A "littler" mower repair...

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Hopped on the Hustler the other day, started it, warmed it up and then flicked the switch for the clutch to start the cutting deck. Spun briefly then nothing. On the elctromagnetic clutch, there is a torque arm that fits in a hole in the frame and bolts to the clutch, to stop the winding spinning. One of the 1/4"UNC bolts had dropped out and then the other had let the windings spin until the torque arm mashed the wires. It was a recon clutch I bought at auction and the holes were a little flogged out when I fitted it. I used loctite to retain them and they've been in there for a few months. They're only tapped through 10 or 11ga plate and really only show two threads.The Hustler 72" deck, three blades and 1200cc Kubota dieselStripped thread, two out of the three were stripped. Put a damp rag around the bearing to catch spatter. Used farmersamm's tip of applying Spatter Shield to the thread on the bolts. Used the bolts in the torque arm to get an accurate location. Worked pretty well, thanks farmersamm!Mashed WiresSeries of tacks to minimise heat. I welded three 1/4"UNC nuts over the holes, to give more thread to grip. I'd have tapped more holes but they were a bit difficult to locate. I only used a series of "tacks" as the windings in their epoxy compound are almost right behind the holes and I didn't want to damage them with too much heat. Where it goes. Full stretch and when you get both arms in there, you can't move much nor can you see much. The camera makes it look bright and spacious.Mowed a couple of acres this afternoon and all's well so far. I'll do a few more tomorrow around the edges and then use the finishing mower with the tractor. About 12 acres left.Hardly qualifies as a welding project does it. Five minutes welding preceded by three hours prep and then followed by two hours assembly."One of the things we have to be thankful for is that we don't get as much government as we pay for." (Charles Kettering)Mitch 180 (NZ)Lincoln SAM-400-220 + ?-400 Fordson Major + 2 x Tractapac Humber 80 + Procut 40 PlasmaMiller Spectrum 375
Reply:Nice save Tractapac.  Kinda sounds like a lot of electrical problems - 2 hours to find it, 2 minutes to fix it.Over 12 acres of yard?!  What do you do in your spare time?MM200 w/Spoolmatic 1Syncrowave 180SDBobcat 225G Plus - LP/NGMUTT Suitcase WirefeederWC-1S/Spoolmatic 1HF-251D-1PakMaster 100XL '68 Red Face Code #6633 projectStar Jet 21-110Save Second Base!
Reply:Mmmm...... spare time? In the background above the Hustler, you can see piles of posts and my "Project Gallery". Best seen in the distance as close up it's too distracting and can get depressing! Lots of upcoming welding...Spare time, oh that must be - wait for it - Welding Web.We had a drought last season and feed was short so we let someone else cut it. Front and side conditioning mowers cutting about 20 feet wide.Then bale it.My favorite tractor, it's got suspension. I love it when this comes to visit and I get to do a lap or two. 43mph road legal. You can see what's happening with the bales on a screen in the cab, even where the bale is in the baler and when it drops so you don't reverse into it.But when we get it organized, we'll have a few thousand posts to drive (we're about 20% there) and then run wire over. All with the aim of growing more of these."One of the things we have to be thankful for is that we don't get as much government as we pay for." (Charles Kettering)Mitch 180 (NZ)Lincoln SAM-400-220 + ?-400 Fordson Major + 2 x Tractapac Humber 80 + Procut 40 PlasmaMiller Spectrum 375
Reply:Are those Kiwis (sp?)?  I love those things!And to think we used to just let the bales fall on the ground (if alone) and come back later and muscle them up on the wagon or hand load off the discharge shoot if baling as a team.  And of course my dad liked bailing big (100-120# a piece) so after a few hundred of those you were ready for a break.  He could definately out work us in the mow though!  And then we thought we died and went to heaven when we got the kicker!!  What a relief to throw 70-80#ers all day!Can you get ESPN on that screen?MM200 w/Spoolmatic 1Syncrowave 180SDBobcat 225G Plus - LP/NGMUTT Suitcase WirefeederWC-1S/Spoolmatic 1HF-251D-1PakMaster 100XL '68 Red Face Code #6633 projectStar Jet 21-110Save Second Base!
Reply:That's not a baler, it's a space shuttle I'm glad the bolt-in-nut thing worked.You didn't seem to have a much better day than I did.  Fixing fence all day."Any day above ground is a good day"http://www.farmersamm.com/
Reply:Those bales are what they call "big squares" here and are a 10 bale equivalent of the standard traditional bale. Then another guy comes and wraps them. You pick'em up with "soft hands" on an FEL on a tractor. After 10 days they have the real silage smell to them and because a neighbour was short of feed, they were left in a corner and he came and grabbed a few as he needed them to feed out each day. You can't heave these anywhere. When he'd finished, there was one just coming out and two of us tried to drag it out of the chute but we had to get the tractor in the end.Yes, traditional hay making was good for people. Back then, tractors didn't have cabs, let alone a/c! Old wisconsins on balers, so hard to start hot that they got left idling over lunch. Start the two cyl versions with a hand wheel.Dunno about ESPN but there were all sorts of totals for job, season and what pressure was being put to the bale. Whether there was innoculant going on. Between that and button gearshifts on the gear stick and digital displays, life looked pretty good in the cab.Sorry, forgot to mention, they are kiwis and they're the first we got this last season, five in total, enough to decorate a pavlova. First crop on that vine.Last edited by Tractapac; 09-06-2008 at 07:05 PM."One of the things we have to be thankful for is that we don't get as much government as we pay for." (Charles Kettering)Mitch 180 (NZ)Lincoln SAM-400-220 + ?-400 Fordson Major + 2 x Tractapac Humber 80 + Procut 40 PlasmaMiller Spectrum 375
Reply:I've seen some brochures describing balers for what they call "haylage".  Basically hay put up damp.  Really heavy duty units.  I think the dairies use them.  Seems to be the same thing you're describing.  Great pics."Any day above ground is a good day"http://www.farmersamm.com/
Reply:They cut in the morning and bale in the afternoon. The conditioner mower "bruises the grass as well as cuting and this helps the ensiling start sooner. That and if it's good grass, the addition of the innoculant makes it even quicker/better.Haylage, baleage, silage. There's a lot of maize grown here for stock feed. No ears of corn just leaf and stalks, all gets  harvested by a combine and then goes off to silage heaps."One of the things we have to be thankful for is that we don't get as much government as we pay for." (Charles Kettering)Mitch 180 (NZ)Lincoln SAM-400-220 + ?-400 Fordson Major + 2 x Tractapac Humber 80 + Procut 40 PlasmaMiller Spectrum 375