[AT] Time to 'fess up

[Gilbert Schwartz]

Spencer;  Kind of makes you feel like your brain goes into "disengaged".
I pulled up to a farm gate on a cold morning driving a WD Allis. I 
disengaged the hand clutch and crawled off to open the gate. Got the gate 
unlatched and felt something touch my back. The WD was helping  me open the 
gate. I  jumped  back, the tractor missed me, junked the gate and stopped, 
upright,  in the bottom of a shallow ditch about 75 feet away. Nothing hurt 
but the gate and my pride. My dad wanted to skin me but was too glad I 
wasn't hurt. It was a good lesson for a kid.
Gil
----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Spencer Yost" <yostsw at atis.net>
To: <at at lists.antique-tractor.com>
Sent: Thursday, October 14, 2004 4:47 PM
Subject: [AT] Time to 'fess up


>A destroyed cub engine and a damaged compact JD, I guess we all should
> 'fess up to some stupid mistakes to help us teach each other a few things.
>
> My Pacer's distributor adjusting lock nut came loose and the engine had
> drifted out of time.  This was while I was driving it to the local show.
> I limped in and parked it and went home and got tools.  I got a large
> socket, two extensions and a socket wrench and then fitted this through 
> the
> handcrank handle hole in the grill to slowly turn over the engine to #1
> TDC.  I turned the distributor until I got a spark at #1, and then pulled
> out the adjustable wrench to tighten the nut and reattached the spark plug
> cable.  The entire wrench apparatus was still attached to the crankshaft
> pulley nut when I got distracted by a bystander at the show.  My son, who
> was on the tractor and couldn't see the wrench asked if I was ready to 
> have
> him start it.  I absent-mindedly said yes and resumed the conversation.  I
> then heard the socket wrench spin around furiously as the tractor started.
> I turned around just in time to see the wrench just sort of fall off
> instead of fly into someone's head; thank God.  No damage to the sheet
> metal at all either fortunately.
>
> Interestingly, it was set to tighten, so supposedly the engine was turning
> in the direction that was the same as the wrench's setting for
> "click-neutral".  Theoretically the wrench should have just made a racket
> and stayed basically still.   However, the speed of the engine was enough
> to turn that thing around pretty quickly, - even in click-neutral - I am
> here to report.
>
> Lesson - Never let yourself get distracted and/or give direction with only
> half your mind engaged on the subject at hand when working with equipment.
> Very tough to do at a show and probably the most important time to do it.
>
> Spencer Yost
> Owner, ATIS
> Plow the Net!
> http://www.atis.net
>
>
>
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