OKIEG
George, I have been much amused and more than a little educated following this thread. You do pretty good for a guy that passes gas for a living.
Sounds like you got it whipped if the crack doesn't rear its ugly head again. If it does you might want to drill a "stopper" hole at the end of it and braze her again one more time like deja vu. That cast iron can sure act brittle like glass sometimes.
I resemble the remarks you made about loading the FEL and getting light in the rear, even with a lot of weight on back. I too have been cautioned that the tractor will last longer if I give it a little slack. I have more hydraulics than tractor too. (Kubota L4610HSTC)
I too enjoyed too much fireworks as a lad when anyone who could lay their money on the counter of the Ben Franklin five and dime's counter could buy cherry bombs, M-80's or whatever any day they were open. I learned to make my own. In the USAF I went to the firing range when it was unusual to see anyone wearing ear protection unless it was a couple rounds stuck in your ears. I fired magnum pistols too long one day and came home with everyone sounding like they were talking in a tin can. It got some better but I have had to listen to tinitus ever since.
Hearing loss is insidious and virtually imposible to self diagnose untill way too late to do anything about it. Long exposures to sounds that otherwise would be marginal can sap your hearing over time. Why anyone would think it a point of pride that they would purposely risk (and probably be accumulating) hearing damage is beyone me but I am familiar with the attitude. My mother is going on 86, smokes, and flaunts her age, condition (darned good) and smoking as if it proves that smoking isn't a problem. LIke crossing the street without looking both ways, you may get away with it for years but that doesn't make it smart and one day you'll likely become roadkill. Of course, I am one of the folks that wouldn't play Russian Roulette even if the cylinder held a hundred rounds, reducing your chances of death to "ONLY" 1%. There are folks who think if they only watch arc welding for a little while or don't look directly into the sun for too long it'll be OK.
When I was about 25 (after the tinitus initiating events) I still had hearing that went to about 20,000Hz in one ear and 21,500 in the other. I could hear ultrasonic burglar alarms and bats. Taint so any more but I do hear a variable mix of sounds that aren't there, at times quite distracting.
Enough...
Gary, best of luck to you with your repair, it was enjoyable following the thread.
Patrick
