The Tractor: proceding with the repairs

There's just something about a tractor, never a rathole. Luck be with you!

I got very lucky with this one . I'm into it almost 400 bucks total and I think that's all the cash we'll need to spend . The rest is just time and materials I already have on hand . And I'll have a machine that'll do everything a new machine for 2500 bucks will .

And, a good deal of fun and adventure.

And _that_, dear sirs, is what it's all about. Bargains, hobbies, life experiences, and fun, all rolled into one neat bundle.

I don't think $2500 would get you a machine like that. Most of them that go for that price are called "Lawn Tractors" nowadays. They shouldn't be used with any "ground engaging" implements. To get a "Garden Tractor" you would need to double your estimate. And even those are pretty wimpy. To get hydraulics you probably need to triple your estimate...

So you did REALLY GOOD on your investment :)

I thought so ... I've also learned they useta sell a whole line of "farming" implements for this machine , including a moldboard plow , power disk , and a harrow . My luck probably doesn't extend to finding any of these attachments , but you can bet if I find a plow for it I'll try to Snag it !

I assume you mean the garden type plow and not snow/dozer blade. Brinly makes some that fit a variety of small garden type tractors. They hookup via what's called a "sleeve hitch". See:

They turn up around here on Craig's list from time to time. If you fab the part of the sleeve hitch (or buy) that goes on the tractor a whole bunch of generic (non John Deere) stuff will attach.

The manual for my Sears GT18 garden tractor lists a Plow, Disk Harrow, Drag Harrow, Cultivator, 46" Dozer Blade, 40" Snow Blower, and Rear Grader and Leveler Blade. I made a hydraulic bucket loader for it. This is a similar model:

-jsw

That's quite the capable lawn machine!

My property is all glacial till, rocks and sand, so I don't have a garden. The Garden Tractor is not really maneuverable enough to mow closely around obstacles and too light to excavate the ground here, though it's been fine for clearing snow. I wanted it to pull the trailer when I went out to cut firewood, a task that had destroyed a lighter riding mower. Unlike my truck it's narrow enough to drive through the woods off the trails.

-jsw

Dragging firewood out is going to be one of this machine's primary tasks . Whether it's logs on the ground with a chain or rounds 20" long will depend on if I find a trailer . I'd love to chance across an old boat trailer that I could modify . Clearing snow will be a major task too , if needed . Actually using it for a mowing machine is close to the bottom of the list ... though it will be very handy for keeping the orchard knocked down .

I made a pair of folding sawbucks to cut up firewood at waist height to save my back. They also support long logs for shed frames above the sides of the trailer and keep the weight off the tailgate and front tool box lid.

-jsw

The problem is getting it up to waist height ... a 14" white oak round weighs about 40-50 lbs per foot . I want a ramp to roll the stuff up into the trailer , trailer height close to the splitting butt height so I don't have to lift this stuff any more .

I use a folding tripod and a lever chain hoist. I just wrote and then deleted its description because I can't prove its safety margin. The top connection isn't a pure pinned joint, there's some unknown imbalance in tension between the chains on the two ends of each crosswise bolt and enough sideways loading to have dented the posts where they overlap and bear against each other.

It requires close attention to ensure that the feet don't slip and the chain doesn't swing out beyond the legs and tip it over onto me.

Before I got the tractor I used a crane attached to the bed of my pickup truck to drag logs out of tangles and lift them onto the sawbuck.

-jsw

Make yourself a drag-behind "skidder" for logs. Basically a truss that joins the wheels over the log with a chain and binder to hold the log under the "bridge" Design so pulling the drawbar down lifts the log. Pin to tractor hitch and away you go. My brother made one for the front and a steerable one for the rear so he can drag out full logs with his quad. His 5'2" wife can steer the rear to get around trees and rocks.

Think "overgrown riding mower" , this is barely a tractor and while there is a hydraulic drawbar attachment for it , I don't have one .

I gave that idea some thought. It's a lot of cost and effort for a single-purpose device that does a job my trailer can handle, thanks to the tripod hoist, and it can't carry all my gear which I won't leave unattended.

-jsw

Mine weighs around 550 Lbs empty, 800 when the front tires and steering gear told me to stop adding to it. It happily pulls at least

-jsw