4x4forks

Another good one Joseph.   Now we know who makes the mysterious crop circles. It's you.

We finally had a dry and sunny day, so we decided to get most of our running Bolens tractors out for a run. This is our celebration of 100 years of Bolens.
 
 

Hi all, as most of you will know I'm moving on to pastures er.. smaller, which means a new workshop in my garden.
This is really a tale of 2 sheds and a demo-cabin as you will see..
 
As this is a budget build I needed to find/use as much recycled wood as possible, which is where shed No 1 comes in.
 
A big thank you to my Wife's daughter Lisa for letting me have a shed that wasn't going to be used..
No photo's of it before it was taken down, but here's one showing how it arrived at my place
 

 
 
This is where the demo-cabin comes into things.
There used to be a company trading at the end of the nursery (when my current workshop is) that sold posh wooden cabins..
To show their wares they had a demo cabin built that had different cladding on each side ond inside!
Companys come and go, and this one went leaving the demo cabin behind for at least 5 years, maybe longer....
 
HHmm... Look at all that usable wood thinks me...
One chat later and I had bought it for the amazing price of £50
Of course no photo's of the cabin before Rob and I started taking it apart, but here's a couple of the naked frame.
 

 

 
 
The only problem using used materials is they tend to have lot's of nails/screws/big staples holding them together which means a lot of the timber came off looking like this!
 

 
 
All the wood and tools were transported about the site on this trolley thingy.
 

 
 
Having taken the timber off it needed to be stored somewhere.. yep the workshop!
This will give you a clue as to the vast amount of wood came off the cabin and this is only the ouside, inside and roof cladding!
 

 

 

 

 
 
The cabin also coame with this funky double glazed window that opens both ways!
 

 
 
 

Reversible Plough. Nice!

Went out on saturday without my carer and ended up buying a reversible plough painted blue but Kubota and a 1.25m flail topper.
Couple of winter projects.  the tractor dose pull the plough nicely even though it looks a bit big.
I am going to need a bigger barn soon. 

Dug this out from the storage shed and thought it would make a little winter project, I’ve got another one somewhere in bits so more rummaging when time permits.
A little challenge to build the pair together for next year’s shows.

Well the hydraulics are working fine and i have  made the snow plough attachment fit the front. It needs finishing as lots of metal cut with plasma needs grinding and then painting but the geometry works 

Well the hydraulics are working fine and i have  made the snow plough attachment fit the front. It needs finishing as lots of metal cut with plasma needs grinding and then painting but the geometry works 

A bit more progress on the 600. To make repairs easier we removed all the panels. Some were easier to remove than others and we found a few surprises.
 
Alan, dad did help a little, once I had woken him up :-)
 
 

This is the second part of our 1962 Bolens 600 project. In this video we fit new tubes to the rear tyres to make the tractor more mobile.
 
In this video I tried to talk a bit louder, Norm let me know if this is better
 
 

Latest improvement to the Orange beast. Auxiliary Hydraulics.
I wanted to make a hydraulic top link and a snow plough so I have made a tapping for the hydraulic line ,Made and mounted a bracket to mount the twin spool valves up out of the way . I am going to improve the pluming to keep it nearer the spool. 
Currently all fitted and not leaking. 

Had a play with this 1980's MF 525 combine this afternoon. Not been run for around 10yrs at least and sitting with a flat tyre. Of course the flat had to be up against the wall and the combine leaning against it.

 
    I'm under there trying to blow the tyre up, with the compressor we brought down from the main farm. Luck was with us and the tyre inflated and stayed up.
   Next job was to see if it would start. New battery fitted and after some whirling, priming, fiddling and more whirling, the Perkins 3ltr something burst into life.
  So far so good. Now to move it. First we had to move the 1970's, I think it is, IH digger. That started with no problem. Always does with a squirt of Easy Start. It's always need  Easy Start as long as I can remember.
 

 
 Back to the combine and it refused to move. Left hand wheel made an effort, but the right hand one refused to budge. Brakes seized was the first thought. But it had been left with the brakes of. Now I know nothing about these things, but weighing up the axle and hubs etc I came to the conclusion, due to no centre differential, the hubs are hydraulic driven.
  Back at the main farm, I had a look at an operators manual. This proved my suspicion. The wheels are hydraulically driven. But there was no info on stripping them. So my friend is going to get in touch with an agricultural fitter he sometimes uses.
 

Good luck.Looks like a nice project  
 

Latest improvement to the Orange beast. Auxiliary Hydraulics.
I wanted to make a hydraulic top link and a snow plough so I have made a tapping for the hydraulic line ,Made and mounted a bracket to mount the twin spool valves up out of the way . I am going to improve the pluming to keep it nearer the spool. 
Currently all fitted and not leaking. 

Latest improvement to the Orange beast. Auxiliary Hydraulics.
I wanted to make a hydraulic top link and a snow plough so I have made a tapping for the hydraulic line ,Made and mounted a bracket to mount the twin spool valves up out of the way . I am going to improve the pluming to keep it nearer the spool. 
Currently all fitted and not leaking. 

We have started work on a new project, a 1962 Bolens 600. This tractor has been modified in the past and has lots of challenges. The tractor was bought in 2005 and has been in storage ever since. Like our other projects, I find it easier to record video rather than write up what we are doing, here is the first part
 
 

In haste i made a quick hitch on Friday just to try it in the ground, it dug in well but had a lot of sideways movement so I decided to make a new one but only had the photos of above to go on.
Just using some scrap bits of angle iron and a lump of plate, drill and welder this is what i came up with. 

Mid-day update, I’ve replaced all the bolts with the right size, made a temporary hitch so i can mount it on my Raider 12 and  cleaned some of the rust off with a grinder.
I see how it works over the weekend, i can always use my old faithful.

I would agree looks like a Brinly but not as it came out the factory . Mean modified over the years i would say.
 

Bought this the other day, thought it would look good displayed next to my Rowcrop.
Its a 1950 Triang Major.

I got about half the bunch out, 5 new batteries, 6 gallons of engine oil. 8 new air and fuel filters.
 

Hi all here are some pictures of one of the Gutbrod 1030s now set up with finger mower attachment of to do some mowing  
not sure if it needs adjustment but it was cutting ok try it in some longer grass next time 

UP AND RUNNING! Bryco spot on company for gaskets and engine parts Mail order and quick. 
Heads checked , gaskets renewed . Rebuilt. Lawns mowed. Happy Wife. 
All in the world is well ...lol 

I agree. That's something that gets neglected.

I’d certainly check the heads for flatness but also re- torque them cold after a few hours of running.