Waking up the ol' Cub

[Waif]

Slick.
I can imagine that set up with the previous ramp ( undamaged though..) being even more handy...
My cub has a D shaped back added to the seat my crutches go over to transport.
Hauling a chair would be sweet though for off tractor seat work in the field.

[Willy]

The ramp was the least damaged part of it. The SUV that rearended us rode up on the rack and pushed the wheelchair into the hatch. The rack has got a slight down bend to it now, but it's still serviceable for what I want to do and I can still put the ramp back on it if needed.

I need to widen the wheels track a bit as they're set about as narrow as they get and I still have to deal with the throttle. But I'm going to a local metal fab shop in a bit to get some 2" square tubing so I can mount the scraper blade. I'm thinking about putting the universal lift frame back on the front to mount the blade off of somehow. I'm pretty sure there's a way to do it, I just have to get the pieces together and see how it would best work.

[Willy]

Been busy printing off pages of various electronic copies of manuals so I can adjust the throttle properly, reset the wheel track a bit wider and to make sure I get the front universal frame mount back on and adjust the pressure rods as I took them apart to clean them up.

[Willy]

Not much going on here with the holidays and all, plus it's cooled off quite a bit in that unheated shop. I did put the universal frame lift for the cultivator setup back on the Cub, but more on that later.

I got a deal on some thick wall 2" square steel tubing a local fab shop had left over from one of their jobs. A little over 5ft for $15 which sure beat the prices I was seeing anywhere else. I was needing about 18" to adapt my ATV blade to the hitch. That will be just a matter of cutting to length and drilling the mounting holes. I was going to mount it on the drawbar, but I've got an idea I like better now.

I'm going to mount that blade under the Cub using the cultivator universal lift frame. Instead of using the tool bars, I'll bolt some of that 2" running across between the two sides of the lift for stability using some grade 8 bolts the same size as the tool bar hanging bolts. Then, bolt another 2" hitch receiver centerline on that and mount the blade into that. The pressure rods on the lift will act as a trip mechanism in case I hit something solid with it. And the universal frame will raise and lower the blade pretty much level. And the whole thing will weigh less than the original front cultivator set up. At least that's the plan (unless I get a better idea)

[Jim Becker]

I'm not sure about mounting the blade to the UMFs. I would only do it if the blade had a good built-in trip mechanism. Otherwise, hitting something with the blade will put a big jolt on the UMFs. When they were new, it would have probably been OK. But they usually have quite a lot of wear at the front pivots and the casting at the pivot wasn't super strong in the first place. The loose joints make them easier to break.

[Willy]

Thanks for the info as it gives me something to keep an eye out for. My "UMF" is surprising tight considering it's former career on a farm. As my blade was made to be pulled by an ATV, it's pretty light. 52 x 12" and weighs a little over 40 pounds. I'm only planning on using it for removing snow from the driveway and maybe some loose dirt and gravel.

Around here, you don't see blades (or mower decks) for Cubs for sale often and any complete ones are attached to the tractor and for sale with it. Cultivators and plows seem to the norm here. So, I'm having to improvise.

[Willy]

Didn't think to get a pic, but I had the blade on the Cub for a few minutes late this afternoon for some trial fitting a measuring to make sure I could get full movement without it hitting the tractor. I've got the mounting bar on and bolted down and just have to do the blade end of the mount now. If nothing else gets in the way, I should be able to have it functional tomorrow.

[Willy]

I'm starting to get tired of this below freezing for days stuff. My shop is too cold to work in.

But I did get it mostly together Saturday on a trial fit and then took it back apart to put the blade edge on it. And that's pretty much where I'm at until it warms up some. Tennessee isn't supposed to be getting this cold. I'm starting to think the North Pole has moved to the other side of the highway.



Yeah, I know the front tires are "a bit" dry rotted. Probably the original ones to the Cub. They're going to be replaced before spring.

I was looking for some sheet rubber to slip under the blade edge where it could act like a giant squeegee on the driveway and protect the pavement. Then last night I was moving a heavy duty "kinkfree" garden hose to the basement. The hose was full of water and froze up solid. It broke about 8ft from the end when it snagged on something. I'm thinking I might not some sheet rubber after all if I do it right. Got it thawing out in the basement now.

[Willy]

Ordered a set of rear rockshaft bearings this morning. The left one has close to a half inch of play in it.

[Willy]

The rockshaft bearings came in the mail this morning and it warmed up to just above freezing, so I went out to the shop and put them in. They're a little bit of a tight into the bracket holes, but nothing a little perseverance couldn't overcome. Actually, they'd probably have went together better if the bracket wasn't so cold and the bearings hadn't been warm from being in my pocket until I installed them. Overall, I'm pretty impressed with them. They're made by one of the forum members (can't remember his user name) and I found them on ebay. And at less than $40 including shipping, they're an excellent buy if your rockshaft is rocking in places it shouldn't like mine was.

And since it had those new bearings and I hadn't run Lil Red in almost a week and the chicken feeders were running a bit low, I put the platform on the rear and hauled a few bags of chicken feed down to the chicken pen. Then drove around the place checking things out.

I'm still getting a good bit of smoke at startup and noticed this afternoon that there's a thin layer of oil on the side of the block around the crankcase breather. I suspect that I've still got some stuck rings. I've never been much on those miracles in a can to dump in an engine, but if it doesn't clear up soon, I figure I won't have much to lose by trying some Seafoam in the engine oil. But at least, she's starting right up now and ready to go after a minute of running (after sitting around below freezing for a week).

Starting Sunday, we're supposed to get a heatwave up into the 40s with no lows below freezing and some rain to go with it, so hopefully I can get in some more quality time in the shop.

[Bill Hudson]

... They're made by one of the forum members (can't remember his user name) and I found them on ebay. ...

That would be Barnyard.

Bill

[Willy]

Thanks Bill! I kind of thought that was his username but not sure at all of it and really would have hated to get it wrong. Anyway, I'm more than tickled with the bushings. It's a pleasure to do business with Barnyard.

BTW, Aggie class of '02 here.

[Bill Hudson]

GIG "EM AGGIES!!!! Class of '78.

Bill

[Willy]

Those big nuts that hold the tool bars onto the UMF. Are they supposed to be extremely difficult to get off and on the bolts? If I thread them onto the bolt taper towards the bolt head, I can't get more than maybe one thread on before it gets impossible to turn by hand. If I put them on "upside down", they thread on just fine until that bottom thread hits the bolt. Both nuts are the same way and with both the original bolts and the longer ones I'm using for the blade.

[Willy]

Didn't get much done yesterday or today. I've been dragging my feet on getting the welding box I got for Christmas set up. I'm needing a little welding done now so, yesterday I got it set up and started running practice beads and welding pieces of scrap metal together. I still make some of the ugliest welds in the world, but they do hold ok. I guess that why they make angle grinders, to grind the ugly off of my welds. I will say that I do like this wire welding stuff a lot better than the stick welding I did back in the day. I still miss my old torch though.