Down on the Farm 2022

     Dry.  Windy.

     Not so dry as it had been.  We actually go .6” of rain and snow early in May.

     Wheat planted last fall is coming up.  A few patches that came up last fall now stands six inches or more.  The result is a field that looks like a coyote with mange.

 

     The newly-hatched wheat will have plenty of competition from weeds.  If the crop comes to fruition, it will be a miserable harvest.  Retaining organic status forbids spraying to kill the weeds.  Green weeds and ripe wheat don’t mix well from the combine’s point of view.

     The dry weather and the wind have put tillage operations on hold.  Time to do some maintenance. 

     I started on the “new” (1974 Allis) tractor last fall.  The two sizable cylinders that provide the steering both leaked hydraulic oil.  Greasing three or four zerks and checking fluid levels have to be done underneath the tractor.  Add some ubiquitous dirt from any farm operation and servicing the tractor makes for a filthy uniform for the service person.

      I removed the cylinders and took them to a shop.  Sometime this spring, I got around to installing the cylinders.  I removed the fuel gauge float assembly and assured myself that the problem with the inaccurate fuel indication is in the dash board.

 

                                                     Cylinders in place  

 

                            Cylinders being cleaned up to take to the repair shop

 

    Fuel gauge sending unit with the steering cylinders removed.  It's the little round thing, center back.

      A second problem on the Allis was the foot brake.  It ran out of fluid.  To get to the master cylinder, I had to remove the hood. 

 

      I thought I might need to change the hydraulic hoses that run from the steering wheel to the cylinders.  That would also require hood removal.  Hindsight:  I should have cut an access hole in the hood for adding brake fluid.

         Next on the repair list was the chisel.  When the bolts holding the right hitch beam sheared, the left beam took the brunt of the damage.

 

          The end of the hitch needs to move two feet to the left to get things back to normal.

 

   The red cylinder and chain weren’t enough to straighten things out.  I chained the 4010 to the hitch and blocked the wheels of the chisel so it couldn’t move.  By pulling at a right angle to the normal direction of travel, I got everything to move.  It took more tinkering to get bolt holes lined up, but it happened.

 

      

 Next on the docket was the old golf cart.  It remains a work in progress.  Electrical problems yet to be solved.

     The latest thing was the disk.  I had it pretty well-done last fall.  I had one disk to replace, but I couldn’t budge a nut on the end of the shaft.  An 8-foot cheater on a pipe wrench resulted in a broken pipe wrench.

     I pulled the disk around to the shop a couple of weeks ago.  When I finally got a windless day when I didn’t have to worry so much about setting the world on fire, I fired up the acetylene torch and applied some serious heat to the recalcitrant nut.  This time, with a bigger pipe wrench, the 8-foot cheater did its job.  The disk was soon replaced.

     Now for some moisture.  I lack a tool in the shed to do anything about that.