The Daily Yardman Thread

[Boobala]

Re: MTD Yardman Transaxle Rebuild

Roger,
Nice work on the repair. I didn't know you all had palm trees in Maine, things you learn everyday. ;-)

Tom

Yeah Tom, he did a helluva great job .... OH ...those palm trees ?? he ordered them from Amazon.com ....when he ordered the bridge to get to his island ....Roger has ingenuity & thinks ahead !!! .:laughing: ..:laughing: ..:cool2:

 

[Roger B]

Re: MTD Yardman Transaxle Rebuild



OK you guys, get a grip, I tow the boat up and down the East coast from Maine to Florida every year. This year we also decided to stay in South Carolina for an extra month, (April), because when we got home April First in 2015 there was 4-1/2-feet of snow in front of my boat shed! (Note the date stamp on the picture.) So we decided to go home in May of 2016.. Of course Maine had the lowest amount of snow fall over the winter of 2015-16 ever recorded, but we really enjoyed the Beaufort, Port Royall area of SC.

Roger

 

[Roger B]

Quickee-Trailer-Build

While waiting for my parts to arrive (patiently - Not!!) I decided to build a trailer for the Yardman to tow. I already had a couple 10" tires and rims I bought years ago and never used, so I dug around and found a scrap piece of 5/8" rod. It wasn't long enough to make a one-piece axle out of, so I sawed it in half and welded it to a length of square strut to extend it. A hole was drilled in each end for cotter pins and wal-la, I had an axle. I built a frame for the bed out of some 1-1/2" X 2-1/2" perforated right-angle steel I had left over from my business shelving. I bolted the corners and welded it where it lay on the axle, Then I found another length of square strut that would be just right for the tongue once I made a hitch connector for it. The tongue was also welded to the axle and bolted to the front frame cross member. A left over piece of 1/2" plywood made a good deck and that was bolted down as well.

I have to dig around in my scrap crap and see if I have some metal I can bend into a "U", drill for a pin and weld to the end of the tongue for a hitch connector. A simple pin will connect the trailer to the rear plate on the tractor.

I just checked the tracking on my bushing and grease seal.. It has arrived in York, PA from like, East Bohunk, NV or somewhere.. If I live long enough, maybe it will make it to Maine.. I don't suspect this snow will speed anything up any..

Roger

 

[Pumper54]

Re: MTD Yardman Transaxle Rebuild

Roger,
Trailer looking good. For the hitch assembly you might try just a piece of flat stock you can weld to the top of the tongue with hole for the hitch pin of bolt. Don't think you plan on hauling really heavy stuff with your mower so no real need for a heavy duty hitch.

Tom

 

[Boobala]

Re: MTD Yardman Transaxle Rebuild

Roger,
Trailer looking good. For the hitch assembly you might try just a piece of flat stock you can weld to the top of the tongue with hole for the hitch pin of bolt. Don't think you plan on hauling really heavy stuff with your mower so no real need for a heavy duty hitch.

Tom

It is a nice job, my wife happened to see the pics ..... so then she starts on me ! "How come you don't do things like him ?? you just lay around sleeping all the time !!! And I reply ....I was not sleeping, ... I was busy checkin my eye-lids for holes !! ( LOL ) ..:laughing: ..:laughing:

 

[Pumper54]

Re: MTD Yardman Transaxle Rebuild

Boobala,
Gotta Love em cause we can't kill em. Just kidding Ladies we love you all.
Tom

 

[Roger B]

Re: MTD Yardman Transaxle Rebuild

Ladies we love you all.
Tom

Tom,

Obviously you've never been divorced!

Roger

 

[Roger B]

Trailer Tongue

Tom,

I got all that Strut and Right Angle steel from a local electrical distributor that tore out the second floor of their warehouse which had been entirely built out of that stuff.. I hauled truck loads of it away. However that was decades ago and I have built dozens and dozens of various things with the stuff. This little garden cart (trailer) may be the last as I only have a single 6-foot stick of the 1-1/2" X 2-1/2" right angle stock left.. However, I dug around in my junk and found a fitting that is designed to connect two pieces of the square stock strut together. I am going to use that for my tongue connector, but I won't install it until I set the garden tractor back down on it's wheels and get a proper height measurement. I don't want the tongue to be to high or to low.

I also found a piece of flat stock that would work too. It all depends on the height of the hitch plate on the tractor and the level position of the trailer tongue.

Roger

 

[Pumper54]

Re: MTD Yardman Transaxle Rebuild

Tom,

Obviously you've never been divorced!

Roger

Cheaper to keep her. ;-)

As for 'found' material I found a couple of bed frames being thrown out over the past year and picked them up at the curb. Nice steel angle and one even had a few castors attached. Using pieces of that steel to fab stuff up with. My welding sucks but I figure I can tack the stuff together and take it to a real welder to get it done right.
Tom

Tom

 

[Roger B]

Welding

Tom,

What type of welder do you have? I bought an 'El Cheapo', flux core, wire welder from Northern Tool, (last time I checked, it looked like they don't sell their own brand anymore!) it came as a complete welding kit, with helmet, leather apron and gloves and some simple tools. I built a welding cart for it (out of some of the perforated right-angle steel) and wheels off a baby carriage that I snatched when I was at the dump... Oh, sorry the "transfer Station". The guys at our 'transfer station' are great and will even get into one of the huge concrete bins and get something out for you if you ask! Anyway, I've had the thing for a couple of years and although I don't weld a lot, I have gotten better and better at it. My last discovery was finding the wire drive mechanism wasn't tight enough. Tightening that improved the wire feed to the 'puddle' and improved my welds by about 50%. I haven't done any stick welding since I was in diving school back in 1963 and as that was done underwater, I never really learned much, except never to get between the 'stinger' and the ground clamp! I kept diving but quit welding!!

Fairly heavy items can be welded with one of those little wire welders.. I needed a longer tool rest for my wood lathe, so I made one out of two pieces of 5/8" rod that I salvaged from the H/D rear shocks of a 3/4-ton truck. Grinding the top of the short, upright support rod so the 11" long 'arm-rod' lay in a perfectly fitted groove and then beveling the edge of that groove, I was able to (as you said - "tack it") and then I made pass after pass until I had built up a good strong bead all the way around. I have had a lathe tool catch while supporting it at the outer ends of the rest and the weld has held, so I'm very happy with it. Being able to weld, even poorly, is a great ability to have, especially if you like to 'make' things! You can always get better at it.. As they say, "Practice makes perfect."

Roger