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Post by Rich Waugh on May 24, 2010 11:22:37 GMT -5
Okay, I had it ass backwards - the PTO clutch is the loose one and the main clutch is the free one. Thanks for clearing that up, Tommy!
Of course, that means I have no idea what condition my main clutch is in since I never unbolted the clutch stack. I'm just gonna hope it's as good as the PTO clutch since it doesn't have any real time on it either and I don't ever ride the clutch or even feather it much. Besides, I'm not nearly as afraid of having to split the tractor again now that I've done it once. :-)
Rich
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roy697
CTW Advanced Member
Roy's Pond
Posts: 303
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Post by roy697 on May 24, 2010 16:04:08 GMT -5
What is the thing with the big wheel on top, a punch?
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Post by Rich Waugh on May 24, 2010 21:14:40 GMT -5
Roy,
That's a fly press, sometimes called a screw press. The wheel on top is a heavy (~125#) flywheel that drives a multi-lead screw. It will, with just a normal spin of the wheel, exert about 5 tons of force at the bottom of the ram. I use it for punching (generally hot), forming, bending and pressing. It's sort of a poor man's punch press, I guess. Old-fashioned technology that still has a place in a modern blacksmith's shop. It has the power of a power hammer but with much greater control and finesse, so I can use it for decorative punching, chiseling and stamping that would be chancy on the power hammer but way too much effort to do with a hand hammer.
I also use it as an arbor press for drifting bearings in or out, broaching keyways, etc.
The tooling table with all the tapped holes is a homemade thing, and it sure is handy - allows me to clamp jigs in place using the step-block hold downs from my milling machine. Quick and simple, once all those holes are drilled and tapped. :-)
Rich
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roy697
CTW Advanced Member
Roy's Pond
Posts: 303
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Post by roy697 on May 24, 2010 22:09:40 GMT -5
Like most guys I have a few things but fall WAY short of some of the things that I have been hearing & seeing on this site. A mig welder, plasma torch, Lath just to name a few things that I would love to have BUT.......$$$$$$$ their always seems to be something more important. When I get to the point that something will pay for itself I think I can justify buying it then I will splurge.
Thanks for all the input guys, this is a great place. You don't find to many places were people help others anymore unless there is some gain.
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Post by Rich Waugh on May 24, 2010 23:40:48 GMT -5
Well, I confess to having a lot more tools than the average guy, but a high percentage of them are homemade or are Chinese tools that I've fine tuned or upgraded to adequate performance. My budget is very limited, but my list of wants is unlimited. Still, over the years I've accumulated a lot of tools simply because every time I need something done I look at the cost of hiring it out versus the cost of buying the tools and learning how to do it. The tools almost always win. Along the way I've learned a vasts amount about things I was previously ignorant of. It's been a good ride.
When I moved here to the Virgin Islands twenty years ago all I brought was a trailer full of my tools and books and one box of clothes. I figured (rightly) that with my tools and books I could get all the rest. I'm still acquiring tools as I need them or can afford them. I still only have one box of clothes, too. :-)
One of the things I've discovered about helping other people is that it really helps me - I clarify my own thoughts when I have to put them out there for others to read. Over the years a large number of people have answered questions for me and I feel like I owe it to others to pass that on. This forum is a great place to learn, isn't it?
Rich
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roy697
CTW Advanced Member
Roy's Pond
Posts: 303
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Post by roy697 on May 25, 2010 7:18:28 GMT -5
In deed it is.
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Post by Rich Waugh on May 26, 2010 18:11:04 GMT -5
Well, today I finished up re-assembling the basic tractor. Hydraulics, wiring harness, front drive shaft, adjust the clutch, etc. I wasn't supposed to be doing this, I was supposed to be in Philadelphia instead, getting ready for the 2010 ABANA conference in Memphis the following week. Unfortunately, I came down sick a week ago and when I was supposed to fly out Tuesday I simply was not in any shape to get on an airplane and breathe recycled germs for eight hours. The greedy jackals at American Airlines wanted about six hundred bucks to change the ticket to a couple days later - actually 50% MORE than I paid for the ticket to start with! So, I had to just cancel the trip and eat the damn airfare. Bastards. Oh well, life has a way of rearing up and biting one in the ass every now and then and I guess it was just my turn in the barrel.
Anyway, I felt just barely able to do a little light work today and so the tractor is back together. I did run into one thing that confused me a bit, though.
When I went to fire up the tractor it would not come off idle. Nothing I did would get to go above 600 rpm, until I finally tried dropping the TPH down. That did it. Apparently, when the TPH is all the way up, it is deadheading the hydraulic pump. Is this normal? What, if anything, should I do about it? It only happens when the control is yanked up really hard - there is nothing on the TPH, by the way. I don't recall it doing anything like this before I worked on it, but back then the bush hog was on it all the time. I could use a bit of advice on this one.
The clutch seemed to me to be considerably smoother and better than it was before, but that could be wishful thinking. Nothing on the TPH so no chance to test out the PTO clutch. Later for that.
Tomorrow I'm planning on working on the loader towers, cutting off the mounts for the frame-mount back hoe and adding mounts for the rear axle brace tubes. Easier to do all the welding when they're off the tractor.
I'm also planning on doing some clean-up on the wiring harnesses and fuse block. I've had a perpetual problem with the regulator not making consistent contact and blowing fuses. I may change the alternator for the GM internally regulated one and that might solve a couple problems at once. Have to see if I can find one cheap.
That's all for now, I'll be eagerly awaiting advice on that deadheading issue.
Thanks,
Rich
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Post by bradblazer on May 27, 2010 7:32:22 GMT -5
On the 3ph - I assume it's position control which means it will work to find the position that corresponds to your lever position. If you yank on the lever and get it past it's intended maximum travel, the hitch will try to do the same. If it reaches it's physical limit before the control input is satisfied, it will deadhead. I think your options are to either make a more positive stop for the lever or open up the box and adjust the control linkage. Maybe there is an internal stop that you are somehow defeating if you overdo it on the lever. (I guess you could also just make sure you don't pull that hard on the lever.) I know Rob has posted lots of loader subframe pictures. My backhoe subframe thread also has some pictures of my OEM loader subframe and the braces I added for the BH. Oh yeah, Very sorry about your missed trip and congrats on getting the tractor back together! Brad
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Post by Rich Waugh on May 27, 2010 10:40:20 GMT -5
Yeah, it would be a snap to just drop a bolt in the slot at the end of the lever's travel to limit it and that's what I'll do for now. I'm just curious as to whether this is a normal situation or if something is amiss inside the unit. It may not even happen with an implement on the hitch, either.
My plan on the loader braces is to make ones that bolt in place easily but still have plenty of resistance to both compressive loading and deflection. Shouldn't be too tough, I hope.
I'm planning on removing the tower mounts for the backhoe subframe, but in such a way that they could be replaced is I sold the tractor and the new owner wanted a frame-mount hoe. I don't like to do things that irrevocable if I can avoid it, and in this case it's just a matter of carefully cutting them off and then beveling the cut edges for later potential welding. That way the hoe mounts could be welded back on without needing to remove the towers from the tractor. Those damn things have been a constant source of brush snagging and getting dragged or jammed up into the hoses, wiring, and so on, so I'll be glad to be rid of them. The new attachment points for the loader braces should not have that problem.
Thanks for the help on the TPH. I'll be reviewing all the threads on loader braces, too.
Rich
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roy697
CTW Advanced Member
Roy's Pond
Posts: 303
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Post by roy697 on May 27, 2010 11:05:48 GMT -5
Congrats on getting that thing back together. Sorry to hear about the trip. Would some sort of bottom plate for the tractor work out to keep stuff from getting into the hoses & wires?
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Post by Rich Waugh on May 27, 2010 15:07:43 GMT -5
Thanks, Roy. Feels good to have it back together and not leaking any longer.
My concern with a "skid plate" sort of arrangement is that it would be a place to collect huge amounts of chaff when I mow the fields and mango orchards. Every little nook and cranny gets crammed full of the stuff and it holds moisture, promoting rust. For that reason I'm leaning toward some re-routing and spot armoring to toughen up the wiring harnesses, a mini skid plate for the clutch safety switch and anything else that I think of while I'm doing those. The loader braces are the first order of business though, so I can get the loader put back on.
Rich
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GuglioLS
Administrator
Jinma354 LE
Posts: 1,276
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Post by GuglioLS on May 29, 2010 21:23:43 GMT -5
Rich,
Congratulations on getting this done. No doubt it took a big kahuna like yourself to get it done all by your lonesome. Glad to see it's do-able. Thanks for posting this because now I'm not so fearful of taking this job on when the time comes for me. BTW nice shop with some cool and unusual (to me) tools! Looks like you've got a good stock of material to work with as well.
Sorry about being under the weather and not being able to travel. I don't blame you for not getting on a plane when feeling sick, traveling when not feeling well has got to be the worst thing ever. Damn airlines not giving you a break - that sucks big time. Hopefully somehow you can recover your funds of use the ticket on some future travel, like to my place for a visit!
Larry
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Post by Rich Waugh on May 30, 2010 0:15:52 GMT -5
Larry,
Thanks for the kind words! I'm feeling a bit better today finally and I managed to get some actual work accomplished. Work on the tractor, not paying work. :-)
I fabricated the new loader braces and got them installed. I'll post some pics of them tomorrow, along with some working drawings for anyone who wants to duplicate them for a 300 series Jinma with the ZL30 loader. When adding the braces, I had to remove the lower step since it interferes with the brace tube, but I remounted them on the tube itself and now they're much less springy. All in all, I'm very pleased with the way the whole job came out. Now I can put the loader back on.
Unfortunately, the airline tickets were the cut-rate fares and absolutely non-refundable. Due to my trip involving four cities and three different airlines, two of the fares were low enough that the fee to change them would be as much as or more than the ticket itself. So I get to eat $800 in airfare. I wish I could have done something with them, but no luck. I'd still rather eat the fares than spend eight hours in a jet breathing 90% recycled air from 250 other disease-ridden passengers. The airlines could give us 100% fresh air, but then they'd have to spend a bit of fuel to heat it - they'd rather make everyone sick than use a little extra fuel, though. Weasels.
I think it would be fun to head west and visit with you and with Rob, too. Maybe next year some time, who knows? In September I'm planning to head up to Ohio for the annual QuadState blacksmithing conference (if there are no active hurricanes in our area at the time) and that will finish out my travels for this year. One little drawback of living in the VI is that getting anywhere from here is expensive and time consuming. I'm a cheap SOB so I don't travel much. When I lived in the States I used to think nothing of driving tow days to go somewhere or hop on jet and fly across country for a weekend. Now that I live on an island that's only 26 miles long I bitch and whine about having to drive halfway to buy supplies - you can imagine the enthusiasm with which I view ten or twelve hours spent in a plane and airports. On top of that, these days if you want to grab a quick smoke between flights to you have to go through the whole body-cavity search routine with TSA. Yeah, yeah; I know I should quit but it just ain't gonna happen, I'm afraid. :-)
Tomorrow I get to go to my new property and survey it to see what flora I should keep and what can go. The local "bush lady" is meeting me to provide expert advice. With that knowledge, and the tractor running again, I can begin clearing my little piece of Paradise. That reminds me - I need to file a couple of saw chains.
Rich
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Post by Rich Waugh on May 30, 2010 18:27:01 GMT -5
Rather than post a whole thing on making loader braces under the heading of a tractor split, I decided to start a new thread and move the info there. See "304/354 Jinma + ZL30 FEL Braces" for the details, drawings and photos.
Rich
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Post by stumppuller on Jun 2, 2010 23:24:01 GMT -5
Rich, I'm getting closer to pulling my 284 apart & wonder which of the following actions should be done.
Take the bucket off the FEL first. It looks like it comes off by pulling a couple of hitch pins. Would this help anything?
Use the support legs which come with the FEL assembly. Do they help? Are they necessary?
Separate the FEL arms from the horizontal load tubes. Again, it looks like loosening 2 cinch bolts & pulling 2 hitch pins frees the entire assembly.
Then, the remaining load tubes W/flanges can be unbolted from the cases.
Bruce
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