A day Working with Grampa

Before Allyssia and I bought our property in Farmington the only way for me to get my hit and miss fix was watching YouTube videos or going over to Grampa's.  With that said, over a year ago, the whole family was at Gramie and Grampas and being a nice day I went out to the garage to start an engine just for fun.  My engine of choice on this particular day was a Gray engine. Now Gray is the brand of the engine not the color.

 This engine has accompanied Grampa and I to many shows and earlier in the summer I had taken it to a show and ran it.  It has always been such a fine running engine and an easy starter so I was shocked when trying to start it the flywheels would not spin all the way over.  What we found was a pin had slipped out and got caught in the governor weight bending the half inch pin.

The bent pin is in the blue square on my picture.  It was hard to get a decent picture of the pin but you can see it is sticking out and the bracket it is holding on is not flush against the main casting because of the bent pin.  The pin is not bent severely but just enough to stop full rotation. Fast forward a year or so and it was time for the chain fall and some proper disassembly!

With the spreader hooked on to pull straight up on both flywheels we started going up.  At about half an inch off from the engine when we realized that the timing gear would also have to come out.  So with careful checking and marking we removed the timing gear. 

We so carefully checked and rechecked the timing gear because it is imperative that the teeth match up exactly as they originally were or the engine wont run right or it wont run at all.  With the timing gear safely out we were free to raise the flywheels and crankshaft off from the engine block.

Rather than work under the flywheels we rolled the engine away while we got the bent pin removed.  We were extremely lucky that the pin only bent in one spot and was able to be pulled right out of the bracket without any trouble. 

It was at this point that we were able to work in the warmth as we retreated to the machine shop in the basement.  In the basement we chased down a short piece of 1/2" cold rolled round stock to make our new pin.  We started with drilling the hole in it for a cotter pin and then set it up on the milling machine to cut a flat spot for the keeper bolt to rest.  None of my shop pictures came out well but I did get a picture of the finished product before it was installed. 

As you can see nothing super special just a two and a half inch long pin.  I enjoyed making it and getting to work in the machine shop.  Every time I have the chance to work in the machine shop it is a learning experience and I absolutely love it.  We then moved on to reassembly which went just as smoothly as could be and thanks to our well marked gears the timing was exactly as we started. 

According to the pictures here it looks like Grampa is doing all the work but I swear I was helping and not just taking pictures.  Now for what we have all been waiting for, the sweet sound of this engine starting up after having been torn apart for repairs. 
                                                             The Gray engine in Action
Overall it was a great day well spent.  At the end of the day we had one more running engine and Grampa sent me home with my next Hit and Miss project but that is a story for another day.  Stay tuned and leave a comment I love hearing everyone's input.

The Long Overdue First Drive

I can remember the last time that Grampa and I used the Oliver at his house like it was yesterday.  It was winter and we had gone up into the woods on the four wheeler and we got awful stuck.  At the time it seemed like we were ten miles into the woods and we had to walk all the way down out of the woods and through the field back to the house.  Once back at the house we took the Oliver all the way up to where the four wheeler was and got unstuck and cleared a path to drive back.  Then it was back down to the house with the Oliver and you can see where this is going, another ten mile walk back up in the woods!  I know that Grampa used it after that some but I don't remember riding on it after that.  Since about 2003 the Oliver has set out back of Grampa's house and he has had multiple opportunities to sell it but he held out knowing that I wanted it.  As I have said before I hauled it home two and a half years ago and since May 2018 the blog posts have been piling up like crazy updating you all to the craziness getting it back into running shape.  

It has taken me seven long months of tearing this apart, replacing parts and ordering things to get it running enough to drive it around the driveway.  I still have a ways to go to be where I want to be with the Oliver but I will be honest and say that I have been just a little bit disheartened by all of the problems that I have had throughout the last seven months.  Getting to finally drive this tractor that I have dreamed of driving for a good many years was all the motivation that I needed to get myself back into high gear and get the old girl running and pushing snow, dirt, manure and anything else that gets in my way!!  So without further delay I have video proof that the Oliver is a running machine!
                                                   Finally some fun with the Oliver
Needless to say you will definitely be seeing more blog posts about the Oliver and many more videos but the good news is that it is running.  I would also like to recognize that Allyssia braved the cold with me to take the pictures and push the starter button 700 times so that I could have the Oc3 running tonight! Stay tuned and remember to leave a comment.

Carrying in a New Project

Up until the past few years most of my projects have involved wheeled machinery that I can push, pull, or drive into the shop.  I have been slowly switching interests so to speak to larger tractors and another type of farm equipment.  The other type of farm equipment is something that I was introduced to young and have always been interested but have not always had the room for.  The farm equipment I speak of is of course hit and miss engines.   I have owned a few engines for a while now but had no job for them to do.  I also did not have the room to store them or a permanent place to build for them.  Since buying our farm I now have a garage and land that I can build a nice pole barn to store my newly acquired Bulldog and saw rig. See previous blog (The Bulldog Blog)  I am also looking for a few other hit and miss powered pieces of machinery to play around with as well. 

One of the pieces I would like to find is a hay press.  A hay press is basically a  baler that you feed by hand and have to tie the bales together by hand.  It would be a fun way to take care of the hay that I cut around the pastures and I would be running a hit and miss engine at the same time. 

The other major implement I would like to have is a Clark mills foundry wood splitter like the one shown above.  These splitters were made right in Rumford Maine and I would like one just to go along with my saw rig.  Back to the topic at hand! I finally brought one of my engines home that I had bought about three years back.  It was stored at my parents but is coming home to get fixed.

It's a smaller engine than my other two and luckily the skid steer was able to lift it out of the truck and set it into the shop.

So here it is, another project to pile up on top of the other projects.  I always want more projects even if I already have a lot of them.  So there it is, the longest introduction to a new project ever.  Stay tuned for more tomorrow, I have a fun little day planned with lots of pictures to come. 

Warm the Heart

Here in the great forested state many of us enjoy cutting, splitting, hauling, and stacking firewood for the winter.  It is especially pleasant in the winter when you have been out shoveling roofs or snow-blowing and are chilled to the bone.  To be able to sit in front of the radiating heat coming from a wood stove that is going full bore is a feeling like no other. With that said, today I finally was able to move my old oil boiler and move my wood stove into place.  Tomorrow I will pick up the stove pipe and on Thanksgiving I can have a nice fire to keep the house warm for the festivities. 

Just a little history on this stove before I call it quits for tonight - this stove was given to me by a customer when I inquired about it. He said "If you can get it out of the basement it's yours"and that should have been my sign to leave it there but I persisted.  With five people, a lot of swearing and a lot of struggling we got it out of one basement and into Allyssia and my old house's basement.  We used it for two winters there and when we moved it followed.  Here it has set in my garage for a few months and then moved to the front porch and finally, to it's last resting place in my basement.  This winter if I am not in the shop you know you can find me sitting by the wood stove in my tractor seat stool soaking up the heat.

A Workshop

Farm mechanics know donning your workshop in the form of cover-alls, a bomber hat, heavy mittens and a scarf is not a pleasant experience.  Trying to hold small parts in gloved hands or better yet having fingers that you cant feel, all while trying to install the smallest nut or screw that is of the utmost importance and nearly irreplaceable is basically impossible.  All of us have been there and know what I speak of.  Some of us have been there for our work whether it be plumbing and heating or operating and doing maintenance on your own log truck.  Then there are those of us who also subject ourselves to that very same cold for the sake of our hobby.  I fall into both of these categories.  Though I may complain about the cold, and let me tell you I sure can complain, I still venture back outside to work on my equipment in the cold. 

If you've been following the farm right along I'm sure you remember this, replacing the engine on the caterpillar mid winter in the snow.  If you are new to the farm blog be sure to read back through and feel free to comments on any of the previous blog posts.  Luckily the pictures for the blog are all taken by me - otherwise they would all show me waddling around with my many layers, cussing at the snow while digging through it for the one nut that disappeared and sunk all the way to the ground.  Some of this trouble came to a halt when Allyssia and I bought our house.  Since Allyssia was getting the huge barn for her horses, (I still think that there is room for tractors and engines to fit in with them) I completely claimed the garage.  Having a garage keeps me out of the wind and snow and is an amazing improvement.  This winter (so I can work in a few less layers) I am installing a furnace.

Some of you may recognize this as a trailer furnace.  I got this from work in good condition and decided to work smarter this winter.  I have it set up to just be plugged into an extension cord and away we go.  I still have to pick up the smoke pipe and tie that in, but the hardest part is done and next time I work outside I will be warm.  Having a warm shop may even temp Allyssia to come work with me a little but we will see about that!
 Until next time - stay warm.

The Farm Turns White

As with every year the white blanket of snow has arrived at the farm.  It is not my favorite sight but after a little staring in disbelief or is it denial? I started the truck, hooked onto the plow and headed out to push the snow in circles so that I look like I might know what I am doing.  Allyssia on the other hand bundles up so that she looks like the abominable snow man and grumbles along in the cold.  I personally think that her three winters in Florida might have spoiled her but that's just my opinion.  With the snow comes a whole new task of keeping cars and tractors cleaned off as well as roofs and walkways.  With all that said I can say that I would not want it any other way and even with my grumbling and incoherent muttering about all of the snow and cold you wouldn't find me anywhere else

Backtracking?

Somehow I seem to be back to square one with what I am referring to as the never ending Oliver.  With the first motor we started out with the head off and found a  couple of cracked pistons.  With this engine I was trying to fire it but was having some trouble with it not firing and backfiring.  Upon removal of the valve cover I found the exhaust valve for number one cylinder was stuck in the open position. 

No matter how I tried I could not get this picture to come out well but if you look carefully in the circled area you can see that the lifter is all the way down and the valve is still up.  I proceeded to carefully remove the head but not without creasing the head gasket in two places.

With the anti-freeze drained down I also decided to change the water pump that has been dripping ever so slightly.  The water pump that was on this engine has been sitting for probably fifteen years with nothing in it so the seals are probably all dried out.  Luckily the engine I pulled had a good non leaking water pump that I could just switch over. 

As of now I am waiting on parts but that doesn't stop me from making small adjustments like adding a better drain port for the anti-freeze.  The original drain points straight onto the frame and when trying to catch and reuse your anti-freeze it makes it difficult and not to mention messy.  The simplest way to remedy this is about six dollars in black iron fittings and approximately ten minutes. 

 It is nothing super amazing but to save on mess and save some money by saving anti-freeze it was an awesome investment. 

And for today's final bit I would like to say that I ordered my parts for the Oliver from a place that Grampa has ordered many parts from.  Zimmerman Oliver parts is out of Pennsylvania and the gentleman that runs it is extremely helpful and knowledgeable.  With that said I have a new head gasket and a carburetor kit coming in the mail this week. Someday this project will end with a nice running machine but until then stay tuned and check back next time!