[AT] new duties

Fri Jul 14 05:08:54 PDT 2017

Well, that is a story! One main bearing stuck from the water in the 
crankcase. A replacement starter engine could not be found and electric 
conversion is unable to be installed in that bell housing. So cutting 
out the bearing from the crankcase is what I am doing, then replacement 
of the bearing inserts. I had the largest part of the bulldozing done 
for me and then we started landplaning and scraping and are near done 
for now. The D8 will be used still for more tree work soon. I hope to 
start irrigation on the fields severely damaged in another week.
      One note about the bearings on this starter engine, I had 
forgotten that their bearing inserts are one piece and driven into the 
block until disassembly was done. The last time I did a complete Cat 
starter engine was several decades ago.... It is amazing how time flies. 
I started farming 43 years ago this October when I was a sophomore in 
high school. I rebuilt my first tractor engine before I had a drivers 
license and also my first truck engine. Good memories.
                Grant Brians - Hollister,California farmer
On 7/13/2017 1:46 PM, vschwartz1 at comcast.net wrote:
> Hey Grant; How did that starter motor deal come out on your D8? I had been wondering because I knew that you wanted to use the tractor after your flood issues. Maybe you already said but somehow I missed it.
> Gil
> ----- Original Message -----
>
> From: "Grant Brians" <sales at heirloom-organic.com>
> To: at at lists.antique-tractor.com
> Sent: Thursday, July 13, 2017 12:22:32 PM
> Subject: Re: [AT] new duties
>
> Oh, I forgot to mention how useful placing sills and extra plate boards
> can be too. I have used odd angle nailing and plates of wood and metal
> to solve structural issues that seem insoluble in barns and sheds. After
> all, they are not mansions....
> Grant Brians - Hollister,California farmer
>
> On 7/12/2017 4:08 AM, Indiana Robinson wrote:
>> I am desperately trying to save an about 38' x 60' timber frame barn down
>> the road that sits on ground we used to rent in the 1950's but own that
>> part of it now. I have been unable to do much with it until now mostly due
>> to health issues etc. I think I can have it in "safe and holding condition"
>> in a couple of weeks if it will stop the damn storming... Son Scott is
>> going to help on it.
>> Yesterday, July 11, 2017, we went to town (we sit just outside of the line
>> and it is getting closer) for lunch and the sky fell open and leaked a lot
>> of water, wind and uncontrollable electricity... When we got home the first
>> thing I wanted to check was if that barn was still intact and remarkably it
>> was.
>> We did lose another building (and a pair of tractor fenders ) though. We
>> had a huge old maple tree about 20' east of the house that blew down.
>> Luckily it blew to the south- east away from the house. It is going to make
>> a lot of firewood. It did however fall on a building that we had used as a
>> farm shop when we moved here in 1951. It was a fairly new chicken house
>> then about 18' x 18'. The tools were inside and the big bench but most work
>> was done outside and it only had a walk door. It was the only decent
>> building other then the 3 barns and they were in full use for livestock. It
>> was also the only building with a good concrete floor. My father had moved
>> a small chicken house building with us along with a 10' x 20' cottage from
>> a pay lake / private park at the old farm. That cottage became known as the
>> seed house. It has since been built onto on both sides and is now about 20'
>> x 34'. I do sometimes refer to it as "the little barn". My father never
>> really finished the little chicken house much so the chickens were mostly
>> "free range" but we didn't know they were back then, we thought that they
>> "just ran around loose"... :-) We didn't know what free range was.
>> That old shop building is toast... We had taken over the timber frame
>> former dairy barn / 1,500 bu. corn crib / 300 bu. oats bin / 12' wide
>> driveway area as the farm shop many years ago. The old shop had become odd
>> stuff storage.
>> The tree also fell across the back of my little Ferguson TO-20 and mashed
>> both rear fenders down hard against the rear tires. I will have to remove
>> the fenders to move the tractor. So far I don't see any other damage to it.
>> The fenders will go to a loft to await later repair, maybe this winter. In
>> the meantime I have a pair of Ford 8N fenders I won't be needing before
>> maybe next spring and I will stick those on the Ferguson. I just hope it
>> doesn't give it a rash or something.
>> At the barn lot (has anyone ever used the term "shed lot"?) down the road
>> to the west I have an open faced 28' x 64' "tool shed" or "implement shed".
>> If I close it in with walls and doors can I call it a "barn". :-)
>> If I call the tool shed and the seed house "barns" I can claim 5 barns
>> here. All 5 of them were built smaller but tall and they all have been
>> built onto to make them bigger. The open faced tool shed had an 18' x 18'
>> "shop room" added to the back. The "at risk" barn down there was maybe
>> originally (1800's) 30' x 30' but added to at least 3 times. The one that
>> is now shop was added to at least twice and the east barn where our 6
>> horses live was added to at least once. It is really interesting to me to
>> study them all closely and try to figure out the stories they contain if
>> you just look for them.
>>
>>
>>
>> 
>>
>>
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