[AT] OT, old implements and plasma cutters

[Mogrits]

I have an off brand "bush hog", probably 60" that I have never been happy
with. It's flimsy, the three point pins never align etc etc. It has seen
some rough service I'm guessing as it came with the 53 Jubilee I bought.
Anyway, I also have a 53" Hardee rotary cutter, made in Loris SC that has
been at pasture for the last 15 yrs (at least). These Hardees are really
tough implements so I decided to resurrect it even at loss of the cutting
width. The tire was rotted when I parked it so a new one was ordered which
arrives tomorrow., The PTO Coupler had been buried in the "mulch" that
developed on the deck such that the lock pin wouldn't open without a hammer
and it wouldn't fit the splines on the Mahindra. On top of that, the PTO
shaft appears to be too long. That's where my questions begin. With some
difficulty I got the U-Joint out so I can replace the yoke. I still have
about 10" of PTO shaft exposed and more than that of the PTO sleeve but it
won't go up in there even with help from a come-a-long. I need about 4"
more to get the shaft on the tractor. The shaft is rectangular- 1-1/4" x 1"
solid steel. Is it okay to just cut 4" off the shaft with a porta-band?
Should I drop a couple hundred for a new shaft? The gearbox has a slip
clutch on the the top end so that would involve another u-joint change. I
think there is no danger of the shaft coming loose with the implement
raised and lowered.

Plasma cutter: I have a Thermal Dynamics cutmaster 42 I bought new. It
worked until I gave it to employees to use on a jobsite and they dropped
the torch and broke it. I replaced the torch and it still doesn't work. Is
anyone familiar with this model? It powers up, releases air, then defaults
to an error mode indicating torch parts are not right but I have
ascertained they are in fact in place.

Other than that, It's good to read the non-virus chatter on here.
Warren
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