Season Changeover

The last couple weeks we have had a lot of fun enjoying the typical activities that come with fall.  A trip to the orchard, a U of I football game with the family, a couple weenie roasts, and in general just enjoying the beautiful fall weather we’ve been having.  Indian summer has thus far held out, but I think we all know it can’t hang on indefinitely.  Like it or not, winter is just around the corner. 

With that inevitable onset of colder weather, one of the main projects for last weekend was starting to put away the summer toys and equipment, and get out the winter stuff.  I performed what I am assuming will be the last mowing of the year.  Following that, I cleaned the push mower and Johnny’s mowing deck, and then winterized the mower, and the rototiller.  Of course, putting the mower away for the season also means it’s time to get the snowblower out.  I’m anxious to try out the snowplow on Johnny, but not ready to get rid of that snowblower just yet.  I also started putting away some of the big toys for the winter.  Since it was such a nice weekend, I didn’t want to put all the toys away.  I also didn’t quite get all the winter preparation completed, because I was taking advantage of the nice weather some myself.

Every time I walked past Junior, his cracked hood stared back at me just begging to be fixed.  With the good weather forecasted for the weekend, I figured it would be a good time to make that repair.  It appears at some point someone ran Junior into something.  There was a couple inch long crack in the hood, and immediately below it, a small dent in the grill.  The hood also had cracks in the corners, which Johnny also had, and is pretty common for that hood design. 

  

The first step was reinforcing the fiberglass, followed by filling in the cracks with bondo.  This produced one of those “you know you’re an engineer if…” moments.  There probably aren’t a lot of people that the smell of fiberglass resin and bondo triggers college flashbacks, but if you every worked on a Formula SAE team, you know what I’m talking about.  The bondo also proved to be a fun activity with N.  He saw me mixing up a batch, and was curious what I was up to.  I told him it was like playdough for daddies.  He thought that was cool, and helped me fill in a few little divots I missed with the first coat. 

Fortunately, the weekend weather proved ideal for painting.  I had the perfect temperature and wind conditions for painting the hood and grill outside.  Also, since we’ve had a few frosts, I didn’t have to worry so much about bugs flying into the wet paint.  I was extremely pleased with the results.  The only problem is it might look too good, and get me thinking more about painting the rest of the tractor. 

Painting the rest of Junior will have to take a back seat for at least a little while though.  Ebay season officially started last week as well.  I need to get busy in Santa’s workshop to take advantage of the holiday buying season, and replenish the toy/tractor fund. 

Pickin' makes for Grinnin'

It should come as no surprise that I am a fan of the show American Pickers.  I love the idea of finding something valuable in other what other people think is just "junk".  While I don't drive around the countryside exploring barns and farmyards, I do indulge my Picker instincts a couple times a year during bulk trash week, one of which was last week.  Just a few years ago I would not have though  of driving around looking at other people's trash as entertainment.  Then, early in my (ongoing) Power Wheels phase, I was enlightened to the fact that when most people are done with a Power Wheels, they just throw it away.  The thought of getting one (or several) for free rather than spending the $200-$300 most people spend on a new one made me curious, so I thought I would give it a try.  

The word on the street was that the greatest odds for finding one was during "bulk trash" or "fall/spring cleanup" weeks where people are cleaning up their garages and yards.  When the next one rolled around, after we put the boys to bed for the night, I headed out.  It was an interesting experience to say the least.  You would be amazed how many people there are out there.  The most persistent are the "scrappers".  They are out day and night looking for anything with enough metal content to be worth taking to the scrap yard.  Then there are specialist.  There's guys that fix and sell bicycles, guys that fix and sell small engine equipment, and second-hand stores that look for furniture in decent condition.  The last group is the treasure hunters.  They look for the big piles, and then systematically go through it looking for anything good.  Obviously there is overlap between those groups, so there is competition amongst them.  Aside from the interesting people, it is interesting to see what people are throwing away.  Toilets and matresses are probably the most common, but then you'll see strange stuff like a house with 6 or 8 bowling balls out at the curb.  

I guess I would fall in the specialist category.  Power Wheels are nice because there is not alot of competition for them, and they are big and easy to spot.  Occasionally there is stuff stacked on top of them, but usually they are sitting by themselves on the curb.  They may be dirty, but you usually don't have to dig through trash to get them.  Of course condition varies widely.  I've seen everything from broken, sat in the yard for 10 years and then used for target practice; to grandma and grandpa bought it for the grandkids, it got used a couple times and now the grandkids are too old and they don't want it taking up space.   I'd say close to half don't need anything but a bath and a new battery.  Some do need some kind of repair, and a few really are only good for parts.  For me, there is certainly thrill in "the hunt" for them, but the boys always seem excited when I bring a new one home, and even enjoy playing with the hose helping me wash them.  Once the "new" wears off, and they have tested it out thoroughly, I'll put it up on craigslist and sell it.

The last few bulk trash weeks I haven't been as hard-core about it as I was initially, but it is still fun to go out a night or two and see what I can find.  This past week I picked up a little VW Bug and a Harley.  The Bug was cute and perfect for L.  It was pretty clean, had the battery charger with it, and worked fine when I hooked up a good battery to it.  The Harley was a little rougher.  It's was pretty faded and dirty, and initially only one of the two motors worked.  While I was cleaning it, I found a loose wire on one motor and now it works fine.  It's probably too beat up to resell whole, but we've had a couple of these and N likes them for a while.  The big surprise this time was how much L liked it.  Not only that, he does pretty well driving it too.  I'll probably part it out eventually, but for now the boys can enjoy it.  C also mentioned a while back a decorating idea that involved a Radio Flyer wagon, and I happened to find one of those while I was out too.  

After just a couple nights, I decided to declare my Power Wheels Pickin' a success, and turned my attention back to tractors.  The 70, or "Junior" as I have dubbed it, had a front tire that would go flat after sitting overnight, and the other tire didn't look that great either.  I ordered a new set of front tires, and set out to get the old ones off and rims repainted while I waited for them to come in.  For Johnny, I let the tire shop do the removal and reinstallation.  That was fine, and they probably did a better job of preserving the freshly applied powder coat on those rims, but for Junior the $10/tire change fee was going to add about 50% to the cost of replacing the tires.  Rather than do that, I found a mini tire changer at Harbor Freight.  OK, so the changer cost a little more than what it would have cost me to have the tires changed at the shop, but now should the need arise again in the future, I can do it myself.  Getting the old tires off the rim was far from the 5 minute task they showed in the tire changer demo video.  In fact, it took a sawzall to get one of them off.  Nevertheless, I was able to get them off.  After the new tires arrived, they went on much more easily, and now Junior sports a nice tri-rib front tire look.  

Despite all that activity, the past week wasn't only focused on powered vehicles of one sort or another.  We also managed to take full advantage of the great weather.  Friday I took the day off and we made a trip up to the apple orchard for some apple donuts and fun at the playground.  It seems like every year they add another fun activity.  This year they added a restored caboose that the kids could play in, and some pedal cars for both the kids and adults.  That night, N and I camped out on the deck in the tent.  I had my hopes doubts he would stay out there all night, but he loved it.  Saturday, after recovering a little from sleeping in the tent, I got the new tires installed on Junior and put some finishing touches on the rock table.  N decided his Jeep needed a little work as well.  We also had to get ready for our neighborhood weiner roast.  We had talked about the idea with the neighbors earlier in the Summer, but never got around to it.  The week of unseasonably nice weather provided a great opportunity to do it, and we put it together less than a week in advance.  It ended up working out great and everyone seemed to thoroughly enjoy it.  Sunday L and I went for two nice long rides on the Ten, and wrapped the weekend up with more time outside playing with the neighbors, and grandma and grandpa.

Of course the incredibly nice weather can't last forever, and it looks like it won't stick around for another weekend.  I think it's fair to say though that we made the most of it while it was here.

Fall Flying By

I'm long overdue for a post, since we are closing in on a month since my last one.  

We've had a few projects in the workshop over the past few weeks, although the bulk of the progress on them has been made over the weekends.  With this beautiful weather we've been having lately, we've been spending our weekday evenings outside playing, which has tended to push workouts and chores to after the boys' bedtimes, leaving less time for other things.

The first project started (and yet to be finished) is repainting the snowplow for Johnny.  I had located a snowplow earlier this summer, and then another one to provide some parts in better condition.  This turned into a true case of using two to make one.  The first one had less rust, but had been used and abused.  The cutting edge was worn completely down and it had several large dents in the blade surface.  Also, one bracket was bent, and no amount of heat and force seemed to be able to straighten it.  I got the second blade primarily to replace the bent bracket, but the hardly used cutting edge for less than what a replacement one cost was a nice bonus. I ended up completely disassembled both and used the best parts from each.   At this point, all the parts have been sanded, primed and repainted, but other projects have taken priority over reassembly.   

One of said "other projects" is a new addition to the Tallon tractor fleet.  One of the dangers in getting a collector tractor to use around the house, and subsequently using a collector forum (Weekend Freedom Machines) for technical help on that tractor, is that you run the risk of becoming a collector yourself.  That risk is even greater if you are one that is predisposed to collecting stuff like I am.  Back when I was first researching a garden tractor, I was debating on the 110 or the smaller 60/70.  Both had that "new generation" look like grandpa's 4010 and 6030.  Ultimately, the 110 won out due to being more common, and more versatile.  I have not once regretted getting Johnny, but the appeal of the smaller 60/70 still lingered in the back of my mind.  When a good condition, good running 70 came up for sale, for a pretty cheap price, I could not resist.  I've subsequently given it the once-over and mowed with it a little bit.  It does need a new front tire, and some adjustment to the throttle linkage, however  being a "lawn tractor" and not a "garden tractor" like the 110, the 70 actually mows a little better than Johnny does.  At this point, I don't know what the long-term plans are for it.  I've considered everything from keeping it to ride around tractor shows, to sprucing it up a little and try to sell it at a profit.  For now, it's just another fun little project.

All the tractors took a back seat to a project for the boys last weekend.  While the weather has been perfect as of late, it won't last forever.  Pretty soon my dirt-loving boys won't be able to go outside and get their digging fix.  The last two winters we have set up a "sand box" in the garage for them to dig in.  That pretty much just consisted of a plastic storage container filled with gravel.  While better than nothing, it isn't ideal because the gravel goes everywhere, and the container isn't really big enough for both of them to play in.  I had been thinking about how to do something better, and last weekend finally built it.  The end result is a two level, 4' x 3' table with small rocks to scoop and dump.  I think it will do the trick, but it still isn't as good as digging in the dirt outside, which the weather is still permitting them to do.  I'm anxious to see how well the table works, but certainly willing to let this weather stick around as long as it wants to.