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I too have toolboxes full of craftsman hand tools, they've allways been good quality and have never refused a warranty replacement for me. Their power tools on the other hand seem to have followed the "Build it cheap as possible" route over the past several years and are hardly worth taking home anymore. I used to buy my work clothes and shoes at Sears, decent quality, priced right, but the last two or three times I've been to the Sears store it's been like a ghost town, no customers, not a clerk to be found, so I've just kinda drifted away but NOT to Walmart. The county seat town in our adjoining county has not had it's downtown business district destroyed by a Walmart yet, and I pray it never happens. What a treat it is to be served by a business that is owned by the people behind the counter who are truly interested in you being happy with your purchase. This past summer I was in serious need of updating my dress up type clothes so I went to the family owned clothing store in that town, I just could'nt stand another mall type clothing store. I'd never been in the store before, but they were very helpfull and VERY busy, wanted me to be happy with my purchase, plus their quality was top notch. I'm sure I could have saved a few bucks at some chain type place, but no thanks, I'll go back there next time I need clothes. Frank.

CRAFTSMAN Tools
Just For Fun Off Topic
Replies 27 Post by hardwood

Jeff; If you want to sell something, buy an ad space. Frank.

New Farmall Hydraulic Pump
Antique Tractors
Replies 2 Post by hardwood

Andyfr: Massey Ferguson used to be the worlds largest tractor manufacturer, and may still be. I can't say anything bad about their products simply because I've personally never seen a Massey compact. There used to be two or three quite large Massey dealerships in my aeria, but it seemes that after the hard times in agriculture of the early 80's that they went out of business and never came back. I'm totally guessing on this, but I'd say that because of the close proximity of top notch dealerships that Deere and Kubota would be a tie and Ford-NH a close third so far as popularity here. Massey simply has ben in business too long to be building poor equipment, if they were they would have been out of the picture years ago. So it goes back to my old song and dance of having a good relationship with a top notch dealership,. If that's your situation and you like the Massey then by all means buy it, Orange, Green and Blue need a bit of competition to keep them on their toes.. Enjoy whatever you buy. Frank.

MF Hydro trans
Massey Ferguson Tractors
Replies 6 Post by hardwood

My guess would be that you probably got a set of glow plugs that were from the same batch as the original ones in your tractor. What I'll call the old generaton glow plugs from the 50's and 60's were less than perfect. I don't currently have an engine that uses glow plugs, but my understanding is that the new generation of them are vastly better than the ones from the past. I'd ask the dealer if he can tell you if the ones he puts in on Wednesday are from the same source as the last ones. Best of luck. Frank.

Bad Glow Plugs
Cub Cadet
Replies 7 Post by hardwood

I've heard os several being put in in our aeria, but I haven't kept abreast with how they've worked out. About the only two heat sources I can think of for a home that the price of isn't controled by supply and demand are solar and fire wood. Corn and any oil based sources are commoditys that the prices of can fluctuate because most anything related to the total supply being available for sale at any given time. Right now corn prices are low and oil is high. Usually world weather conditions and the need for corn control the price, corn could double in cost by next year, maybe not, oil could, tho I doubt it could brecome less expensive in time. weather conditions have nothing to do with the amount of oil that can be available, the supply is just in the hands of countrys thart we seem not to be able to negociate with to our advantage. Frank.

Corn burning stoves
Home Improvement
Replies 12 Post by hardwood

AV8R; Yes I almost forgot about the fish frys, almost any Friday night you can find one around here too, but I've been to ones in your neck of the woods also and you're right the further north you go the better the fish get. One of our daughters married into a Norwegan family north of the twin cities, our son inlaw has tried his best to get me to eat Ludefisk, WOW that stuff smells awfull, so far I haven't been able to get enough Miller Lite for the courage to try it yet. Frank.

Church Suppers
Just For Fun Off Topic
Replies 18 Post by hardwood

That is a minor concern with that few extra hours, but when you do the service over Christmas do things just as the book tells you, don't skimp with brand X fluids or filters, use the manufacturers brand. The 50 hr. service interval is probably the most important one of your tractors life, so follow the book to the letter, you'll be rewarded years down the road for what you do now. Frank.

50 Hr service
Kubota Tractors
Replies 7 Post by hardwood

There's an old saying around here, "Cash talks Bull#### walks". Any suspicious folks I've dealt with better have "C Notes" or the conversation is over. As you may gather from this I've been stung on a couple tractor parts deals, so don't even mention a check of any kind, cashiers, personal, or otherwise if you're an unknown. Plenty of good honest folks around here to take care of our needs, so we don't need those kind. Frank.

tractor scammer
Website Operations Howto
Replies 10 Post by hardwood

I' ve got several restored Farmalls and all have been painted with Genuine Case-IH paint. When time permits We like to go to "Red Power Days" in June just to keep up on things and scrounge for parts. Nothing looks worse than a tractor repainted with a paint that just isn't original. After doing five of them, 95% of the work involves cleanup and prep time so I'd have a hard time saving a few bucks on the paint and not be happy with the results. Maybe I'm a little freaky on things like that, but that's just my opinion. Have a great day. Frank.

kubota orange
Kubota Tractors
Replies 5 Post by hardwood

Everyone needs a form of relaxation to enjoy life and gain peace of mind. Some have boats, motorhomes, horses, etc., etc. I have none of the things mentioned and have no criticisims of those who do, that's their form of relaxation. We have a small home on the lake that the wife and I both enjoy much as possible during the summer. I guess my greatest form of relaxation and peace of mind is just mowing a ditch, digging a hole with the hoe, cleaning an old fencerow, etc., with nobody to answer to except the man above. That's my justification for the CUT's. Frank.

OK How do you Justify your Tractor
Kubota Tractors
Replies 33 Post by hardwood

tejas241: First of all let me congradulate you for having the guts to tackle the world of being self employed. I've been self employed all my life as a farmer, furniture plant owner, and real small time landscaper. Others have given their advice on the equipment so as I called myself, a real small time landscaper they are much more knowedable on your equipment needs than I. I'll just pass along a few things learned from the self employed life. Whether you're building furniture, cutting grass, or whatever field you chose in working for the public I think good customer relations is probably the most important lesson I've learned. Make sure there happy, keep in touch with them to build your customer base. After 30 some years in the furniture busines my Son is still working for some of the clients I had 25 yrs. ago. I've allways told a customer, if there is a problem with something I built call me first, I'll come fix it, then call your neighbor not the other way around. And of course the non paying account can cause frustrations, I was real fortunate that in my time in the business I was only ever cheated out of a hundred dollars many years ago, so I just chalked that up to experience. So the best of luck to you in your new venture. Frank.

HELP ANY LANDSCAPERS ZTR or Kubota 7800 for rural suburb area
Garden and Landscape
Replies 10 Post by hardwood

Mike1819; I'm not real sure which engine Deere uses in the 595, but I can't see any damage coming from contunious operatio long as periodic checks are kept on engine oil level, coolant level, etc. They're probably called something else today, but in past years engines for generators, irrigaton pumps etc. had what we called "Murphy Switches". All they really were are oil pressure and temperature sensors that would shut the engine down in case of a lube ot coolant failure. I'm sure they are still available and likely could be adapted to your mower. We used to put a fuel barrel beside an "M" Farmall to power a grain drier in the fall that ran 24/7. We wre lucky but others had fan belt failures or ran low on oil and cost them an engine, so the "Murphy Switches" would add a level of comfort. Best of luck. Frank.

John Deere Generator for x500 series
Shop Tools
Replies 12 Post by hardwood

bobkro32: Yes, either tractor wiil do the jobs you mention. You are right on target, a good dealer relationship is much more important than whether the hood is green or orange. Absolutely nothing wrong with buying used, but again buy from a dealer you're comfortable with and who has a good reputation for sevice. Frank.

Another First Time Buyer
John Deere Tractors
Replies 5 Post by hardwood

wildbill: I have a 430 loader with the 61 in. heavy duty bucket on my 4410. A full bucket of soil or crushed rock is plenty, The tractor hydralics will lift what ever you put in a bucket to the point of bypass in the system, but I'd be afraid of doing damage to the frame of the loader by working it to the max with too big a bucket. I think the big bucket is meant more for snow or a special use in lighter materials. Frank.

430 loader capacity
John Deere Tractors
Replies 4 Post by hardwood

Daveknowshow: I don't remember the exact width of my buckets for my Deere #48 hoe, but the only one I really ever use is I think an 18 inch. I do have a real narrow bucket I think around 9 or 10 inches, but it just won't work very well in our heavy clay subsoils, it won't clean when you dump it. I bought the #48 because at the time I had a 4300 tractor, now it's on my 4310. It seems to be big enough for 95% of my needs, but for the real big stuff I hire a big machine. I looked at used regular size hoes at the time, but 25-30,000 was kinda bare minimum to get something that wasn't wore out, so all in all I'm glad to have the #48. Frank.

learning to use a hoe
Loaders Back Hoes
Replies 9 Post by hardwood

Art, yes I did over simplify the making of a pitman a bit, it does take more than a skilsaw, 3/8 drill and a jigsaw. Anyhow our Son who is the boss there now said no more pitmans, he's booked thru next summer with regular work. Sorry for any misunderstanding. Frank.

sickle bar knife rivits
Mowers Field and Finish
Replies 14 Post by hardwood

Power service has allways been my favorite, but get it in now before it's really cold, it doesn't seem to mix too well when the fuel gets super cold. I've beeen puting a jug in the tank the last couple times before the fuel man comes that way I know it's in the sytems of all the equipment. I've seen the gasoline thing done in a pinch situation to get something going, but it never looked goood to me. Frank.

Winter Fuel
John Deere Tractors
Replies 6 Post by hardwood

Derk: Art's right, there are hundreds of loaders like that still "In the Grove" around here. Usually it's hard to find a buyer especially with a trip bucket and no cylinders. I did manage to sell one a few years ago but it was in real good shape with good cylinders, I don't remember what I got for it, but it wasn't much. Don't mean to rain on your parade, but that's just kinda how it is. Frank.

IH loader
Loaders Back Hoes
Replies 3 Post by hardwood

Mike: I'm asuming a couple things here, first that your 595 mower had a hydraulic system that lifted the blade and that your Gator is an HPX 4X4. The Gator has a hydraulic system, but it only powers the box dump, no power steering yet. That means your blade lift would have to be elecric which it may allready be. If Deere makes a blade for the Gator I'm not aware of it, but if they do perhaps you could design a mounting system that matches where thay use as push and lift points. Mine has the full front bumper system and the front reciever hitch, but I really haven't took time to look under to see what there attached to. Some of the older Deere dealerships will have kind of a "Bone Yard" of obsolete mower decks, blades, and other odd still useable items that you can search thru and might come up with something. I've found a couple things there in the past to do something on the order of adapting one thing to another as you propose. Best of luck. Frank.

Front blade for Gator
Utility Vehicles UTV/ATV
Replies 5 Post by hardwood

Woodie: As harvey mentioned what with all the extra storage tanks etc. involved I'm not sure if my supplyer is fully geared up to offer soydiesel yet. A farmer friend of mine has used it for a couple years now and has'nt had any problems. I don't understand all of the economics of refining oil, producing soydiesel, and I'm sure some tax issues involved, but it just sems to me with crude at record high prices and the soybean market really down in the dumps that it should encourage using as much of our own homegrown fuel as possible. I've been paying from 1.65 to 1.90 for farm fuel this fall from my supplier. I'm not sure what the total road tax is in Iowe, but with tax road fuel is surely in the 2.30 neighborhood. Have a good day. Frank.

Diesel1 Diesel2 Auto diesel and truck diesel
New Holland Tractors
Replies 13 Post by hardwood