First Kodak Moments

[Harv]

Wen-
Thanks for the ditch-digging tips. I will probably try all the techniques that everyone on this board has already mentioned and see what works for me. I'm still at ground level, so to speak, on the learning curve, so it will take a while to build up proficiency with any technique.

As for the welder, it sounds like a DC is the way to go, but my lovely, supporting wife has already called to my attention that we are now several thousand dollars over budget for this year and next. Welding might not happen real soon. /w3tcompact/icons/frown.gif

Having said that, how much we talking about here? And would there be any point in laying out, say, $150 for an oxy-acetylene rig? Can you cut as well as weld with a DC welder? Here goes that learning curve again...

Mark -
Thanks for the comments. I've been admiring them 4-in-1 buckets but assumed they're a little pricey. True?

I've been following your cupholder thread very closely, and I can probably put my hands on a hard-disk magnet, but I was wondering about a gimbled version like they use on boats. That would make the cup a little more immune to the pitching and swaying of the tractor. Did you look into those at all?

Gordon -
Thanks for the DC welder validation -- see my comments to Wen.
The tractor itself isn't brand new. It pulled apple carts for 187 hours before I got it. Everything else is brand new and they gave me the "new" warranty on the tractor, so it's certainly "as good as".
I went slow (low range) for a while and then opened it up to maybe five miles an hour in high range, just to feel the wind in my hair. Then came the hard part -- getting down to the nitty gritty and putting scratches on the bucket, the box scraper and a few places I'm not even sure how the scratches got there. Just had to get past that point.

McCallum -
My motivation for locking up the tractor indoors was motivated by the fact that at the end of the weekend I would be saying goodbye for another week or so. It was tearful -- you wouldn't have wanted to be there.

I didn't want to leave it out in the open where it might attract the wrong kind of attention. Did you know that bright orange is hard to conceal in the woods?

I had my eye on one of those plasma welders, but the dilithium crystals were on backorder. Just as well...

 

[chuckp]

[cry]

 

[Harv]

Chuck -

Was it something I said?

 

[MChalkley]

Harv - For a gimball mount to be really useful, it would also have to have quite a bit of damped vertical travel, something I haven't seen. Without this, you're still going to need a well fitting lid and if you've got the lid, the other motion doesn't matter anymore. You just need to keep it attached to the tractor. At least, that was my line of reasoning. I haven't had any trouble with liquid splashing out, just keeping it on the fender. Now, that problem is solved, too.

MarkC

 

[Harv]

MarkC -

Always glad to hear the voice of experience. I only have 2 hours (according to the meter) on a tractor, and I already lost sight of the fact that the motion does have a lot of vertical components. Bouncing up and down was expected, so I didn't really take notice. Tipping side to side really got my attention, so that's all I remembered.

Now where is that old hard disk of mine...

 

[heehaw]

i looked at welders at Lowes just last week, and $100 higher for dc is about right. they have the lincoln for $2?? and the dc for $3??; sorry i don't remember the exact price. you can pick up a good lincoln ac welder for $100 or less at auctions, and get your $$ back when your ready to upgrade..
heehaw

 

[Harv]

Just got a call from my tractor broker, the guy I now call "Miracle Mike". He was just doing a follow-up, making sure I was happy and that there were no loose ends.

I told y'all earlier that he's a good man to talk to if you're looking for a tractor in central California, but today he tells me he just shipped out an M-series 'Bota to someplace in Texas. /w3tcompact/icons/shocked.gif

I know there was some skepticism from some of you about using a broker, but this is one happy camper who believes this guy went above and beyond to find me a better deal than I possibly cound have found myself.

'Nuf said.

 

[redhawk]

harv, i knew up front that i could'nt get my 7500 into either my garage or my 12x28' shed, so i ordered mine with
a folding rops. kevin

 

[Harv]

Redhawk -

My L2500DT should hold me for a while/w3tcompact/icons/smile.gif, but looking to the future I am still interested in how those folding ROPS work out in real life. Do you find it convenient enough that you don't think twice about taking the tractor out or putting it away?

I'm sure a lot of us would like to see pictures of the folding down / up procedure. Any chance of that?

 

[scruffy]

Harv, what's with this 'Real Live' thing? Is that curiosity about how it works when the tractor is rolled? Just so long as it doesn't fold up! Can't tell ya anything about nothing, but I can categorically state the front end of my pickup doesn't hold up to well! I'll post a pic down under Rural (Country boy driving in the city)in a few.