ranger

Well Done :thumbs:

She`s a retired skewbald- got brown on her, not just the mud! The flail is a Rousseau front mounted unit for a quad. I fitted the front wheels from my 312-8 on a frame adjusted by an old jockey wheel jack, casters on the front and a 9hp Honda. I`ve just bought another BCS complete with flail and wood chipper/shredder attachments.pics when I get the chance.

Our two four legged drive grass cutters-my wife on the Westwood towing the modified flail mower

one day I hope to get them as clean & shiny as yours. the exhaust on the C121 is off a Kubota 2 cylinder engine, the 312-8 is a stainless silencer copy of the original except for the stack. The original rusted out so I cut it up & measured everything even down to the number and size of the holes in the baffles in an attempt to maintain the correct backpressure, sad really. but then I bought a carb with adjustable main jet so I needn`t have bothered. The company Northern Tools sell trailer hubs with I think a 1" bore bearing size,You could fit these with a sleeve 3/4" to 1" I think they have either a 4" or 100mm pcd. so nice narrow 8" trailer wheels would fit. I would imagine any trailer / caravan / camping / good motorist shop will probably stock these as well. The downside is You have to buy them,so much better when you can scrounge/recycle things.

just bought a couple through Amazon 1-1/8" x 1-3/8" x 1/8" SKF 11050 for the 8 speed, not sure if the hydro`s have a differant o/d.

I`ve just taken a spindle apart, only takes a few min`s.One bearing comes out with the spindle, the other stays in the housing. Photos of the parts, the spacer goes in before you press/bash in the second bearing. Doug.

No machining other than tapping threads for wheel bolts. The spindles were knocked out of the bearings, new bearings pressed in, (the same size) and the hubs fitted to the W/H front spindles just like the original wheels. The beauty of this conversion is being able to fit narrow wheels, I think the stud P.C.D ( pitch circle diameter) is either 100mm or 4") plenty of wheels like these are available. Check out the local mower shop, private or council and see what they have in the scrap bin. Councils seem to like the John Deere rideons. regards Doug.

Hi there, Just had a visit from my friend`s dad, Had to fit some new rear brake shoes to "General Lee" He is a 79 years young,ex carpenter & joiner, this is his latest robin.He bought it like this, it was fitted with "dixie" air horns but I took them off as he is deaf as a post and wouldn`t know if he blew them. The amazing thing is you can find him on youtube busking, playing a saw with a nail and singing in Cambridge and Bury St Edmunds. Look for "Sawman".He is quoted on the internet as "officialy the country`s most tuneless busker"!

Thanks Ian. The mud on the 121 is the result of me trying to cut the buttercups in the horse paddock with a flail mower towed behind my Ranger, in the swamp at the bottom of one paddock (an underground spring) I got stuck and had to tow the car out with the 121, with extra weight on for traction + the wife, the 121 then completed the mowing with no trouble. I probably should have harnessed one of the swamp donkeys, "Oop`s sorry," Wife`s horses, to the car and used it instead, but it gave the 121 an outing. I usually tow the flail, a converted 48" quad front mounted unit now fitted with rear wheels,( Zero turn? ) behind a westwood D1200 which runs forever on a sniff of diesel,(except when the pikey mice chew through the fuel lines) but this is only any good if the fields are nice and dry. It`s also a lottery as to which gear your in,but it was a freebe so can`t complain. The paint? on the 312-8 1989 is falling of in sheets< I really need to do something to it before it gets too bad.It hasn`t been used since fitting the new exhaust. The front wheels are JD 289 8" which fit straight on. The 6" originals went onto the flail mower. More photos to follow when I get the chance. regards Doug.

The hubs are John Deere 279 mower deck blade mounting spindles with the spindle removed. These came from a council customer of ours, whose policy is replace the whole assembly if the bearings are worn. The bearing bore size is 3/4", the same as the Horse. I fitted new bearings and threaded the holes M10 for the wheel bolts.The wheels are Howard rotavator wheels. front tyres are 4 x 8 tri rib hay bob tyres. The rears are 7.00 x 12 I had to raise the rear fender to gain clearance for the tyres. The clevis hitch is homemade also, no cables or chains,all linkages are rods & clevises & rod ends.

Thanks. I`ve also got the cultivator that fits the frame. I don`t have the plough but I picked up a Lemken stubble plough section that looks to be about the right size with a bit of modification. Last year I bought a six furrow orchard/vinyard plough with mouldboards just the right size for a Wheelhorse. A friend saw it and begged me not to cut it up but to sell it to him, eventually I did, He then fell out with me when he found out I made £25 profit ! I didn`t want to sell it in the first place, I could have made 6 Wheelhorse ploughs out of it.

Hi again, some photos of the John Deere 279 mower deck spindles converted to front wheel hubs. The holes are not threaded as i thought, I threaded them M10. The wheels are off a Howard rotavator.

Managed to take some photos,rather dirty,rusty horses,the four legged ones are probably cleaner even after having rolled in the mud.

HEROES EVERY ONE!!!!!!! AND NOT FORGETTING ALL THE OTHER NATIONALITIES WHO GAVE THIER LIVES FOR US

just seen some on an auction site: set of 4 3/4" id x 1-3/8" od x 1/2" bearings in the U.S.A for about £9.50 with about the same for postage. code # IBB-34

With paintwork like this, you wouldn`t want to ride it and get it dirty and chipped,it should be on display in the living room.

Don`t know if I`m allowed to say this but the wheels are `home`made, the person who posted the picture is advertising wheels made to order.

Seen on an auction site.

Hi W/Gazelle I fitted John Deere 279 deck spindle housings minus the shafts to the front stub axles of my C121 these have 3/4" bore bearings the same as the Wheelhorse I scrounged these from a customer of ours-a council mower shop whose policy was if the bearings are shot,change the whole assembly! If a walk behind mower needed more than a spark plug to repair it -it was scrapped! I bought a box of new bearings from the USA for these and fitted a couple of nice narrow Howard/ Dowdeswell rotavator wheels along with 4.00 x 8 tri rib tyres. These housings have four threaded holes to attach them to the deck,these now take the wheel bolts.They almost lined up,just a touch with a file needed, tube spacers then fitted to give the track width I wanted. regards Doug.

Thats what I thought I would do, it's finding the time t the moment. Doug.

Been to an R.A.F. base today to repair a piece of equipment and saw a board in the M.T.workshops displaying imperial fasteners. Asking a mechanic if they had any 1/4" x 1-3/8"" woodruff keys he thought for a start it was a tool, then said He did not know what they are & asked what they look like & what are they used for?

Ian's You tube channel: joined almost immediately. 'Almost immediately', can you say that? is it not like when they say "the time is almost exactly ***** " ?

Anglo traction, I've just been on a website 'keysandpins.com'. they quote: Imperial BS46 Part 1 1958Standard stock material Woodruff Key Keysteel 080M30 (EN6a) This material is no longer available keys are now produced from one of the materials listed below. Keysteel 080M40 (EN8). Werkstoff C45 +C. Werkstoff 1.4571 A2 303/304 grade stainless steel A4 316 grade stainless steel I've found my tester,an Electromatic Rangemaster hiding in the back of a cupboard,flat battery of course! I'll pick up a new battery and se what I can do.

Hi,Anglo Traction, Macreadys states "keysteel BS46: Part1: 1958 0.45% carbon maximum. 0.60/1.00%manganese." "EN8/080m40= 0.36 to 0.44% carbon, 0.6 to 1.00% manganese" I have, somewhere in the shed a portable hardness tester,I'll have to check the axle and some keysteel I have. When I bought this transaxle, one of the hubs had been welded to the shaft,luckily only on the end. I ground the weld off and the hub slid off: no key in either side but in the process I managed to set fire to my trousers and ended up with a burnt leg and hand

I have a 1972 Myford super7 a vertical mill I assembled from a Chester Champion compound table with a Westbury column and head. The westbury compound table,all cast iron dovetails etc I may turn into a small surface grinder. Languishing in the garage is an Elliot 10m shaper unused for the last 10years or so but brilliant for generating flat surfaces. No pics at the moment because everything in a right mess and no time to clear up.