Progress on three fronts

My small engine guy and his friend (who has about 15 tractors) came over last night to help finish off the Bolens 1455 mower deck renovation.  Derek installed an idle tensioner pulley and then mounted the belt, leaving the deck essentially complete.  I still have to install a guard using conveyor belting but have already cut it.  We won't install the belt covers until we have watched the deck to be sure it runs OK.  Here's what it looks like now (above).

Then we contemplated the 1250 mower deck, almost a twin to the 1455 deck, which is pretty rough.  Derek cut the gearbox off the deck with an angle grinder.  We already know all of the sleeve bearings in the hanger spindles are shot, but I have replacements ready to go.  Derek and Donnie agreed that we could weld a steel plate on the underside to strengthen the corroded area around the gearbox without changing the height of the gearbox in relation to the pulleys on the top.  We loaded the deck into Derek's pickup to take over to Donnie's place so they can try to get the blade bearings out without taking off the bearing housings, which probably would be shot if they had to be removed.  So we will see whether they think the deck can be fixed up to work well.  If it can, they probably will sandblast it so I can prime and paint it.  This is what it looks like right now:

Finally, Derek and Donnie installed the deck sheave onto the main shaft of the Bolens 1250 that is to be used for the rail-mower.  I had already cleaned up the shaft with a wirewheel and cleaned out the inside of the sheave with steel wool.  So it went on fairly easily, with some persuasion from a rubber mallet.  Derek also tapped in the 3/16 inch square key.  Now I just have to tighten up the set-screws and begin re-installing the front end, including the PTO belts, the battery and gas tank platform and the gas tank.  Then it will be ready for my next work session with Frank Glatzl, which looks like it will happen on or about July 17.  At that session we will install the NOS Wisconsin fuel pump, the throttle and choke cables, and see if the engine fires up.  If it works, we will then move the tractor underneath the hoist I built, hook some chains on it to hold it up and begin disconnecting the hydraulic pump and rear axle, as well as the front wheels.  Lots of work still ahead but starting to see daylight.

Working on Conveyor Belting

This morning I decided to clean the dirt and debris packed onto the conveyor belting I obtained for free from a local cement factory, taking advantage of a cloudy morning.  The connection to RPI being that we can cut it up for railsweeps and mats for the floors of our motorcars.  So I attacked it with a putty knife scraper and a broom but it took a long time.  Toward the end I tried a scrub brush and that worked better.  So now the belting looks like this:

I have a total of 92 feet of belting.  Some of it has tears in it, so will have to cut around those parts when making mats or railsweeps.  But quite a bit is in usable shape so hopefully we will be able to make some money for RPI (I plan to have purchasers make their payments direct to RPI).  Next step forward is to roll the belting up so I can use it as necessary.

Additional Progress

I cleaned up the Bolens 1250 mower deck arms, primed and painted them and then mounted them on the 1455 deck.  So they will work for that deck, while I figure out how we are going to deal with the two arms that are missing clevis pins.  Here's a photo of the deck with a lot of the hardware on it.  In the background is the Bolens 1455 garden tractor with front-end loader.

Couldn't get much done yesterday, June 18, because I attended the RPI Llano-Kingsland work session (look for the new blog on RPI work sessions I am starting for details).  Then this morning I had to water the vast majority of our 60-odd trees, shrubs, flowers, you-name-it, we have planted on our property to keep the drought from killing them.  Plus I sprayed fungicide on a number of shrubs that otherwise would get eaten alive.  Finally, I took the Sears lawn tractor out and cut the grass in front, along the street we live on, so it at least looks presentable.


After all that, I was determined to accomplish at least one RPI-related task today, even though it was starting to get hot.  I decided to cut the conveyor belt I picked up for free that I am going to offer for sale, with funds received going to RPI.  So I brought out my circular saw and began making the first of some eight cuts.  The first two or so were pretty easy, then it seemed to get progressively harder to make the cuts.  But over a period of two to three hours I got all of the cuts done.  I cut off two metal zippers and threw them in the metal scrap pile.  I also cut out two pieces of belt with wear holes in them.  The undamaged parts of those pieces can be used to make railway sweeps, as opposed to the motorcar floor mats I am planning to offer.  I measured the total length of the belt before doing all this work and it was 92 feet.  Also prior to today's work, I hosed off the sand and gravel that had adhered to one side of the belt.   Once I cut it, I turned it over so as to hose off the other side as well.  Did I mention that I had to broom the first side vigorously to get as much mud and dirt off as possible?  Oh well, it's all in a good cause.  We will need the money for RPI's insurance policy, if and when we get one.

Here's a photo of the conveyor belt in pieces, awaiting the cleaning of the second side:

 After cleaning it up, I will roll the various pieces up and cut them as needed to the size requested by the purchaser.

That's it for today, too hot to do anything else.
 

One Step Forward, One Step Back

Received the sleeve bearings needed for both mower decks and I hammered three in to the 1455 mower deck under renovation, proving that they fit just right.  That was a step forward.  But then I noticed that two of the 1455 deck arms that support the deck while hanging underneath the mower do not have the metal clevis pin attached to them.  I checked the parts list and those pins are an integral part of the arms.  I could buy two arms off the internet for almost $ 50.00 but am reluctant to spend more.  I did find a clevis pin in my parts bin that could fit, but would have to grind off the head and then have the pin welded to the arm.  Will discuss the problem with my local helpers and get their advice.  I may just substitute two of the 1250 arms to keep going forward while figuring out how to solve the problem of the missing pins.


Meanwhile, I spread out the conveyor belt that I bought a week or two ago to make railsweeps and motorcar mats with and found it must be well over 100 feet.  Plus most of it is continuous.  I had thought the belt was divided into six foot sections because the first piece I got off it was six feet long, with a metal zipper on one end.  But there was only one other four-foot section with a metal zipper and then the rest is continuous.  I can therefore cut almost any length for motorcars.  Here's what it looked like while I was pulling it with my Explorer:

Will begin by cutting out a section near the end where the belt has worn through.  That part will be good for making railsweeps.  Then I will decide what lengths I need to cut the remainders into.

Working on the 1455 Mower Deck

My small engine guy, Derek, and his welder friend, Donnie, came over Tuesday night (the 7th) to help begin re-assembling the renovated mower deck that is ultimately intended for the Bolens 1455 front-end loader garden tractor.  I say "ultimately" because we may try it out on the rail-mower once the Bolens 1250 engine and frame are mounted to the motorcar trailer.

Derek re-assembled the spindles and mounted the blades, after I cut down some bolts to use for the holes on either side of the blades.  Then he mounted the pulleys on the other side.  Looked mighty good by the time he was done.

Derek came back last night and mounted the gearbox and the new belt.  Then he worked on mounting the idler pulley array.  That was difficult because the array kept locking up instead of pivoting, as it needs to do according to the tension on the belt.  He had to knock the spacer out of one of the old pulleys and insert it into a new one, after knocking out two spacers from it.  We finally got the array. pivoting OK, which was a relief.  But we found two sleeve bearings missing from the supports for the deck arms on this deck, and at least eight missing or wallowed out on the 1250 deck.  The dimensions were really odd (9/16 ID x 13/16 OD) so I had to spend some time on the phone tracking down a supplier.  Will order about 12 tomorrow so we have enough on hand.  Then we can continue to move ahead.

Here's a photo of the 1455 deck after mounting pulley and gearbox:

Now, for contrast, here's a photo of the 1250 mower deck.  I hadn't touched it so it could serve as a template for reassembling the 1455 deck.  And, in fact, it was useful to take apart the 1250's idler pulley array to see how it was put together as we were puzzling over how to get the 1455's array to pivot properly.

Obviously, there's some serious corrosion to be dealt with, plus the idler pulleys are shot. Hopefully the other pulleys can be salvaged, along with the spindles and bearing housings.  Will need to order new bearings for sure.  Some parts of the deck will have to be strengthened with metal plate welded to it.  So I'm going to have to spend some money on the deck but then we will have one for the rail-mower and one for the 1455 and I won't have to transfer my 1455 deck to and from the rail-mower.

On the rail-mower itself, I showed the drive sheave with the crack in it to Derek and Donnie and their opinion is to leave it alone.  They say the sheave is cast iron and it takes special techniques to weld and even then isn't always successful.  But they did emphasize that the sheave ought to fit onto the shaft easily and if it doesn't, then the shaft and the inside of the sheave need to be smoothed down with emery cloth or sandpaper.  That's exactly what Frank Glatzl told me, of course, but I disremembered to carry those instructions out.  So that's on my list of things to do so I can move forward with the rail-mower project.  At least I'm getting answers to my questions.

Setback on Reassembling Bolens 1250

Today I set out to get as much of my "homework" on reassembling the 1250 done as possible.  I cut off the brake pedal with an angle grinder to get it out of the way.  I also made a 2" long 1/4" square key for the drive sheave.  Plus I reinstalled the PTO control rod.

The trouble began when I tried to reinstall the drive sheave.  Unbeknownst to me, I reinstalled it backwards, so the setscrew could not bite down on the drive shaft.  When I realized that, I pulled the sheave off with the gearpuller.  Then I found that my hitting the sheave with a hammer to mount it onto the shaft had begun to lengthen a pre-existing crack I had forgotten about.  So it looks like now I either need to get the crack welded or buy another sheave.  Will check into whether it can be welded.

That has ended further progress on the main reassembly for now but am sure it is only a temporary setback.  Can still disconnect rods from the hydro transmission and relocate the ignition coil, but will wait for a cool morning to do so.

Miscellaneous Developments

Last week I bolted on a stiffener plate to the Bolens 1250 and I inserted a D-ring onto the bar of the hoist I installed.  The D-ring allows me to hang a puller or hoist from it.  Last night I saw a "cable hoist" for sale on craigslist.org in south Austin for $ 25.00.  It is brand new and holds up to 2 tons.  I went down today, checked it out and brought it back.  It looks like it will lift whatever needs lifting.  This is the setup I am going to use to suspend the 1250 rail-mower frame while we position the motorcar trailer under it to bolt them together.  Here's a photo:

I have plenty of chain to wrap around whatever needs lifting and hook onto that bottom hook.  The cable hoist uses wire cable, as opposed to rope, and is American-made, so I think it will last quite a while.  Of course, I will bring it in when it rains so it doesn't rust.

Not rail-mower related, but an RPI project nonetheless, when I went down to Austin today I hooked up my 4x6 utility trailer and I went over to this cement mix facility in east Austin where I got a length of conveyor belt several weeks ago.  I sought out the guy who gave it to me for free and asked him for the rest of the roll, since he had indicated before they were looking to just get rid of it.  He checked with his boss and it was "10-4" to give me the whole thing.  He wrapped some chain around a forklift's bars and lifted the roll up and set it down right in the middle of the trailer.  I asked if they have ever had an Operation Lifesaver presentation for their drivers and he gave me the number for their Safety Director so I can offer to run some for the company.  That would be a nice way to pay them back for the belt.

This conveyor belt material is 3/8" thick, with some sort of reinforcement inside it, so it is pretty darn strong.  It comes in maximum six foot long lengths of 29.5" wide.  I must have sixty or more feet.  That would make an awful lot of railsweeps.  But it can also be used to create rubber mats for motorcars to keep heavy tools from banging up the metal floors.  I measured my M-19's floor pans and they are 14.5 inches wide by about five feet long, so one segment could make floor mats for one motorcar.  Here's a photo of this treasure:

 
My small engine guy called me up this evening and said he should be able to come over next Monday or Tuesday evening to put together the Bolens 1455 mower deck.  That's one job I don't have the experience for.  Once it is finished, I will begin taking apart the Bolens 1250 mower deck so it can (hopefully) be renovated and actually serve as the rail-mower deck.  In theory the 1455 deck could be used on the rail-mower since they are the same decks, but I do not want to have to switch that deck between the 1455 and the rail-mower.  It is really heavy, probably the reason it has survived for 40 years or more.

Progress continues and, God willing and the creek don't rise, things will get to the point where we can test the rail-mower.  But that's likely another two-three months down the road.