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I have a question of curiosity about tomatoes, and this likely applies to many other seasonal crops. Not far from me are a lot of tomato fields (SW MI). A few weeks back, I was driving by and saw the harvesting. Interesting process, I should have taken a couple of photos. Bottom line, the...

Hey, I may not own a John Deere any longer but I still enjoy being around them: (safety police comments not necessary)

I'm tractorless at home now but a new fleet at work will give me plenty of seat time if I need. First 7 of 21 total have arrived!

It's been a journey! My wife and I both grew up on rural property, but not farms. In 1999 we purchased 10 acres and built a home where we have raised our 2 boys. Of course, part of my justification for the property was the need for a tractor! Much time has passed, oldest son is putting his...

I like to take the loader off when I do a lot of brush-hogging. It doesn’t bounce as much and just kind of looks cool!

Hands down, the Tru-Scale Scout was my favorite. My parents had a Scout and I’m sure I begged them non-stop for the toy. I ran it into the ground and found this one on eBay more recently. It was a well designed toy with a lot of functionality and well made too. What was your favorite?

Finally put out driveway markers and Snowfence today. The old 790 keeps on ticking!

A friend of mine made this drone video of flooding on the St. Joseph River in Downtown Niles, MI. We are safely above this level, about 5 miles away. The railroad is Amtrak and the small white roof building surrounded by water is a pizza pub where my wife and I ate just a couple of weeks ago...

Saw a post recently for a Porsche tractor and was reminded of this ad: Best Porsche Advertisement Ever - YouTube

Nothing says springtime like a new PTO shaft! A couple of years back my light duty Deere 513 cutter lost the lower seal and all the gear oil. That resulted in a rather catastrophic gearbox explosion! A new box was pretty pricey and the rest of that mower was pretty beat up anyway being...

Found this review of Lock 'n Lube for grease guns. Looks pretty slick, anyone try them? Lock N Lube! - YouTube Pretty fun youtube channel as well...

My FEL hydraulic connector dust caps all seemed to dry rot at the same time so I picked up this set of color coded replacements. Pretty snazzy, eh?

Hey all, I'm working with my son on his Eagle Scout project. Replacing benches and need 27 holes dug! Borrowed the neighbors PHD and have had some limited success thus far. For our next work-day, I want to improve our accuracy so we have less "tuning" to do by hand. Any experts with tips? I...

There's no one way, nor best way to maintain your gravel driveway so maybe we can all share our methods here. I just finished my spring driveway work. Over the years, I've developed a method that works pretty well for me. I have about 750 feet of crushed concrete drive. It's not built...

My 17 year old son had a snow day from school yesterday and while I was at work he plowed the drive. Best time I've had with the tractor lately! No photos or anything, just a proud dad moment...

Gotta be some modelers out there and I'll bet there's a tractor or two in some of these scenes... https://www.google.com/maps/about/behind-the-scenes/streetview/treks/miniatur-wunderland/#sections

Spent the better part of Saturday getting the place ready for winter. I put in this snow fence using a regular t-post pounder. Using that concept, I made a pounder for my son to use on the driveway markers. 1/2" iron pipe with a cap. Easy-peasy though he did get to harass me as I bought a 4...

I need to rebuild a couple of cylinders. Years ago I used a snap ring tool that locked which made things much easier. Anyone have recommendations for a good, locking snap ring tool?

Hey all, I've wanted a set of torches for years and finally have a project to justify. I need to replace the rear spring hangar brackets on my truck so I want to be able to burn the old ones off with a hot-wrench. Other than that, it'll pretty much be light homeowner stuff including brazing...

So we got a freebie MTD with no forward and I told my younger son that if we (mostly he) fixed it, he could pocket the proceeds. It has a transaxle but only forward/reverse inside. Speed variation is by a variable pulley system outside the transaxle. We got it to move forward by holding the...

Why is the only snow in the entire region on my driveway???

One of my camera club topics for this month is "Automobilia", so I put together this collection of shots to enter. Thought the gear heads out there may be interested. All taken at either the Auburn-Cord-Deusenberg Museum in Auburn, IN or the Gilmore Car Museum in Hickory Corners, MI.

So, how bad is the starter R&R in a '97 F250HD 4X4 w/ stick? Was at scout camp all week and it just clicked. Thought it was battery, but jump didn't help. Friendly tap on the starter by a friendly scouter worked. Same story in my driveway. Looks pretty straightforward, just looking for...

OK, TOTALLY unrelated to tractors but I know there are a lot of knowledgeable people out there... I just got a BlackBerry phone. I have Outlook and email through Go-Daddy (email is running OK on the phone). I want my Outlook calendar/tasks/notes/contacts in my BlackBerry. Can anyone point me...

My son grabbed this shot on our way to a campout this weekend. A bit of backstory... Cass County, Michigan is a big hog production area. Lots of grain too, corn and soybean. The two go together nicely as the grains feed the hogs and, well the hogs feed the grains. This monster machine...

Need to check something under the hood? Don't bother opening it, just use your x-ray vision. OK, poorly executed but at least I know how to do this now. I've seen some cool car shots where the hood appears semi-transparent so I tried it on my mighty 790 today. Now that I know it works...

We haven't had a self-portrait thread in a while. Some of you know I like to play with the camera as much as I do the tractor. I set this up for a camera club topic "footwear". So, here's my contribution. Feel free to add your own traditional, or non-traditional self-portrait. And yes...

I heard of this fella hanging out in the area so I grabbed the camera and took off in a snowstorm this morning. I was pretty excited to find him. Enjoy...

I'm sure we all have our weird weather, ours happens this time of year. We're in the Lake Effect Snow belt, areas on the leeward side of the great lakes. As long as the lakes aren't frozen, the air picks up moisture and dumps it as snow. This creates a couple of unique situations: We can...

OK, it's not a tractor, but it's made of iron and makes a lot of noise! My son and I drove to Owasso, MI today to see the Polar Express. It's actually the Pere Marquette #1225 but it was the prototype for the animation in the movie. The weather was brutal but we had a fun day.

My mother calls it an "Oak Moon". Apparently, it's as large as it gets in recent times. I was too late with the camera to catch some foreground branches with it.

I need to put a new power window regulator in our Durango. Did a quick Google and got tons of hits, many comparing their price to the dealer price for the item. Of course, theirs was MUCH cheaper. Can anyone recommend a reputable on-line source? Thanks!

So I went out on a photo-expedition today in search of a reported Snowy Owl. Good news is that I think I did spot the bird but it was too far away for any photos and it flew out of stalking range before I had a chance. Perhaps another time for that. To make the best of a crummy day here in SW...

Took my tractor and my 14 year old son to Scout Camp today for a work day. I'll apologize ahead of time for no pics but I was workin'! I did take a couple of documentary pics of some underground stuff and if there is anything worthy in there I'll throw it up here. Anyway, we had a great day...

Well, after another 15 gallons of roundup along the driveway I'm tired of the weeds. My sister mentioned that they use rock salt to prevent the weeds from growing. Anyone else do that? Other weed prevention methods for a gravel driveway?

I shot these the other weekend and wasn't too happy with the image quality. They were pretty far away and it was early so I was at a high ISO. Seeing Eddie Walkers hogs though, I decided I should contribute. My most recent visitors...

I know there are some truckers on here, maybe someone can answer my curiosities... I've been a fan of trucks and trucking since I was a kid. I was a big time carpet trucker and built my share of plastic model kits of the big rigs. Back then I knew the difference between a cabover and a...

We visited the Monon Connection Museum in Monon, IN the other day. Neat place, out in the middle of nowhere. Mostly train stuff, with a very impressive collection of memoribilia inside and several old train cars outside. Had a couple of flatbeds with tractor loads. First pic is a Farmall...

Just got back from a graduation party at a buds house. He's a diesel mechanic and we got to talking about additives. I currently use Power Service but he says that stuff is bad and their 911 is worse. All they use is Stanadyne. He says this is a much bigger issue with biodiesel as it forms...

Was canoeing with the Boy Scouts last week in Michigan's Upper Penninsula. Here are a few pics I got of Bald Eagles, one of my goals for the week: This was an immature: One more.. Not an Eagle, but a visitor at our gas stop: Hope you enjoy. It's not exactly tractor related, but...

Thought I'd post this as a "watch out for" sort of thing... Took our fifth wheel camper out a couple weekends ago and noticed it listing a bit in my rear view mirror. We only went to our local state park, not a long trip. Got backed in and noticed the two tires on the right side were rubbing...

Maybe slightly off topic, but I know there are a lot of us on this board with trailers. Here's my situation: I have a car-hauler trailer that I have only used for my tractor. It's 18', 16' flat w/ 2' dovetail. 5' ramps. Again, I have used this many times to haul my tractor, so I am plenty...

I always enjoy when company stops over. We had a couple of visitors this evening. Unfortunately, they didn't stay long. Seemed a bit timid around my camera. Maybe I need to offer some appetizers next time? I assume these are either hens or juveniles, does anyone know?

Anyone feel it? Apparently I was driving at the time but several people at work (South Bend, Indiana) felt it and my sister in central Illinois had things knocked off her tables at home.

My trusty truck is in need of a water pump. Shouldn't be a biggie, though some friends suggest it is. In my younger days, I had a Chilton's book for every vintage of vehicle I owned and they were pretty decent. I just read some reviews on Amazon and all the books (Chiltons, Motor, Haynes)...

This guy has been hanging around lately, with a broken leg.

The First Signs of Spring 2008 thread got me thinking. Which do you prefer, mowing or plowing? I much prefer plowing. Mowing is more monotonous for me, the same every time. And it seems to never end. Plowing seems different every time due to the differences in snowfall. Also seems to have...

A couple of pics I took Sunday morning wandering around Shipshewana, IN:

I finally picked up a portable generator for back up power at the house. I'm now trying to scope out the work to install a transfer switch to decide if I do it myself or hire it. I find plenty of simple diagrams that show how the transfer switch switches between the generator, off and grid power...

I need some help understanding the electicals on a sewage pump. I happened upon a used one from a friend and it should work as a replacement for my sump pump in the basement for the bathroom that I have added. He had used this pump for an outdoor water garden and didn't use the switch. I...

Sorry, no pics but I just glanced out my window at work and saw an entire trainload of Case_IH combines. Had to be 100 or more, all heading east. My guess is they're going to the East Coast shipyards to be sent overseas. A benefit of our low dollar?

Well, I'm finally sick of dial up at home. Like many on here I suppose, I have no cable or DSL on my street. What are my options for high speed and what can I expect to pay? Equipment needed and installation costs? DIY? Also, any pitfalls or "watch out fors"? We don't have satelite TV and...

My oldest son and I went for a photo walk this afternoon. He's working on Photography Merit Badge for Scouts. I knew there was some retired equipment in the woods adjacent to our property so I grabbed this shot of a well used Deere...

A buddy has a Toolcat and I finally had a chance to see it last night. What a machine!!! Full cab, heat, air, CD, comfy seats for two. Very nice. He just got a 90 inch finish mower on the front which is huge. We went for a short ride around his place. I can't justify having one by far, but...

Caught this guy roaming the field beside the house. Shot from my garage. I'm pretty sure it's a Red Fox though we do have plenty of Coyote in the area. Anyone know how to differentiate between them?

We vacationed in Door County, WI last week and hit this event by happenstance. Figured an hour or so but ended up spending the better part of a day there. They had restored tractors, operational equipment, hit/miss engines, food, beverage, petting animals and the largest antique tractor pull...

I'll assume that nearly everyone with a gravel/stone/dirt driveway has their own way of dealing with the inevitable weeds along-side. I had been using a backpack sprayer with a lever pump but finally upgraded to an electric pump model this spring. It's a Fimco 15 gallon rig and I couldn't be...

I've become somewhat envious of you guys with multiple tractors so I went out today and picked up a couple more 790s. Amazing how closely they match my original! And how nice it will be to not have to change implements any longer. I'll bet with a little Photoshop work, I can even get the dirt to...

I'm looking for some advice on a sprayer. Use is for Roundup along the gravel drive (750') and around the rest of the property. Mostly spot work, other than the edges of the drive. I currently have a three gallon backpack, hand pump model which I do not care for. It's clumsy and doesn't hold...

OK, no snow, no sun, muddy ground, cabin fever setting in... The seasonless and Idle Tractors thread got me thinking... How about "portraits" of our tractors? Hey, they are practically members of our family, right? Well, here's my effort. Anyone else?

This monster has been parked at a new grocery store near our house. It looks like a pretty sweet way to clear a parking lot. Not sure the model but I'm sure you Orange fans can figure it out. Enjoy!

This is a combination true-life story, safety message and question for the experts: We just got back from vacation pulling our fifth wheel camper (pretend this is about a flatbed hauling a tractor from now on). Had some issues but I have to start the story a bit earlier. It really starts in...

Unfortunately, the tractor is shown getting washed away by the floodwaters in Pennsylvania. The operator was rescued by the National Guard. Best wishes to all the TBNers facing flooding out east :)

Wife had a flat on the little tractor well away from the house. Big tractor comes to the rescue

Car and Driver's annual "One Lap of America" kicked off at the South Bend Tire Rack warehouse on Saturday. I took the boys over just for fun and got this pic of a nice Mini (that I'd love to own). To keep it tractor related, it did have a full ROPS

Had my first hose blowout yesterday, a pinhole leak on a bucket dump hose. What's my best bet on sourcing a replacement? I have at my disposal the following, all about the same convenience: JD Dealer TSC Rural King Hydraulics Shop Internet Pros/Cons of each? TIA

I'm mentally preparing to burn our pseudo-prairie. It's about four acres and is just beginning to show some woody growth which I want to discourage. My sister has a much more mature five acre prairie that they burn every year. I've got two main concerns: Naturally, I don't want the fire to...

A bit more progress in my workshop this weekend, I built a permanent home for my miter saw. Naturally, I took some pictures to share along the way. First pic is my old workstation

So the wife comes in from the outside and asks why there is a septic smell out there. I grab my trusty bent rod and go check. Sure enough, the outlet filter is clogged again but my trusty bent rod failed me and the danged filter now lies at the bottom of the tank. I presume this is not a...

Goodguy's post got me thinking... In a couple of weeks I hope to be finishing out the electical in my basement/shop. Naturally, there are several runs of receps. For light duty (15A) I've always hooked the line and load wires together through the recep and I think this is what I've seen in...

Here's one of my favorite things to do on a lazy winter evening

Here's what I do when the weather isn't conducive to tractoring... This is phase II of my basement finishing project. I started it last winter but stopped after hanging sheetrock. I had hoped to pay someone to do the finishing but I am finding myself getting ready to take it on. Here's what...

A friend of mine solicited my help in putting in a couple of basement windows. I had the backhoe and he just bought a very slick saw. Details on that to follow. Started at daybreak digging the window well

OK, got the new camera and now I have all these pictures to move around. We have two PCs at home but neither has a CD burner. I'm tempted to grab a Wally-World special at lunch today ($60) to get me up and running with the "kids" PC, then take more time to get something better (?) for the...

What\'s on Your Desk OK, this is mostly to test my new camera. Canon 350D. Thanks to Gatorboy for some insights along the way. The camera takes great pictures but I'm still working on the post processing. This is my first attempt at resizing enough for posting. And yes, it's tractor...

#2 son and I hit our new Rural King store yesterday. It's in a previous K-Mart in Niles, Michigan. In a word, it's huge! They used all the square footage of the K-Mart. Much bigger than the TSC down the street, which used to be a Quality Farm & Fleet. The building was pretty much...

A buddy just sold a ~1994 L2650 which he hadn't owned long. Said it was a shuttle shift. New owner claims the PTO doesn't disengage with the clutch. Can anyone describe the PTO/Clutch arrangement on this model? TIA

Hauled my tractor over to a buds last night to dig a hole for him. Turned out to be the biggest hole I've dug so far. Thought I'd share some observations and ask a couple questions. The hole is for a septic tank (he's putting a bathroom in his barn). 80" round (plus clearance) and six feet...

Four different versions of one that is. I had to go from mowing machine to digging machine today so here's some pics. Subject is my trusty little 790 and this first shot is the summer mowing setup. 513 Rotary Cutter and front weights. Pardon the dirt, I hope to have a chance to take care of...

Look, It\'s a Bird... It's a plane... it's two planes. A couple of A10s flew by yesterday while I was laying brick. Grabbed the camera just in time

This months issue of Compact Equipment (April 2005) shows a Yanmar compact backhoe loader model CBL40 to be available in the fall of 2005. Does this further suggest Yanmar will be selling their own branded CUTs soon?

We're finally going to have a garden this year but I don't want to spring for a tiller until I'm convinced we'll enjoy gardening. I called a rental outlet but no three point tillers available. Hmm, what to do. I know I can borrow a troy built rear tine, but it's pretty small and not...

Saw a Mahindra TV ad the other morning during AgDay. Showed a Mahindra up close, then some similar close ups of Orange and Green tractors. As the camera panned out you see the Mahindra lifting a Kubota on the rear and a Deere on the front. The Deere happened to be my own model 790

Does the Versatile name still exist? I saw a large ag tractor last night on my way home. Red with yellow accents and I swear it said Versatile on the top of the cab. It was conventional (not articulated), duals on the rear, large ag tires on the front with a cab and loader. Had a big snow...

Being something of a tool junkie, I'm not usually too keen on cheap tools. My normal motto is "I'd rather do without than buy something crummy". Tonight however, I have good news to report on the cheap tool front. I burned my brush pile yesterday. All went well but partway through the burn...

With winter and thoughts of snowplowing I'm reminded of a nuisance I built into our house. I had them put a smoke detector in the garage. It's not required by code but I've read that a high percentage of house fires start in the garage so it made sense. Trouble is, when I fire up the tractor...

Anyone else wake up to a white Thanksgiving? We had about four inches on the ground. Very wet but very pretty. I cleared off the concrete apron behind the garage with the FEL but didn't mess with the gravel drive. Kids built a snowman and a small fort. It's just enough to put me in the...

It\'s Thursday... ... so what's Gary gonna buy today?

Is there such a thing as winter diesel fuel? If so, how do I know if that's what's at the local BP station? When do they changeover? I just filled my tractor and emptied my yellow jug in doing so. I'm approaching the time of year when the tractor doesn't go through much fuel so what's in the...

I FINALLY used up my last old style propane tank tonight and switched to an OPD style tank. I know it's full as it weighs much more than the one I took off. Trouble is, it won't burn. It starts OK and burns fine for a minute then dies off. The regulator (same one that has worked fine for...

Finally going to get my tires filled with Rim Guard tomorrow (good rainy day project, eh?). Somewhere I remember seeing a chart that shows the volume of various tire sizes. Anyone have that bookmarked. I just checked the Firestone Ag site and it did not have volumes. Thanks

I've begun my final, major project for the summer. It will be a brick patio, raised with brick wall around. At the same time I'm building a brick circle wall in the center of our circle drive. This first picture is a quickie patio I did a couple of weekends ago, mostly for the kids. It's...

From "Who regrets their backhoe decision" thread... <font color="blue">I know with my backhoe it is not recommended that you move the tractor with it. </font> I do use my hoe to move my tractor but only rolling it along, not lifting to repostion side-to-side. I don't think it's too hard...

Where\'s Gary? Anyone heard from Gary in Indiana? He was always very active and informative but hasn't posted since early March

I plan on building a brick wall about 18 inches high. It will be a full circle, 24 feet in diameter. The center will be a landscape bed, maybe with a fountain in the future. Brickwork will be clay brick, mortared in. My question is how much footing/foundation will this require? I plan on pouring...

Was at my dealer yesterday getting supplies for 200 hour service and noticed a cab tractor in the yard. After checking out I walked over to have a look. Turned out to be a 790 with a full Curtis cab. Naturally, I had to give it the once over. Doors on each side with hard plastic glazing...

Ever since I put the power beyond on my 790 I have a noise. When I raise the tph it honks as it comes to a stop. No problem lowering implements, only raising. It's quiet during the lift only honks at the end of the stroke. Also doesn't matter if I raise a lot or a little. Perhaps the...

Finally... it's time for spring/summer project season to begin. This weekend I will start (and hopefully finish) a retaining wall to create a parking spot for our camper. It's only about two feet high, but 115 feet long I've got 22,000 pounds of landscape block and 3 yards of gravel waiting...

OK gang, what are your secrets for having bulk materials delivered. Things like topsoil, stone, gravel, sand etc. I'm going to need six yards of crushed stone for a retaining wall project. Too much for my pickup truck, not enough to justify my purchasing a dump truck (or even a dump trailer)...

I just saw the latest TSC ad and all the King Kutter stuff is on sale. Five foot tiller caught my eye at $999. Here's the flyer

I couldn't find the thread on the JD advertising but thanks to whoever posted that! (click on the Deere ad at the top of the Deere forums) I printed my free chair certificate and took my youngest son over to our dealer yesterday for a test drive. Well, it was too cold and snowy for a test...

My son and I were in and out of Sam's Club the other day and noticed a utility vehicle. Looked somewhat Kawasaki Mule-like with a dump bed, roll cage and split bench seat. I didn't get a brand name or many details and I think the price was either $2999 or $3999 (my son tends to offer a lot of...

Finally took some time yesterday to grade my gravel drive. I had been a bit apprehensive for fear of making matters worse. We had a couple of pot-holes developing, some whoop-de-doos and a bit of a center crown of loose material. My fear was that there wouldn't be enough material to work...

Where\'s JMIII The post asking for HP on a JD 4240 made me wonder where good ole John Miller has been lately. Usually he would have quickly spit out every stat available on such a request. His last post was 9/3/03. Anyone heard from him?

Visited an old friend this weekend and noticed he was still using the same Kubota tractor I had used nearly 25 years ago! It looked pretty bad, but still ran great. I couldn't even get the model number off the side as it was long gone. He said he lost the front driveshaft (splines wore) so he...

OK, I really had two days off this week. Tuesday I went to the Farm Progress Show. Most impressive but primarily larger ag stuff. Plenty of compacts and implements but my interests were in the big boys. Unfortunately, I failed to take a camera with me. Today though, I got a rare day off at...

This actually happened several years ago (when the truck was only about six months old ) I had rented a Bobcat to dig a foundation for a room addition at our old house. Got a backhoe attachment with it and all went well. A friend suggested extending the hoe all the way out then inching up...

This year's Farm Progress Show runs 9/23-9/25 in Henning IL. Anyone planning on attending? I'll be there one day, either Tuesday or Thursday. Would love to meet other TBNers if possible

I have a John Deere 513 rotary cutter which has been leaking oil from the output shaft for a while now. Time to replace. Has anyone done something similar? What's involved? The bolt holding the blade holder onto the shaft doesn't look too bad (not as big as I would have guessed). Is the...

In the August edition of Compact Equipment Magazine is a nice little half page highlight on the Power Trac including a picture of one with a rear mounted backhoe. Directly opposite is an ad for MultiTrac which looks very similar but with more "swoopy" bodywork. Later in the same issue is a...

Our \"Pets\" Not much of a picture until you study the dark objects in the middle. Those are our "pet" wild turkeys. They have been hanging around pretty consistently for the past several weeks. There are three of them but hard to tell in the picture. I need to get out my 35mm and get some...

Rented a lift to put some trim on the house last night. Here's my trusty little 790 getting it into position

CUT Thinks it\'s a Dozer I got a heck of a deal on some fill dirt so I got to take a break from the minibarn this evening and played a little. My son took this picture and that's yours truly working on a farmer-wanna-be tan. I had six loads of about 10 yards each dumped in an area we want to...

Started our mini-barn project last night. No where near the scale of Henro or Spencer but it will be a nice place to tuck away the lawn tractor, gardening tools and kids toys. Big barn for the "big" tractor, camper and such is still a couple of years away. Last night I scraped away the...

Here are some pictures of my weekend project. I put in five drywells to handle our gutter/downspout runoff. I had already buried the drains but left the ends above ground. This first shot shows my supplies for the project. I used Infiltrator chambers designed for septic. I know, it's...

Hoping rjp444us sees this... I plan on putting a retaining wall in to step down from our concrete driveway to a level spot for our camper. It should be pretty straightforward, about 50 feet in length tapering from zero to about 2 feet of height. I will use concrete retaining wall blocks (the...

All of the photos I post seem to be darker than what I upload from the camera. I resize using ACDsee to fit the TBN requirements. Is that making them darker? Can I adjust the brightness as I resize? Here's an example which was quite bright from the camera. The decals on the tractor were...

After several months of "negotiating", I finally brought home my #7 backhoe last night. It's been quite an experience which of course, I'll share... It all started when I got approval from the boss to get a hoe for my little 790. She knows how much I like backhoes. It will be a great tool...

Honda\'s Cog Ad This is just waaay too cool... Cog

Found this in my ongoing search for a #7 hoe. Looks to be in great shape, fits an 870, 970, 990, 1070

Just saw that I was on post 1999 which makes this 2000. Seems an appropriate moment for reflection... This community is unbelievable! Like others, I found TBN while researching tractors/property and such. Lurked, then began posting and finally registered on 6/26/00. Also bought property...

I only wish I could have found our digital camera to capture some of this… We had a beautiful weekend here in the midwest and I got plenty of tractor time out of it. It all started Saturday morning. Our builder had left us two truckloads of topsoil to finish off the lawn prep around the...

I'm getting ready to pull the trigger on a #7 backhoe for my 790 tractor. Got a quote from my dealer which was OK, but not what I would consider a super deal. So I'm calling around just to get some ammunition to go back to my dealer with and I find a "used" hoe at another dealer. Things start...

I’m going to put in a few drywells to take our roof runoff and eventually one for the washing machine. Anyone have any tips on sizing and construction? I did some preliminary calcs on the rainwater and came up with a whopping 2800 gallons for the biggest one! That was based on 4 inches of...

The good news is I'm getting pretty good at plowing snow! Got a nice pattern developed and I get through it pretty quick. Keeping most of the stone IN the driveway now, not along side. The bad news though, is our driveway is getting narrower I knew this could happen but we haven't had snow...

Now that we're into snow season I'm once again faced with the ole rust stains on the garage floor from the FEL and rear blade. They come in wet from the snow and naturally rust a bit. Not a big deal, but is there a simple way to minimize this? Maybe wood blocks for them to rest on instead of...

Hmmm, I wonder if this will be as volatile a discussion as R1 vs. R4, or Blue vs. Orange, or, or, or... OK, here's the thing. I was looking at some of the snow pictures posted and I didn't see much in the way of driveway markers. Apparently, not everyone uses them. Around here they're as...

Actually, I think my 8 year old son has outsmarted his dad. He has changed the display settings on our computer and I cannot change it back. As best as we can tell he made a change in the Control Panel/Display/Settings screen. The fonts, icons and everything are now HUGE! as is the settings...

This is just the ticket for those large, awkward lifts where you don't quite know which bucket hook to use We're in the process of renovating a very large portion of our building at work. Today was the day to lift all the air handlers up to the roof. I took my boys to watch and we saw a...

Saw this on Ebay. 48 Backhoe with brackets for 4600 tractor. Only used one day. Too bad it's not a #7 <A target="_blank" HREF=http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=1781694770>http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=1781694770</A>

Before our ever-so-diligent leader shuts down the House II thread, I'll go ahead and start a new one. I'm hoping my self nominated position as head homebuilder on the forum is just about over. In another two or three weeks I'll just be a plain old homeowner with a multitude of tractor chores...

My rotary cutter is leaking gear oil from the lower seal (below the deck). I have an exploded view showing the parts and am prepared to replace the seal myself if I can. Does anyone know if this can be done by simply removing the blade holder and such, or does the whole output shaft need to...

Anyone out there (or your kids) have a Rokenbok set? My eight year old is dying for one after playing with it in a kids museum. He's saving his own money and looking for ways to earn more. Trouble is, this stuff is seriously expensive. I'm concerned that it won't keep his interest and we...

My tractor happened to be on the trailer, I happened to think about it and the camera happened to be handy. The subject of trailer length versus tractor length has come up so here's a couple of shots to show my situation. First shot is the ever-important rear showing the rotary cutter hanging...

Not sure why I'm so curious about this but... Some time ago (over a year?) a fellow TBNer diagnosed and discovered that he had a broken crankshaft. I recall the tractor was a Ford two cylinder diesel. He was going to bolt it together (I think) and did so successfully. I was pretty amazed to...

I should have known better but I was trying to save time... Time for my 100 hour service on my trusty little 790. It doesn't really call for it, but I thought I'd treat it to an oil and filter change. The dealer I purchased the tractor from is about 45 minutes away (large ag dealer) but there...

OK, not a bit tractor related but for those of us who enjoy cycling and/or are from Texas you'll be happy to hear that Lance Armstrong has regained the Yellow Jersey of the tour de France leader. He won today's stage, the first serious mountain effort. Details available <A target="_blank"...

Prompted by MossRoad's commentary on my current living conditions... <font color=blue>Hey, honey. Since we're living in a rental unit during the middle of home construction I thought I'd add to the excitement and buy you a dog! WOOF!!! </font color=blue> Yes, life for us is both fantastic and...

New thread per Muhammad. Let's see... Bought land, designed house, dug hole, sunk concrete mixers, framing up, shingles on, drywall started. Occasional tractor useage throughout. Tons of useful suggestions from TBN. Past details <A target="_blank"...

So last night I take a fresh photo of the house. The sun is in the back so I do what I can with the digital to compensate. I locked the exposure on a darker spot to trick it. Sorta, kinda worked. Got home and the picture looked OK, but not great. I posted it and looked again and it was the...

Anyone (Wroughtn Harv?) have any experience with a chimney brace. We discussed with our brick guy the other day the possibility of a decorative one and he's recommending one for function since the chimney will be so tall. We're thinking of a decorative iron piece running horizontally from the...

I guess I'm really getting lazy... instead of searching the 'net I'm throwing my question out to my TBN buds. Experience tells me I'll get better info anyway Here's my question: I'm getting ready to run all the phone, network, video wiring in our house (doing this part ourselves). I've...

Here's a picture of the tree fort my oldest son (7) and I built last weekend. A bit more rustic than our house but he's got more ownership in this. He's already begun "furnishing" it with a handmade table. My wife tells me I'm still on tap for a much lower version for our three year old. I...

I'm thinking I need one of these as we plan on doing our own ceramic tile including screwing down the underlayment. Also will have plenty of drywall work in the future with finishing the basement and attic. I looked on Amazon/Tool Crib this afternoon and about went into shock with all the...

I suffered another birthday recently and here's the cake my wife and boys put together for me. Pretty cool I thought

This has been making the rounds lately, it's hilarious... <A target="_blank" HREF=http://www.knology.net/~carlos/redneck.htm>Redneck Neighbor</A>

Found this little guy out at our property today. It's about 18 inches long and surprisingly aggressive. I nudged him with a little stick-weed and he snapped then coiled up and hissed. We all had a good look at it, then left it alone. Any one know what kind it might be? Thanks ahead of time

Got a load of mulch today to make our current house a bit more presentable. Nifty little Cat loader at work loading. Some sort of quick attach bucket, bolt on cutter bar with no teeth. R4 tires. Four scoops = four yards and I was out of there. The operator did let my 3 year old stand with...

The mention of hotel soaps in the deer-away thread reminded me of this funny... > The following letters are taken from an actual incident between a > London hotel and one of its guests. The Hotel ended up submitting the > letters to the London Sunday Times. >...

Ain\'t it True

It's gotta be getting nice out now! I finally broke down and took the snowblower off the little Craftsman tractor and put the mower deck on. Here's my 790 lifting the snowblower to its new summer home. It is now all bundled up in a tarp at our property patiently waiting for next winters snow...

Thought I'd move Iceman's comment to a new thread, might benefit others... <font color=blue> Rob, I also wanted to reply to your question about FEL rods vibrating. I used black cable ties on the left side and tied the loader hyd. lines to the rod, this did two things, it stopped the vibrating...

I know several members have named their "estates" by their signatures. Care to share your property name and how you came up with it? We haven't officially named ours (heck, we don't even live there yet ), but it will likely be called "Redfield". Nothing to do with the soil color or anything...

I've got two shrub rose bushes that I need to transplant. These were wedding presents from my wife's best friend so I MUST ensure that they survive. I want to get a root ball around 2' in diameter which is just too big for me to muscle around on a shovel. I'm thinking of wrapping the ball in...

I spent quite a bit of time in front of my King Kutter landscape rake this weekend. I'm developing a certain affinity for this lowly implement, it really does a great job of smoothing the ground. Today I was going over the areas of our property that were rutted from all the construction...

Hey gang, need some advice... I need to replace the garage door on our house before we sell. It's pretty rotten and generally sad looking. I can save over $200 by doing it myself and being the handy type I'm going to give it a shot. My only concern is the existing door has torsion springs...

Today was the big day for us on the new house. They finished the forms and started pouring concrete around 3:30 this afternoon. I didn't see them all but I counted at least 10 mixers coming and going. Somewhere around 40 yards of the stuff. I think frost laws are in effect, so they can't...

It's begun! Our new house that is. I was out of town for a couple of days but got back yesterday to see the basement being dug. Backhoe-dude was wrapping up for the day so we had a nice chat. He revealed that our builder got her truck stuck and he had to push her out with his hoe. She...

Still playing with the digital camera and software... Here's a shot of a curio cabinet I made for my wife several years ago. The next post will be the tractor link

I was out at the property yesterday and noticed some tracks that I assumed were a large dog. I also noted there were no human tracks to go along with but didn't think much of it since it is rural. The following article shows up on the front page of our paper this morning (must be a slow news...

Some of you may recall the last coffee thread where I stated I was addicted to Diet Mountain Dew (for the caffiene mostly). Well, since then I've been working more hours and have wanted a more efficient caffiene delivery system. This site <A target="_blank"...

OK, maybe this is just a mid-winter blues thing but I need some help! We've had precious little snow this year, and just enough frost to keep the ground pretty soggy. Not warm enough for weeds to grow though. What this all means is basically ZERO tractor time for several weeks now. I did...

A friend sent me these aerial shots of tornado damage in our area from last October. MossRoad (who has property not far from there) had told me the swath was very apparent from the ground. It's even more apparent from the air as you can see in the top photo. The path moves up and to the right...

MICHIGAN TEMPERATURE CONVERSION CHART 70 above Texans turn on the heat and unpack the thermal underwear. People in Michigan go swimming in the Lakes. 60 above North Carolinians try to turn on the heat. People in Michigan plant gardens. 50 above Californians shiver...

Not much tractoring to do right now, so here's where my trusty little 790 rests between workouts

My Son\'s Christmas Tractor OK, I'm really just testing my Christmas present (digital camera). Note that my son's tractor is <font color=green>green</font color=green>

What a riot! A friend has a JD450 dozer. I helped him haul his Ford 640 tractor so in return he let me (and my boys) have a ride on his dozer. It was remarkable easy to operate, though I'm sure it would be much more difficult actually being productive on it. I had to have been smiling...

OK, it's not really a tractor project but I'll get a lot of seat time out of it. Here's a shot of the plans we just had finished up for our new house. This is where all my time, energy and MONEY will be headed over the next year. Hopefully, I'll have an actual photo to post sometime in August '02

Bad news at home... our septic field system has failed Septic-dude was out yesterday and recommended replacement at $4-8K or the "Terralift" solution. Terralift uses a jack-hammer to penetrate the soil around the existing field lines then injects compressed air to open up the soil and finally...

This is definitely one of those "you had to be there" stories, but I'll tell it anyway... My son and I were out at our property with tractor and various hand tools. I was taking down a natural knoll where our driveway will pass through. Had to be back home to meet the sprinkler blow-out guy...

Is there a difference between summer and winter diesel fuel? If there is, how do I know which I'm getting? I've got to get some fuel tonight for the weekend. Trouble is, I'm slowing down for the winter so I doubt I'll use a full five gallons between now and snow (cold). Should I only get...

My visit to the Farm Progress Show: First I’ll apologize for lack of pictures. I still don’t have a digital camera and I didn’t feel like toting my 35mm all day. I spent the day (9/26) at the Midwest Farm Progress show in Tippecanoe County, Indiana. I set this up more as a day out of the...

This is a reprint from a post by Charles Brennen from South Florida on the Trailer Sailor BB. It pretty much says it all: "Hit The Buildings, Missed America" An open letter to a terrorist: Well, you hit the World Trade Center, but you missed America. You hit the Pentagon, but you missed...

Hi all, we just got back from a vacation which included a brief stop at the John Deere Commons in Moline, Ill. I must say, my wife is very tolerant It was a nice visit, they have a store with all sorts of JD apparel, toys and such. A very nice display of vintage and new equipment and the new...

Funny story from a friend of mine... Dusk found my old lawn tractor limping back to the garage. It was so slow these days, it now took me two and a half hours to mow the lawn. Barely moving, and emitting sounds like a garbage disposal trying to eat nuts and bolts, it struggled to get out of...

I took my son downtown Saturday (rain, no tractoring OR biking ) to check out a very large crane. Turns out it's a big crawler crane with a big ring built around it. The boom and counterweights ride on the ring (on rollers) for added stability. Counterweight stack must have been two stories...

Here's a shot of the real tractor lovers in the family

Here's a shot of my progress in punching our new driveway through an old fencerow. I cut a couple dozen trees, pulled stumps up to about 8" and created the brushpile. Then used the box blade to pull out the topsoil and will eventually use it to create a landscape berm along side the drive...

Well, I finally got a digital camera and here's my first post of my rig. My truck pulling my new trailer , loaded with the 790 and box scraper. In the back of the truck are my water barrels with 110 gallons of water for the new trees and the whole thing is parked over my fall culvert project...

I'm surprised there isn't more discussion here on poison ivy. I recall a thread last year on eradication but that won't help my itching Having been recently inflicted I've done some research. Here is a very thorough and well done site covering the topic... Poison Ivy I found a...

Simple question: Do you lube your three point hitch pins and balls? I put a couple of drops of oil on mine the other week since they are moving parts. Seemed to make sense but now I'm wondering if the oil isn't going to attract more dirt and accelerate any wear that may occur. Related...

I will be planting trees this weekend (if they arrive ) and need to transport water out to the property. I also may need to water throughout the summer if it's dry. I looked at poly water tanks at TSC etc. and they are pretty pricey. I found a guy who sells 55 gallon drums for $3 a piece...

Nothing like Harv's escapades, but here's what I've done... I put in a culvert last fall per county requirement to bridge the storm ditch along the road. I used PVC 12" pipe and had a load of fill (mostly local sand) brought in. Everything has held up reasonably well, though I've had some...

OK experts, what's the best method for clearing trees? I've got several dozen to remove in an old fencerow where we intend to put our driveway through. I've had good luck pulling sassafras out with my 790 and chain but as I get into bigger trees I'm concerned about pulling them down on me I...

Well, the weather finally cooperated and I got some long-awaited tractor time today Smoothed some ruts with my box scraper and used my new landscape rake for the first time. I'm smoothing out a berm we had put along the road by the guy who made the road. He used a dozer and did a really good...

I just finished installing the Deere light kit on my 790. Took all of five minutes as it bolts into the existing holes on the rear fender (either side) and plugs into the existing wiring beside the seat. Cost me $36 from my dealer and I picked up a couple of chain binders on sale at the same...

... if only I had the money http://cgi.ebay.com/aw-cgi/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=540169997 Rob

I was lamenting to the wife the other day that I can't find a magazine that covers the various aspects of rural living that we are about to undertake. I've checked out Mother Earth News (too earthy), Organic Gardening (too garden specific) and a few others. I already get a lot of workshop type...

Let me start by saying my 790 is NOT my primary snow tool right now, it just happens to sit in the garage where my truck used to sit... Got a call from my better half yesterday saying the street in front of our house was full of stuck cars (subdivision). She was concerned as she had a number...

Seems appropriate for some of us... Diary of a Mad Shoveler or A Texan Moves to Minnesota December 8: 6:00 PM. It started to snow. The first snow of the season and the wife and I took our cocktails and sat for hours by the window watching the huge soft flakes drift down from heaven. It...

I've noticed on my King Kutter box blade that the front cutting edge is lower than the rear (by about 3/4") when the top of the end plates etc. is horizontal. This means I really have to crank the top link out to pull the front edge up for smoothing. Is this typical? Rob

Hi all! My wife and I want to build a barn on our new land. I'm designing it to accomodate the tractor, implements and our RV plus plenty of room to grow. We also want to style it more like the old fashioned barns found here in the midwest (and no doubt elsewhere). The style we like is...

What are the pros/cons of tractor mounted snow removal equipment (blades/blowers) versus a truck mounted blade? I have a suitable truck and a blade for it is less than a blower but both are more than a TPH blade. I'm only looking for our own property, not commercial work. Anyone have both...

OK, here's my half-tech attempt at uploading a photo. It's a 35mm shot scanned in, I'm not fully sold on this digital stuff yet. If it works, you'll see a shot of me putting in my culvert. I used the Harv method of self timer on a tripod, thus the somewhat posed look. In any event, it's high...

Is there a way to display the "Past 24 Hours" screen in flat mode? I changed my profile settings to flat, but that does not seem to affect the 24 hour screen. Thanks. Rob

Hi all, I'm anxiously awaiting my first "real" tractor project this weekend as I put in a culvert at our propert. I just picked up my box blade last night. Just thought I'd double-check my thoughts on it's use... Seems to me if I want to knock the high spots off to smooth the road I should...

I ran across this the other day for all you blue owners. Might take care of those long winter days when you can't play with the real one... http://marketplaza.com/cgi-bin/scodb.cgi/s=evers&uid=13729&a=s&p=16529/ Rob

OK, I know how to read... just looking for the best way to use this board. Most other boards I frequent (including CTB) have a feature to only read the newest posts (last 24 hours etc.). Is there an easy way to do that on this board? I usually click on the 24 hours screen but that does not...