#9 Mower Update

Had to use penetrating oil to get the sickle bar to come down

Lifting assembly

Bottom part of sickle bar

Some of the parts I've removed.

tool box

 

Mower partly disassembled

Originally this part of the pitman was stuck on the pitman flywheel.

Lifting gear removed

 I did some work last night.  The next pictures show more of it's current state

I was able to get the pitman arm off

Mower with tongue

 I currently have it back together.  Pretty exciting.

After last night, I now have a tongue on it

 So here's what it needs.

1. The wheels do not click when they roll backwards, instead, the entire axyl moves.  This is not good.  I need to pull the wheels and get the hubs un-stuck.  When a mower rolls backwards, there are some pawls in the hub that allow the wheel to spin backwards freely.  Only way to solve this is to pull the wheels.
2. I will need an entirely new pitman arm.  The metal peices I have are pitted and worn so bad that I don't think I'll be able to salvage them.  10+ years of sitting in the dirt is not good to metal.
3. I will need a new sickle bar and teeth.  The ones on it are worn out.
4. PAINT!  I'm going to paint it back to it's original colors.

Not too shabby though.  It's been fun to work on it.  I'm going to enjoy using it.


IH #9 Mower Page

Not much to tell, but an update none the less.

Temps are finally cooling down!  HOORAY!!!

Today I did some work on my mower.  I was able to get more of it broken down, and was able to take a peak at the gears.  I'm very excited.  No shavings.  The gears look good.  I thought the clutch may be stuck engaged, but found out that it was the lowring mechanism that was holding the clutch in.  Once I figured that out, I was able to check the gear action.  Everything is tight, and turning nicely.  This was great news!

I promise that tomorrow I will get some pictures.  It was dark when I thought about it, so I didn't grab any.  Tomorrow I'll post pictures of where I'm at and what I've done so far.

The herd is doing well.  Buck is fitting in very nicely.  The mares make him mind his manners, but are accepting him now.  He, of course, helps this by staying out of their way.  I have a happy herd, and that is a plus.

Right now I'm trying to find hay.  It is scarce.  I'm looking towards Arkansas and Mississippi to see if I can find it priced well enough to justify a road trip with a 40 foot trailer.  If anyone reads this and knows of anything, let me know.  I'd surely appreciate it (as will the horses).  :)

I'm also looking for a yoder stock.  It's times like these that I wish I lived up in Amish country.  I think I may have to use my networking skills to get one.  We'll see how it goes.

I'm confirmed to do Christmas wagon rides this Christmas again on Park Street in Greenville, TX.  I'm very happy to be doing that.  It's a lot of fun.

That's it for now.  I'll post some pictures of the mower tomorrow.

An update ... at long last!

If any of you have followed the weather here in Texas this year, you will know that we have experienced heat like we've never seen.  The past 3 months has been over 100 degrees outside.  I think they said 68 days of 100+ degree temps, with 45 days in a row at one point.  Needless to say, we have basically been hibernating inside in the A/C.  I haven't worked the horses at all, and have been making sure they had electrolytes in their water, and plenty of feed/water to get them through the hot temps.

I haven't done any blog updates, because I really haven't done anything with the horses.  Now that I think on it though, I probably have a lot to say to get y'all up to date on things here.  In the name of a shorter blog, I'm going to hit a few bullets and say stuff about them.


More Land
This summer my in-laws bought 12 acres of land adjacent to mine.  As soon as it was purchased, I fenced it off, and my horses now have ~16 acres to graze on.  This could not have come at a better time.  The heat has stopped all my natural grasses from growing, and being able to open up 10 more acres of land to the horses was a God sent.  This enabled me to not have to purchase hay for a bit longer, which is always a good thing.  My in-laws will soon be moved up and will be my neighbors.  We're looking forward to having family around and all the fun that entails

Hay/Feed
Hay prices have gone through the roof.  I have never seen hay prices like they are now.  Before I needed hay, I remember hearing horrid tales that out west of Ft. Worth people were paying $120 for round bales.  I couldn't believe that.  When it came time to check on hay for myself, I found it going for $75.  It has continued to go up and up.  Not a good time to have to be on full time hay.  Luckily my best friend Bev and Mark and I have been working together to get hay for all our horses.  Thus far, nobody has gone hungry yet.  Hopefully we can keep that going. 

Besides hay, the heat has hampered the soybean crop, and so feed has gone up as well.  I normally buy a 12% protein pellet for around 7 bucks a bag.  Last time I bought it, it was at 10.  Suddenly my wallet is really feeling the horses we have!  I am very fortunate for Mark and Bev though.  Bev is an awesome woman with coupons galore and is finding great deals on feed.  I have to say that without her help, my horses would be much skinnier than they are.  I love you Bev!!!!



#9 Regular Gear Mower
That's right ... I found a mower.  I was trying to hold out for a #9 high gear, but decided I might as well get what I could.  Options aren't very good here in TX.  A friend of mine found this mower at a salvage yard.  Someone had brought it in.  The owner of the place was hesitant on melting down an antique like this, so he sold it to my friend for the price of scrap.  I got it and have begun working on it.  I have some pictures, and now that I think on it more, I think I'll do a separate blog post on the mower.  I'm real excited to get this thing going and be able to cut the grass in my own fields.

McCormick Deering/International Harvestor #9 Regular Gear

All parts are accounted for.  Time to get it working.

IH #9 Mower Page


Lily's Buckshot comes home
This one probably deserves it's own post as well.  I'll summarize here.  My beloved mare Lily, had a colt 3 1/2 years ago.  Lily's buckshot was his name, and if you look back through the blog, you can find posts on him.  I sold him at 5 months old to some awesome people.  I've stayed in touch throughout the years.  I received a call last week that times were rough, and their life had taken a turn for the worse.  They needed to find Buck a new home, and I was given the chance to get him.  I jumped at it, and got him home.  He looks so much like Lily.  As I brushed him and groomed him I felt a rare charge of emotion in the hole in my heart from the loss of Lily.  Buck is not Lily, but having him has made me feel good again.  Funny how the heart works like that.  (Added a page for Buck HERE)

Lily's Buckshot.  3 1/2 year old Belgian gelding.

He seems sweet.  We'll see how he works.

Today's work
Today the temps were down in the 80s.  I could not have a day like this and not work outside.  Needless to say, the first thing I did was pull each horse out of the pasture and groom them properly, including fly spray.  All the drafts were great for me.  I even had a friend help me catch Whinnie (my buckskin filly).  This is the second time she's been worked with a lead rope, and it was a fabulous day.  She got wormed, shots (including strangles), and brushed and groomed galore.  She let me pick her feet all out, and then we even worked on trailer loading.  After the 3rd approach, she was following me in the trailer without any hesitation.  Whinnie is an amazing girl.  She's completely docile and I just love her.  I think she's going to make a great saddle horse for my wife and Riley when she's old enough.  It was a great day, and wonderful to get my hands on the horses.