter
OutlawDrifter
Well-known member
Very cool idea!
Monday my friend was putting my trash bin in the garage and noticed one of the support rods on the mower deck was broken. As rusty as the joint was it had apparently been failing for a while. Its also apparent that the weld never had any penetration. I decided to just reweld it versus hauling the mower to the dealer and dealing with getting it warrantied.
The tube had the powder coating scraped off where it had been rubbing on the edge of a bracket. I touched it up with some gloss black.
This is it back in place, luckily the deck only lightly rubbed on the back left tire, not enough to hurt the powder coat just enough to transfer some rubber.
On a different subject I bought some tools during Black Friday sales that came in last week. I have been looking at a few things that Fireball Tool has for sale but they never seem to be in stock. Over Black Friday they had some OK sales, the big thing being they actually had things in stock. I ended up ordering two 8" and one 4" Mega Squares, the second 4" came for free as a package deal. I got an aluminum blemished Magic Square which I can't for the life of me find the blemish on. I got two 8" and two 11" Mantis Grip Pliers as a package deal. While all of his tools are excellent quality, I was most impressed with the last two items. The Heavy Duty 3-Axis Square is a beast as well as the Maximus Bar and Dog Clamps, I bought the forged versions, and they are much larger and heavier than I would have imagined. All of these are life tools meaning the likelihood of them ever breaking, needing fixed or replaced is nil. I am looking forward to trying them out, they would have been nice to have to build the dirt sifter, I'm sure I will put them to use on the remaining tables for my wife.
I need to stop at the metal supplier and get a couple of sticks on 1"x2" for the bar clamps this week, I'm not sure that I have ever been excited about trying a clamp on something before.
The tube had the powder coating scraped off where it had been rubbing on the edge of a bracket. I touched it up with some gloss black.
This is it back in place, luckily the deck only lightly rubbed on the back left tire, not enough to hurt the powder coat just enough to transfer some rubber.
On a different subject I bought some tools during Black Friday sales that came in last week. I have been looking at a few things that Fireball Tool has for sale but they never seem to be in stock. Over Black Friday they had some OK sales, the big thing being they actually had things in stock. I ended up ordering two 8" and one 4" Mega Squares, the second 4" came for free as a package deal. I got an aluminum blemished Magic Square which I can't for the life of me find the blemish on. I got two 8" and two 11" Mantis Grip Pliers as a package deal. While all of his tools are excellent quality, I was most impressed with the last two items. The Heavy Duty 3-Axis Square is a beast as well as the Maximus Bar and Dog Clamps, I bought the forged versions, and they are much larger and heavier than I would have imagined. All of these are life tools meaning the likelihood of them ever breaking, needing fixed or replaced is nil. I am looking forward to trying them out, they would have been nice to have to build the dirt sifter, I'm sure I will put them to use on the remaining tables for my wife.
I need to stop at the metal supplier and get a couple of sticks on 1"x2" for the bar clamps this week, I'm not sure that I have ever been excited about trying a clamp on something before.
Small update, work has been keeping me busy the last few weeks. Last weekend I put together two HF tech carts for my wife's cutting table. I replaced the original casters with some 3" casters, I needed to have swivels on all legs, so I bought some shorter casters to put the table at a better standing height for my wife. Yesterday I started finishing the top, which took me till today to complete. Trying to keep my shop warm enough while spraying lacquer made it take much longer than I planned.
I put the side handles and the lift struts in the top of the carts and closed the lids with the drawers open to keep them from latching. I didn't need to modify the carts to secure the top, so if she decides down the road she wants something different I can repurpose/sell the carts.
Happy New Years everyone.
I put the side handles and the lift struts in the top of the carts and closed the lids with the drawers open to keep them from latching. I didn't need to modify the carts to secure the top, so if she decides down the road she wants something different I can repurpose/sell the carts.
Happy New Years everyone.
I have not posted in over six months, my friend is in the process of building a new home and moving. He has already sold his old home and over the winter a lot of his belongings were in my shop. That along with the bitter cold kept me from having any project motivation. This April my next-door neighbor contacted me and asked if I could modify his brother's outfeed table. He bought a StopSaw and needed the outfeed table to be lower. He lives about a quarter mile from me, so I drove the Kubota over and grabbed the table after he removed the top.
This is the table after I flipped it upside down, he asked that I raise the bottom shelf 18". He wants to build some drawers between the top and bottom shelves and said he always hated that it was so low that he couldn't easily sweep under it.
I then cut the legs to the proper height to install leveling casters.
This is the finished table right before I drove it back over to his shop.
I also was able to finally finish the Grizzly horizontal band saw. The last I posted on it I was replacing the wiring, once I started on that it, I kept looking at the spray paint everywhere and ended up taking the whole saw apart and cleaning off all the spray paint. The paint underneath was actually in very good condition, I have no idea why the previous owner would have tried to "paint" it. I also found a broken weld that cracked the pan that I couldn't see when it was assembled which took five minutes to fix. I replaced on the switches with liquid proof switches and polished all the hardware.
Before
After: and a little dirty, I have been using it.
Before:
After:
I have been using it quite a bit over the last couple weeks. It still has the blade that was in it when I purchased it and cuts very well. I should have purchased one a long time ago.
This is the table after I flipped it upside down, he asked that I raise the bottom shelf 18". He wants to build some drawers between the top and bottom shelves and said he always hated that it was so low that he couldn't easily sweep under it.
I then cut the legs to the proper height to install leveling casters.
This is the finished table right before I drove it back over to his shop.
I also was able to finally finish the Grizzly horizontal band saw. The last I posted on it I was replacing the wiring, once I started on that it, I kept looking at the spray paint everywhere and ended up taking the whole saw apart and cleaning off all the spray paint. The paint underneath was actually in very good condition, I have no idea why the previous owner would have tried to "paint" it. I also found a broken weld that cracked the pan that I couldn't see when it was assembled which took five minutes to fix. I replaced on the switches with liquid proof switches and polished all the hardware.
Before
After: and a little dirty, I have been using it.
Before:
After:
I have been using it quite a bit over the last couple weeks. It still has the blade that was in it when I purchased it and cuts very well. I should have purchased one a long time ago.
OutlawDrifter
Well-known member
Good to have you back!
Saw is looking better, I keep going back and forth on getting rid of mine. Takes up a lot of floor space, but is so nice to have when cutting bigger material.
Saw is looking better, I keep going back and forth on getting rid of mine. Takes up a lot of floor space, but is so nice to have when cutting bigger material.