The Projects Never End

[Toolslinger]

Thanks guys.

This is technically a finish cut flail. It isn't intended for heavy use. That said, it doesn't have any trouble up to about an inch and a half of woody brush. Not a steady diet of that, but taking out some of the thorn bushes I've been going after hasn't been any issue. It also can be overwhelmed with grass. When I got behind this spring due to rain, the fields got up to 3' or so tall, and lush. It choked on that much material. Running over downed branches hasn't been an issue either. Sounds bad, but the flails are just letting you know they're still back there. If it got quiet, you'd know there was an issue. It's a pretty quiet machine to begin with. Tractor far outpaces it on sound level.

Getting in to that rock was quite unpleasant to say the least. Took about 1 second to wipe out those stations...

Harry, thanks for the polarity note on the flux core. In just the little bit of reading I've done on it, I noted people talking about DCEN as you noted, and then if running it with gas, it goes back to DCEP. At which point my brain crashed, because flux core with gas never entered my mind... You mentioned CO2 as the gas. Would the typical 75/25 mix work as well? (might not pay to experiment since I'm trying to hide from the wind anyway)

If I find I'm happy with flux core, I would have to consider setting up another machine just for that setup. I have a spare Miller Matic 35 that isn't doing anything currently... Nice machine, but when I brought my Miller 252 out here when I closed my shop, I tucked it away... Without a gas bottle, it would be far easier to move it outside the barn to get close enough to the work.

[Harry]

Mig is usually low amperage with either CO2 or Argon mixed with CO2. Fluxcore can be gasless with certain wires, but most use CO2. The gas helps with the wire transfer to the base metal. Harry

Thanks Harry, I didn't know there was a point to run gas with flux core . In what application would you use flux core and CO2 and not just regular wire ?

It is usually used when you want a better weld than you get without it. Some fluxcore wires are gasless and some require gas. Gas can eliminate spatter too. Harry

[Toolslinger]

Well, it was way too windy today to have to decide on trying gas with the flux core... So, I just used it straight, and swapped the polarity. The welds ain't pretty, but they did improve as I got a feel for it and got dialed in.

So, this is now done with the welding. You can see the gray areas where the flux core left it's smoke trails. Cleaning is pretty much like working with aluminum. Debris is just gray/white, not black... Comes right off with a hand brush.

Next up is reattaching the knife mounts. All the old weld was cleaned off. Then I square up the remaining mount to the shaft with a bit of hammer persuasion. Bolt the loose mount to the existing with a 1/4" spacer between, and weld it in place. Failed to take a shot of that process, but I imagine you can figure it out... The spacers and bolts are in the tray below at the lower left. The saved knives are there as well, separated by left and right. They're all identical when new, but you can tell the wear pattern, so I just match what's on the machine.

Mott specified the hammer set cotter pins. I had some left from when I replaced all the knives, but not enough, so standard pins have been used. I'll order more, because this is sure to be a repeat experience... I also have a whole bucket of saved knives from when I bought it. They're basically in the same condition the brand new ones I put on it a couple years ago are now. I still have a few new knives, but there's no point in using them. While in theory you can sharpen these knives, and they do come with a bevel edge, the reality is they get hammered so much, so fast the blunt edge does just fine when it hits the grass right around 100mph...

Done, and coming off the table. I used a come along to pull it back to it's normal orientation, and then set it on the driveway with a support block.

Headed down to my uncle's garage, and grabbed the MF 135. Back up, and hooked it up. Bought a new top link for it yesterday that will be dedicated to this mower. My hydraulic top link is great, but it's just a little short of where this machine likes to sit. I don't need a live adjustment so fixed is fine. The hydraulic does make inspecting the knives a lot easier, but I can always back over the edge of my loading dock to work under it...

4 hours later, the fields are cut. Mower worked just fine. I checked after the mowing, because I found some more bloody rocks, and all is well. It handles that pretty well as long as you don't hit the mounts with the rock. The knives just kick back and get rounded over while you're busy trying to reach the 3 pt handle, which is always too late anyway, and you're past it.

On the down side, I lost a bearing in the PTO shield. So I spent the last hour figuring out what I needed to order to replace that, and also I've ordered a complete shield setup for the Ford brush hog... Just because it always worked in the past doesn't mean it can't get better....

I did set flags at 3 rock spots the will be coming out with a backhoe... (which is likely a 646 project for Case content, but there might be a larger backhoe in the near future to play with too...)

[DavidBarkey]

With @Toolslinger adventure into flux core welding a few things were not mentioned . This is a wonderful write up on the differences between Mig welding with solid wire and gas compared to flux core wire and no gas . I have welded with both for many years , but again I learn some new things . This is a must read for novice welders .
https://weldguru.com/flux-core-vs-mig-welding/

[Harry]

With @Toolslinger adventure into flux core welding a few things were not mentioned . This is a wonderful write up on the differences between Mig welding with solid wire and gas compared to flux core wire and no gas . I have welded with both for many years , but again I learn some new things . This is a must read for novice welders .
https://weldguru.com/flux-core-vs-mig-welding/

David thanks for posting the terrific welding link. An excellent article which gets into gas polarity and can be confusing. Some flux core wires use gas and some don’t. Gas is usually to dissipate the oxygen in the atmosphere out of the weld zone. Article is very detailed and a good read. Harry

[RoamingGnome]

Great welding article @DavidBarkey
All the welding done here in the "Big Sky Shop" is flux core, just no escaping from the wind when working outside -
and flux core inside makes for some pretty stinky clouds of smoke. For me one small advantage of using flux core is a little better visibility working in tight spaces because the stinger just has the small contact tip and the bulky gas nozzle isn't obscuring my line of sight when making that first strike.

[Toolslinger]

I decided some time ago that I wanted to get a generator that could handle basically my whole house. I also have a number of 3 phase woodworking tools that I don't have a good power source for. Between those two, the solution is a military surplus generator that can handle both. (well, I hope)

The search was on/off for a number of years, and 2 houses. I finally pulled the trigger on a MEP_802a. That's a 5k generator to the military, but it would be called 7.5k probably by the overly optimistic marketing people out there... 5k is 80% of it's "maximum" constant duty load. It will go beyond that for surge demand. How far beyond I don't really know, but probably not too far due to the breakers, not the engine and gen head.

I have been picking away at my setup for a couple months. It needed some annoying maintenance, but that's mostly done now, and I should be down to basic PM's. (I do still have to do the fuel/water separator which is apparently a real pain)

At any rate, here's a few shots... Apparently I didn't take any in-process photos of the internal work. I was pretty cranky, and covered in diesel, so didn't want to touch the phone.

Electrically, I put a 30 amp 3 phase plug on it. That can handle the 3 phase, and it's full capacity at 120/240. I setup the house to take a 50amp gen set in case I want to upgrade. The adapter to go from the 3 phase, to 50 amp single just lives at the inlet, and it's a straight 3 phase cord out to the unit. Yellow cord runs a 2 bank battery charger since these are 24v units running 2 12v batteries.

If I never wanted to use the unit away from the house, I'd just float the ground, and be done with it. Since this is going to move around, and be independent I didn't want to have to go in to the hookup panel for play with the ground. I added an external ground lug, and a switch to float, or bond the ground.

There was a storm coming through a couple weeks ago, so I buttoned it up in a hurry, and dropped it by the house. I will eventually tuck it behind the piers, and under the deck overhang to protect it a bit, but it's going to be difficult to get it there. It's just over 800#, so it outclassed the 646, and while no issue for my MF 135, there isn't a lot of room to work behind the piers. Regardless, it's good to go now, and with 1000gal of fuel oil underground for the boiler, I've basically got unlimited run time.

[Toolslinger]

Yesterday, it was blazingly hot. So, projects in the shade were the order of the day.

I put a buggy top on my MF 135, after changing the oil, and converting to a spin on filter. No photos, because I suck... Mounting the buggy top needs about 6 hands to hold things in place, but with enough cursing it can be done by one person... Looks good so far, but no idea how it will perform.

Next was pulling the radiator on my 1948 Diamond T. It developed a pin hole up in the top area. Not terrible, but messy, and I don't ever want to have to do this again. So first the butterfly hood has to come off. It isn't hard, but it is unwieldy, and the hardware has been on there for decades. Everything did come off reasonably well surprisingly. I drafted my uncle, and his guests to help me lift it off.

Unfortunately, the windlace has to come off to remove the bolts holding the radiator to the nose. So that will be a headache on the back end, but the rivets came out ok, and I have some bulk windlace that should work. I didn't know it at the time, but I could have removed everything by taking the top support rod, and two bottom mounting bolts off, and then have better access to pull the radiator mounting bolts. Such is life.

So, out with the engine hoist, because what Diamond T calls sheet metal, is bordering on plate steel. Nothing is light on this truck.

I rigged to a couple clamps. Not my favorite, but it worked pretty nicely.

It was tight coming out. Words were exchanged... Eventually with enough persuasion, it came free.

Lowered it down on a cradle with a packing blanket, and the radiator just lifted out.

She leaks a touch, and also the fan seeps grease, so the front of the engine is always a train wreck... I may clean this up a bit now that I have access... The fan is an independent piece that mounts in the yoke to the left of the generator. It's weird not having a fan mounted direct to the engine, but it does make removal pretty easy.

[DavidBarkey]

That is a neat old truck .

[RoamingGnome]

Thanks for the visit inside your shop, That Diamond T is a cool old piece of history... And your Genset is something to drool over.