May 22 Rail-Mower Work Session

OK, this was the real deal.  Everything up to now was just prologue--this was where the rubber hits the road.  Frank Glatzl arrived and we set up the EZ-Up as the first order of business to give us shade.  High winds whipped it off two or three times until we got the Velcro ties fastened securely.

First we re-installed the mount for the hydraulic cylinder (although we are not going to re-install the cylinder itself since Frank is going to fabricate a linkage).  Then we brought the front end over to mate it up with the main frame.  Then Frank re-installed the main PTO lever with the spring, which I had wirewheeled, primed and spray painted.  I cleaned the PTO splines so they will grab securely when the mower driveshaft is ready to be mounted.  Then we mounted the engine onto the new isolation engine mounts and bolted it down.  At this point we decided to cut off some excess equipment.  I brought out my angle grinder and cut off the two pedals and associated hardware since we aren't going to be using them anymore.  I am going to finish the job by cutting off the brake pedal--won't be braking either.

I drilled a hole in the dashboard to make it easier to run a choke cable through and brushed up some contacts with a wirewheel.

We then mounted the dashboard onto the main frame.  Then we mounted a supporting piece of metal that halfway covers the engine.  Frank then began hooking up various wires, which had been made easier by our marking numbers to show where they go.

By now we were sort of out of gas, but pleased with our progress.  Frank gave me homework before the next session:  I am to reinstall:  1) the PTO pulley, with belts (buying a fully matched set); 2) a metal bar that serves as a stiffener; 3) the battery and gas tank plate; and 4) the gas tank.  I will also disconnect various rods from the transmission in preparation for its removal.  I will also bore holes in the flat metal plate above the engine to relocate the ignition coil holder and find a bolt to tighten the coil holder.  Here's some photos of the reconstructed Bolens 1250:

Notice the motorcar trailer mounting platform for the rail-mower in the upper left background.

 
It's still recognizable as a garden tractor but that will change one we take the wheels off as well as the hydrostatic transmission in back.  We'll basically have a frame, an engine and a PTO takeoff, all bolted down onto a secure platform on the motorcar trailer.  Then it's just a question of hooking up the mower deck.  Am working on the Bolens 1455 deck first.  Have already cut a strip of conveyer belt to serve as a guard around the edge of the deck since the old one disappeared long between I acquired the deck.

Now that I can talk again after recovering from my vocal cord operation, I am going to call up my small engine guy and have him come over to help me reassemble the 1455 deck, since I have all the necessary bearings and small parts.  I will also call up a new acquaintance, a welder, and ask him to help me take apart the Bolens 1250 deck, which is in much worse shape.  At the least we will have a bunch of spare mower deck parts.  Once they are off the deck, that fellow can tell me if we can save the deck itself.  If not, I have to find another identical one and bring it back.  There are some out there but it's a long way from Texas, so am hoping the 1250 deck is salvageable.  We can use the 1455 deck for the rail-mower tryouts but I don't want to have to wrestle that heavy deck back and forth so am focusing on renovating a second one as well.

That's about it for this work session.  Another very busy day but a lot has been accomplished.

Getting Ready for the May 22 Rail-Mower Work Session

Sunday, May 22, was another rail-mower work session with Frank Glatzl.  But I had a lot to do before he came over.  First was mixing concrete and setting the posts for the hoist that were now ready.  During the preceding week I had pounded in stakes and nailed wood to the posts and the stakes to hold the posts in place while pouring the cement.  This was not my own idea--I don't have a lot of original thoughts when it comes to "handyman" activities (see wife's remark in the post for yesterday, below).  I got this bright idea when I walked next door to inspect the neighbor's foundation to try to figure out when the concrete mix trucks were going to come.  But I gave up on them getting here anytime soon so that is why I was going to mix and pour my own concrete.

Anyway, I bit the bullet and began opening 60lb bags of mix, dumping them in the big wheelbarrow I borrowed from my tenant (and repaired yesterday) and then adding water.  Used a small shovel to mix it up well and then dropped the wheelbarrow load into the post hole, after first placing six inches of dry mix in it.  Don't ask me why, that's what the instructions on the bag said to do for setting posts.  Guess the wet concrete from above converts the dry mix.  Or maybe the dry mix sucks up any moisture that makes it way down.  I didn't use a piece of lumber to compact the concrete as I now remember seeing my Dad do 40-odd years ago.  That probably was a mistake but live and learn.  I tapered the concrete so water falls away from the post and compacted the concrete at the top at least.  I watered the newly poured concrete a couple of times during the day and will continue to do so for the next four days, per the instructions.

What I like about how the job turned out is that the bar is almost exactly level and the posts are plumb, at least at the top.  They warp toward the ground but, like I said, they were free, so I can live with that.

Next job after setting the posts was to clear away the stakes and lumber that held them in place and then paint the bar.  Got that done in short order.  Now I just need caps for the tops of the posts and endcaps for the bar.  Might also bore some holes and put a big pin through each end of the bar to keep it in place, but that's a project for next weekend.  Here is a photo of the final product:

After taking a rest break inside the air-conditioned house, I then sprayed some trees that I am trying to keep from losing their leaves.  So that was another chore to do.  But I spent two days hacking vines off that little group of trees right in the front of my property so I had a personal interest in making sure they flourish.

Then I remembered I needed to prime and paint parts of the dashboard and the Bolens 1250 frame before we reassemble things.  I did the priming and half an hour later I chose a gunmetal gray color for the paint.  Nothing fancy but I figured this is the only attention the frame is going to get for another 10-20 years so might as well do something for it.  I had already wirewheeled the frame so it was simple to spray the primer and paint on.

Moved tables over to the work area and brought some tools and parts over to sit on the tables.  Then I took a shower, went to get gas for the 1250 if we got that far, along with ice and soft drinks.  Plus I returned the wheelbarrow to the tenant.  I finished all my chores to get ready for Frank's visit about ten minutes before he arrived.

A Busy Saturday, May 21, 2011

A very busy weekend, not all of it on the railmower project, but a lot of it.  My main goal Saturday, May 21,  was to buy concrete mix and fill in the postholes for the hoist to be used in the railmower project.  I had decided that who knows when the concrete mixers would come to pour the foundation of the house under construction next door and I wanted the job done by the end of Saturday.  But it seemed there was a conspiracy to prevent me from doing so.

My tenant agreed to let me use a large wheelbarrow to mix the concrete so I started to hook up my 4x6 trailer.  Since I would be carrying several hundred pounds of concrete mix as well as the wheelbarrow I checked the air pressure.  Low on both tires.  I began to fill up one and the valve stem is blowing air out.  Try to fill the other one and air is leaking past the rim.  So the first project of the day turns out to be taking both wheels off and driving them over to Brake Specialists Plus to be left there for repair
(estimate of $ 40-45.00).  At least on the way back I pick up the concrete mix at Home Depot and wheelbarrow and cart them both home in my Ford Explorer.

Now the wheelbarrow is not very usable since one of the lift handles is rotted off.  So my next project was to fabricate and install a new handle.  I had just the right pieces of wood in my wood pile so I jigsawed them to the right shapes, then bored holes and primed and painted the two separate pieces.  I had to use my angle grinder to cut off three rusted bolts.

About that time the better half comes out and says the dog's ear looks mighty swollen and he needs immediate veterinary attention.  Of course by 12:00 noon on Saturday all the vet clinics in Dripping Springs have closed so I have to take our pit bull (we call him "the puppy" although he is now 77 pounds and could lose 10 pounds or so, according to the vet) to an "animal emergency hospital" in Austin.  Get the dog taken care of (who knew vet bills could be so doggone high?) and get back home around 5:30 pm.

On the way to the animal hospital I picked up the trailer tires.  Asked the guy how much I owe and am told "it's free."   So that put me in a pleased frame of mind.  When I got home, I rotated the spare onto the trailer, installed one of the repaired tires and mounted the other one as a spare.

After taking care of the trailer, I resumed wrassling with the wheelbarrow.  Surprising how ornery them critters can be.  Of course, two of the holes I drilled were not in the right place so I had to drill them again.  But I finally got everything fitted together and bolted down tight.  It looked good.  Even better, the wife came out and said "My goodness, I never really though of you as a "handyman" but it looks like you really fixed that wheelbarrow up."  I took that as a compliment.

I gave up the idea of mixing the concrete since the sun was setting and vowed to finish that job the next morning before Frank Glatzl comes over for our next railmower work session.

Hoist is Up but Not Yet Finished

I finished filling all the cracks in my ten-foot posts with wood filler this morning, sanded them down and then primed and painted them.  Also finished the hole in the other post.  At the same time I was finishing up the paint job on various parts of mower decks, etc.  Then I moved the Bolens 1250 in two pieces away from the hoist area so there is clear access if a cement truck comes in to discharge cement.  I dropped the posts into the holes but found one post was two inches higher than the other, so had to take it out and use the post hole digger and a long iron bar to dig out the bottom some more.  Then I laid flat stones at the bottom of each hole, to keep the posts from contacting the soil, and put the posts in.  After cleaning up the eight-foot metal tube and priming it, I placed it into the holes at the top of the posts to create a mockup.  I put a level on the bar and found we are just about level so that worked out pretty well.  One of the posts is warped but it and the other were free to me so I wasn't too particular about that.  Once the cement is in that shouldn't be a problem.  Here's a photo:

There's a bit more to do--have to knock both posts slightly to the right to straighten them out some more.  I plan to paint the bar the same color once the cement is in.  It was enough trouble getting it in there so I don't want to take it out and put it back in.

Went over to the neighbor's home under construction to take a look at the foundation.  Looks like it is definitely ready to have the concrete poured so I will be on the lookout tomorrow morning for the trucks.  If I see them, will go on over and bring my writing pad with me so we can work out a deal.  Do not want to have to mix that cement myself.

Working on the Hoist and other Rail-Mower Projects

Had to forego an RPI work session at Llano today.  Had an operation on a vocal cord yesterday and am recuperating.  Since I am on a painkiller that potentially makes me drowsy, thought it would be better not to try to attend.  But I was able to get a lot done at home, such as spraying some trees, changing the oil and filter in my lawn tractor, cleaning it out some more from the RPI work session mowing the wye in Llano last weekend, etc.

Also began to work on my hoist project.  The hoist, just two ten-foot posts to be placed in three-foot holes with a 2-inch bar through them at 6.5 feet above ground level, will be used to mate the Bolens 1250 tractor frame and engine to the motorcar trailer, thereby creating a rail-mower.  I found two 12-foot 4x6s in my wood pile, so I cut them down to 10 feet.  Then I bored a 2-inch hole in one of them and will do the other tomorrow morning.  Finally, I filled up the various cracks in them with wood filler.  Tomorrow I will prime and paint the 7-foot portions above ground, and buy a coating for the part going in the ground at Home Depot.   Tomorrow I will also have to clean the rust off the eight-foot bar I going to install for the hoist and prime and paint it.  So lots of work still to be done, but it's getting there. 

As far as filling the post holes with concrete, it looks like the foundation for the new home next door is going to be laid soon.  I'm going to keep a close lookout for the cement trucks.  When they arrive, I will see about getting them to fill the holes for a decent gratuity.

Also spray painted some Bolens 1250 mower deck parts for the rail-mower.  Plus I moved all the parts for the Bolens 1455 mower deck out to the carport, next to the deck, so I can get started working on that restoration.

Hoist Under Construction

I had two holes dug yesterday, May 8, for the hoist to lift the tractor engine and frame up while we slide the motorcar trailer underneath them.  The holes are three feet deep and the 6x6 posts will be seven feet high, for a total of ten feet long.  I will drill 3-inch diameter holes in each of them for the eight foot long steel tube that will be fixed in place.  It will be about 6.5 feet off the ground.  I probably will put some sort of rope hoist on the tube but may loop my winch cable over it from my 12-foot trailer for the rail mower project.  The holes are on either side of the tractor frame where it is now.  I had been planning to place the hoist over the tracks that my Woodings CBI sits on, but realized the CBI is 7 feet, ten inches high, so a hoist would have to be more than eight feet tall to clear it.  That would involve too deep a hole.  So now I need to buy the posts and drill and paint them.  Then I will paint some creosote-like substance onto the bottom three feet and place them in the holes with flat stones at the bottom to keep them out of any water that might get in.  Once I get the bar level I will cement them in place.  Here's a photo of the frame and the newly dug holes, as well as one showing the EZ-Up we use to keep the sun off us when working on the rail mower:

Late last week I also spray painted the top of the Bolens 1455 mower deck.  While this deck ultimately is to be used with the 1455, I might use it on the rail mower pending renovation of the Bolens 1250 mower deck.   I bought the last little parts to redo the deck bearings and spindles last week, so should be able to renovate the 1455 deck soon.  Here's a photo of the 1455 deck ready to be restored under the motorcar carport:

That's the latest news on the railmower project. 

Further Progress on Rail-Mower Project

Night before last I used my wirewheel to clean up several pieces off the Bolens 1250 as well as to clean some rust and dirt off the 1250.   I also ordered a couple of bits of hardware needed for the 1455 mower deck reconstruction.  Yesterday I drove into Austin and bought bolts and other hardware to use  on that job as well.

A fellow at a truck store, Fleet Pride, referred me across Hwy 183 to a cement mixer maintenance shop that he said has some conveyor belt I could use to create safety guards on both the 1250 and 1455 mower decks.  Sure enough, the guy showed me a large roll of used belt and even cut off a six-foot portion for me, for free.  That would be enough for my deck projects, new railsweeps for both my motorcars and then some.  Leland, however, is looking to make some rubber mats to protect his motorcars from the tools we are always carrying on our work sessions.  That makes sense for my M19AA as well.  So I am going to go back and ask for the whole roll, then figure out what to do with the rest of it.

Last evening I cut pieces of 3/16" square key stock off to make six square keys, more or less 3/4" long.  They will be used in the mower deck reconstruction.  Saved a lot of money over buying smaller pieces at Tractor Supply and cutting them in half.

Frank and I next get together on Sunday, May 22, for another tractor work session. 

Dismantling the Bolens 1250

Frank Glatzl came over today to help restore the Bolens 1250 to perfect running condition.  Unfortunately, there were a few hiccups along the way, as you will see in a moment.  The first was that I was unaware some wasps had built a nest inside the body until I stuck my hand down inside to unscrew a bolt.  Ten minutes later, after placing ice on two or three stings on the hand, I was back and the culprit(s) were dead or dying.  But more continued to arrive during our work session, necessitating quick and lethal resort to the wasp and hornet spray.

We raised an EZ-Up to keep the sun off us, which it did, until the wind came out of the north so strongly we had to take it down.  By then, the cold front blowing in had taken the temperature from about 90 down to low 60's or so.  I had to put on a jacket to put things away after Frank headed out, it was that cool.

Anyway, I began by replacing the starting sheave, which had a break in it, with one obtained via the Internet.  After Frank arrived, we decided to replace the engine isolators.  To do so, however, required unbolting various assemblies, including the main control tower.  Eventually got the new isolators installed but had to go to Home Depot to get a 3/8" tap to clean out the threads that the isolator mounts onto.

Then we decided to disconnect the main driveshaft, since it was not going to be used anymore in any event (we are removing the hydraulic transmission in the rear).  But it turned out Bolens did not make it easy to disconnect the driveshaft so it took a while to find a way to take apart the front coupler.  That got the driveshaft out of the way for the next project:  removing the hydraulic cylinder.

Removing the hydraulic cylinder consumed the rest of the afternoon.  Had to remove a bunch of bolts and spread the frame apart, and remove the main PTO control rod, all to get sufficient clearance to take the cylinder and its mounting plate off.  But we did it.  Frank is going to remove the cylinder from the mounting plate and fabricate a linkage to be used in place of the cylinder to control the height of the mower deck.  It will be adjustable.  We will decide on a height above the rail for the mower deck and then install the linkage and leave it at that height, unless experience teaches us to set it at a different level.

By this time, we had had enough so we started to wind things down.  Frank brought two u-bolts he fabricated to secure the motorcar trailer tow bars, replacing rusted out u-bolts.  They look great.  All I need to do is prime and spray paint them orange, same as the rest of the trailer.

I might do some cleaning up of the parts of the 1250 exposed by our general assault.  We now have the engine entirely removed and sitting on the ground in front of the carcass, as you can see from one of the pictures below.

All in all, I'd say we found out that an old, rusted-out tractor can present quite a challenge to take apart.  I am optimistic it will be somewhat easier to put back together.  Will have to start buying hardware to replace the junky stuff we took off.