[AT] OT, old implements and plasma cutters

[szabelski at wildblue.net]

Warren,

You can cut the shaft and sleeve without doing any damage. What your supposed to do is take a measurement from the PTO shaft to the implement and then use that to determine how much to cut off. I don’t remember what the suggested length is, but I would think that you can find some information on-line that would tell you what length you need or how to determine the length. You don’t want to make the overlap too short, otherwise, should it come apart while in use, you’ll wreck the end of the sleeve which means you’ll either have to cut another inch or so off, or you’re going to have to get a whole new shaft. You’ll also wind up plowing with the shaft.

I currently have a 5ft finish mower on my H that I purchased used. The shaft and sleeve are what I think are a little too short, but they have enough overlap that I don’t have any issues with the length. I’ve been thinking of welding some extra sleeve to what is there just to make sure that nothing comes apart some day. I have a piece of sleeve that I cut off of the rototiller when I trimmed it for length. I haven’t tried to see if the piece I have will actually fit over the shaft, but if it does, I’ll probably do the welding someday.


The following is taken from the owners manual for the mower:

1. Hold the half-shafts next to each other in the shortest working position and mark them.
2. Shorten inner and outer guard tubes equally..
3. Shorten inner and outer sliding profiles you the same length as the guard tubes.
4. Proper overlap is a minimum of one-half the length of each tube, with both tubes being of equal length.
5. Round off all sharp edges and remove burrs. Grease sliding profiles.

The manual doesn't mention an exact length. If the rain stops sometime this week, I’ll put on my waders and take a walk over to the rototiller and get the instructions for cutting the sleeve and tube, which mention a minimum length.


Carl


----- Original Message -----
From: Mogrits <mogrits at gmail.com>
To: Antique tractor email discussion group <at at lists.antique-tractor.com>
Sent: Sun, 17 May 2020 21:57:56 -0400 (EDT)
Subject: [AT] OT, old implements and plasma cutters

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