It's The Little Things That Make The Biggest Difference

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machinist@large

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......As for the old engine, found time to open it up & investigate...

In all my years, I've never seen a rod let go like this...

Wow. That is some damage!

:idea2: Let me guess; you forgot your glasses when you went to the part's store, and grabbed a bottle of nitro methane by mistake when you thought you were buying carb cleaner..... It would be the easiest explanation..... :oops:
 

OzFab

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Honestly, I have no idea what happened or why, one day it ran fine, the next day it started knocking & then stopped running...

Whatever the case, it runs much better than ever now, lots more grunt...
 
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OzFab

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We recently moved to a new house which had been vacant & unmaintained for some time; the real estate did their best to clean it up but, the grass surrounding the house needed a bit more work (It's great when the maintenance guy mulches 2' high grass into the lawns & doesn't even bother with the 100 yard long driveway :sarcasm:)...

In the process of cleaning up someone elses mess, the key start switch on the riding mower decided to die on me; rather than spending ~$30 on a new one, I spent $5 on a momentary switch (for starting) & a push/pull switch (to kill the engine) &, along with some wire, spade terminals & a small amount of time figuring out the wiring config, I replaced the oem switch with a keyless system; as the engine starts without the choke, I was able to replace the choke lever with the push/pull switch & the momentary starter switch resides where the oem switch was...
 

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OzFab

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Since moving to the new house, I've noticed a few things that need doing, the most notable being that the bottom rails of the colorbond fence are at or below ground level, which is not good; being that the fence is steel, this causes rust & voids the 15 year warranty so, I set about rectifying the situation by chipping away the earth below the fence & tapering up away from the fence to meet the yard level...

The biggest issue is, I, nor my daughter has a wheelbarrow so, I had the idea of making a trailer from a 44 gallon drun to attach to my riding mower; the issue is, I can't find any nearby...

What I do have is one or two damaged panels of the aforementioned fence so, a bit of cutting, drilling & riveting later, I have what equates to half of a 44 gallon drum; once attached to a standard dolly, this will make an adequate "earth mover"...

Then I set about attaching the dolly to the mower; using some strips of steel & a single nut & bolt, along with some cutting & bending, I ended up with a workable hitch...

After that was done, I decided to do something about the "way too loud" muffler on the mower; why is it so loud? No packing so, after I split the muffler, I'm off to find some muffler packing material...
 

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OzFab

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Speaking of filters...

Some time ago, the rubber on the air filter for AusEX broke where it connects to the filter; I glued it back on but, I knew that was only a band-aid...

Well, now that I have no money to replace the filter, the glue decided to give way the other day so, new band-aid; a strip of thin steel running across the filter & through the clamp; that filter isn't going anywhere... for now...
 

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OzFab

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It was too late in the day to go hunting for muffler packing so, I made a jig to hold the muffler while I bend the fold back down

Next day, I got lucky on my first strike; went to the local wrecking yard & asked about damaged mufflers & there were two on the scrap heap; "just take it" said the boss :wai:

Back home, I cut it open & extracted enough good packing to fill the ride-on muffler; After applying a generous bead of exhaust sealant, it was into the jig to close it up...

Taking out down time the job took about 30 minutes; ironically, it took around 90 minutes to make the jig...
 

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OzFab

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While using the riding mower today I noticed the muffler was glowing; thoughts, too much packing or not enough?

On a different subject, who can figure out what these are?
 

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OzFab

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Really, guys? Is there really only two people following this thread? Well, apart from Paul & Pat,
YOU ALL SUCK!

Hopefully, this pic will clarify...
 

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chancer

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I kept looking at your pics and I just had nothing! lol
They look WAAAY Bigger in the pics.
I was gonna suggest it was a Branding iron From the e/s ranch.
But I thought it was way to big for a branding iron.
At least I saw the e and the s.
 

chancer

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Oh yeah It is obvious now.
I was gonna guess "Art" I would have been arguably Correct!:roflol:
 

machinist@large

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Good eye; can you now also see the K & Y?

Granted, in the first pic, they were backwards & upside down, just to make it difficult :D

:idea2: :idea2: Don't talk these around: based on what I'm seeing every night on the evening news, you could very well be in the running for some serious cash in Art Prize here in Grand Rapids Michigan.......

(And if you think I'm joking, think again.....)
 

OzFab

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Now, how would I get to Michigan? I can't afford to go to the next town...

IMO, they're more craft than art, art is non functional...
 
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