Fenders for Old Smokey

Last weekend we had a get together for Grammie's Birthday which was this past Tuesday, she turned 84 this year!  While over there I remembered that up in the pole barn there was a set of fenders that came off a an old Case loader that Grampa had at one point. 

This is really not the greatest picture of them. If it was a better picture you would see just how beat up these fenders really are. These fenders are over fifty years old and came off a tractor that was used in the town salt and sand pile so they are a fair bit rusty but were repainted years ago. 

Since the fenders were not original to Old Smokey they don't have the correct mounting brackets, nor are they the correct size.  I am not an overly picky person and am just glad to have fenders so the fact that they are a little short does not bother me. 

As for the mounting bracket, I could not find a U-Bolt large enough to go around the axle so I went ahead and got some half inch threaded rod and made my own U-Bolts.  The fenders are surprisingly sturdy but I would not recommend trying to sit on them!

From this angle the height difference between the tires and the fenders is noticeable but just about anything is an improvement over no fenders! I like them - so over all that's all that matters.
That's all for tonight and we hope you keep coming back to check in and leave a comment to let us know what you think. 

A New Brewery in Town

Friday night Tristan invited me out to have a couple of brews.  So after work I came home, helped Allyssia with the horses, and went to help at a free supper at the church.  After the supper I headed over to Tristan's house so that we could ride together for the whole half a mile to the brewery.  We left the house and down over the hill we went to Ambition Brewing.

  Ambition Brewing is a small craft brewery situated right in the heart of Wilton, Maine.  The brewery itself is in an older building and the owner has done a great job in giving the place a welcoming old style pub feeling.  While getting the bar ready they locally sourced a lot of the parts and pieces that go into a bar.  They had the bar stool tops custom made by Maine Made Furniture Co.  The stools and bar top are amazing and add to the look of the place immensely.

 And on to the most important part..... the beer!  In the short time they have been open they have brewed up an impressive amount of beers.  As of Friday when Tristan and I were at the brewery there were ten different Beers.  With each beer they had multiple kegs of each in the cooler waiting to be tapped and drank. 

Where I am not a big drinker and still needed to drive home I had a glass of the #8 and a sample of the #2.  Both beers were excellent and I will most definitely be back.

 So if you are looking for something to do on a Thursday, Friday, or Saturday night I would Highly recommend taking a trip down to 295 Main Street in Wilton, Maine to the Best and Smallest Brewery in Wilton.  I can just about guarantee that you wont be disappointed.  Make sure to check them out on Facebook as well and give them a like.
                                                              Ambition Brewing!
Remember that small business like this rely on the community to keep them going, so support local.  Check back often and leave a comment and let us know what you think.  

The New Old Pump

As a collector of fine antique equipment and rust I am always looking for ways to put this old equipment to work.  I have always felt that it is easier for non collectors to understand the equipment if it has a purpose.  Old smokey has the sickle mower and I also have a farmi winch to go with it. The Quadractor I have brought places and brought a log to hook up under it to show its purpose.  When it comes to my hit and miss engines it is a little more difficult to find a practical use for them. That being said sometimes you stumble into something and that is exactly what happened here. 

I stole my new cart out from under the Galloway so that I could set up this nifty little rig.  The power unit on the cart is a mid forties international model Lb engine.  The engine rates between three and five horse power.  On the right we have a basic water pump.  I am working on getting the engine running so that I can tow the whole rig down to the stream and fill the water tank in the bongo truck this summer.  I am currently looking for a few parts for the carburetor and I need to get a belt made up for it.  Coming off the pump I am going to pipe it up with brass on the inlet and outlet.  For those of you wondering, the Galloway did not get kicked onto the ground, it got a cart of its very own and has been bolted onto the cart for an extended stay. 

As always I love seeing comments and suggestions,  Remember to check back often as you never know what we might be up to. 

North to Alaska, I mean Rangely

Today was a super laid back day for Allyssia and I.  We decided on what Allyssia calls a mental health afternoon and went for a ride.  We both wanted to do a little bit more snowshoeing before the warm weather takes the crisp white snow and brings the colors of spring, Rangely was a good option.  We headed up the main route through Strong and Philips and stopped at Smalls Falls.  There was a well packed trail across the field to the trail but snowshoes were a must.  We could see where someone had come out without some snowshoes and every few steps they sunk to a depth over the knee.  At home the snow has started to melt and it is a noticeable drop in the snow but up here the snow even where the path has packed it down seems to be almost four feet deep.
It is a short little hike and this time of year it is worth the trip to go see.

We hiked all the way up the side of the falls and then continued on a little ways further until we ran into the snowmobile trail bridge and then turned around.  As we rounded one part of the footpath I had a clear view of the bridge that we crossed so I got Allyssia to stand there while I ran ahead to stand on the bridge to get a picture.

After I figured she got a good picture I ran back up so that we could walk down together and then I could get a few pictures of her by the falls.

Once back to the truck we went and checked out the closed Saddleback ski area.  From there we moseyed up into Oquossic and stopped for a simple lunch at the The 45th Parallel.  We have been here once before while on a Jeeping expedition with my friend Connor.  From there we headed home to clean stalls and spend the rest of the day doing a whole lot of relaxing with the dogs.  Until next time stay tuned and check back often. 

A Christmas Concert

If you follow my Facebook you will know that Tuesday I got out of work a little bit early and met a friend for a concert.  I don't usually like to leave work early but for the Dropkick Murphy's I am more than happy to take off an hour early. The Dropkick Murphy's are an Irish punk rock band and even though Allyssia bought me 2 tickets for Christmas she did not care too much to go so I invited my friend Ed.  I knew that Ed listened to the Dropkick Murphy's because he lives near the shop and I have driven by in the summer and could hear him blasting them on the radio!  Anyways on Tuesday Ed picked me up at the park and ride in Auburn and we headed for Portland.  Once in Portland we went for supper at Club Bingas Stadium. Dinner was awesome and from there we walked straight to the State Theater.   Now I did not get too many great pictures of the band because of the lighting.

The problem was not a lack of lighting but to much lighting and nothing came out well.  Regardless of having great pictures or not Ed and I had a great time even though we did not get back home until one in the morning.  I did not get much sleep and that is why Wednesday I did nothing when I got home from work.  I could not get my video to upload but here is another live video that is actually better quality than mine!
                                                              Dropkick Murphy's Live
 That's all for tonight but until next time stay tuned and check back often. 

Working through the Discouragement.

 Everyone that has been reading my blog since we moved into the new house knows how long the saga of the Oliver has gone on.  I would be lying if I said that it wasn't discouraging at times. Some projects I have to just walk away from for a short time and that is why I have always had multiple projects going. I have been avoiding the Oliver after the last time trying to start it because I was just so disheartened by it. I worked on some other projects until this last week when I decided to try a few more things to Oliver.  To start off I decided that it would be easier to diagnose if the engine was warm when I first tried to start it rather than trying to limp it along and get it to warm up naturally. 

When I pulled the freeze plug where the block heater was going I had a good charge of sludge in the heater sump.  With a little time the sludge flushed out and I was left with a clean block heater sump!  On the engine that was replaced there was a different heater that was connected between the sump and the head.  I was going to drill and tap the plate that was originally there to fit this new style heater but luckily found a better way. 

When I brought the yellow plate into work to drill and tap it one of my co-workers suggested I try a calculator flange.  With just a little ovaling of the bolt holes the flange fit perfectly.  After that I was home free.  I was able to save the Gasket and used a bit of perma-tex to make a good seal and filled the engine back up with no leaks.  I did test the block heater after it was in but did not get to try the engine as the magneto is currently on the bench being cleaned and tested.  I am hoping that the Magneto is part of the problem and I will have the Oliver pushing snow and manure soon.  Until next time stay tuned and check back often. 

All projects come around

With the carburetor for the Galloway at the machine shop to have the valve seated properly I decided to shift gears back to getting it running.  Besides the carburetor leaking gas badly the Galloway has low compression.  I know its hard to believe that an engine this old has low compression but it is true.  I started my search when I got this engine home and I filled the hopper with water and fired the engine up to look for bubbles in the water.  The bubbles would indicate a leak in the head or in the water jacket and luckily I had no bubbles.  So tonight I fired up my furnace and went to work. 

Parts started flying off left and right beginning with the head.  Once the head was off I checked the intake and exhaust valves and everything looked well seated.  I also cleaned the bore out with a rag and checked for scoring or scratches and to my delight found none.  Next up was to remove the piston!

After finding everything in acceptable condition I was expecting to find a stuck ring on the piston but much to my dismay all three of the rings were free.  After some de-greasing and cleaning I decided that leaving it assembled would be better so I began putting it back together.  After reassembly I found the compression to be the same as before.  Not to sound disappointed but I didn't find anything wrong other than the cylinder and rings are just very worn.  I am not giving up and am looking into my options so be on the lookout for more on the Galloway as it progresses.  As always stay tuned and check back often. 

Moving Snow in Style

As promised I am trying to catch up from being an absent blogger.  Over the course of a week I tend to make about a hundred plans for the weekend with every good intention of getting them all done.  A few weekends back Allyssia had some basic plans made but as always they got changed around before the weekend even started.  We planned on grabbing my father's small Mahindra tractor to move the snow that slid off from the barn roof and froze solid.  Saturday we did indeed get the tractor but the snowbank was so solid that even after working for a few hours we had hardly made a dent in giant ice pile.  At that point I made a phone call and luckily I was able to rent a pay-loader for Sunday. 

Long story short I rented it for three hours to move the ice block of snow that had come off the barn roof and it made such quick work of it I even had time to push all of my snowbanks back.  Having widened my driveway and moving all my snow that needed to be moved I returned the pay-loader thinking that just a few more storms to plow and I will be done but unfortunately I was wrong.  The week after having the pay-loader we had multiple days of high winds with the dry snow and ended with some four foot deep drifts.  I did not get any pictures of the drifts and when I was cleaning it up it was dark out.  I ended up spending around three hours on the borrowed tractor ever so slowly pushing the drifts and re clearing the driveway.  Knock on wood from here on out we will not have many more storms and I can be done moving snow until next winter! Remember to check back often!

Sunny day

So I have been a bit of an absent blogger this past week and even though you haven't missed out on much that we have done I know I need to get back into the groove of multiple blog posts a week.  This weekend has been a slow one and tonight's blog post will bring you up to date on a few small projects but for now Allyssia and I are going to enjoy the amazing weather we have outside.  The sun is out and just as bright as ever, The horses are out without blankets on and Allyssia, the dogs and I are enjoying this perfect day amidst all the cold. 

                             (With how Emily is squinting it must be pretty darn bright out there)
Today we are going to go for a nice long walk and for the first time since fall I am going to make my signature teriyaki charcoal grilled chicken and potato salad - well the potato salad is Allyssia's specialty.

 To end this mornings blog I hope everyone gets to enjoy this beautiful day and though I am not doing much tractor related today I will have some updates and projects to show tonight!.  So make sure to check back tonight as I will post more after I enjoy this amazing day!