What did you do to or on your Kubota today?

[Chanceywd]

Well, might as well make light of trouble and have a little fun with it. There was a time I was unfit for human contact when something like this happened. The missus changed that, considerably. She's my rock steady influence.

"Slingblade" is perhaps one of my all-time favorite movies, right up there with "Forrest Gump" and "The Waterboy". I do a fairly decent Carl Childers imitation when I'm working on something with a small engine, and the missus usually just walks away shaking her head. I just wish Billy Bob Thorton and Tom Hanks would collaborate on a movie with both Carl and Forrest in it.

My wife is the one who quotes Carl best, about the taters and the blade. Was it "sleep over bandits" where Thorton was the hypochondriac ?
Bill

 

[fried1765]

Well, it kinda depends on whether you get the Korean built 608's, or the Taiwanese built ones. I bought two pair (because I killed two pair) in one year from the same store about 4 months apart, and they looked COMPLETELY different. Not sure how a completely different shoe can have the same model/style number. Second pair took forever to break in and get them to stop making blisters on me. One pair was also a half size smaller than the other, but stretched quicker, so it became a non-issue soon.

Yesterday, I planned on an 'easy' day of running the walk-behind brush mower out back. I use the term "Walk Behind" loosely. It's more like stumble behind and be dragged behind. It acts more like a 400 pound bear that likes to kick my butt as soon as I pull the start cord and bring it to life. It's a devastating beast. ANYTHING that is in front of it and sticks up at least 2.5 inches is going to meet certain destruction. I've knocked 3 inch stumps out of the ground with it, and chopped up seasoned pine knots. that were hiding under the leaf mat. The latter usually comes out the back of the machine in fragments, where they like to embed themselves in the shins of the unsuspecting operator. 1" diameter brush isn't even a challenge, other than pushing it over until the blade hits the first time. 2" muscadine vines can be a little rough, especially if they grab the end of the axle shaft and cause a sudden turn, which will deliver a body blow with the handle bar rivaling that of Mike Tyson. Anything that is behind it (namely the operator) is going to be thrown around like a rag doll, slapped up against trees, dragged through ditches and briars, and generally wishing for a good flail mower to replace it. I weigh 195, and if this mower decides to go a different direction, I just let go of it and wish for the best hoping it stops before disaster happens. The largest difference in this mower (Swisher Predator 24 with 11.5 HP Briggs on it) and a 400 pound bear is that a bear will either get tired or bored and eventually stop hurting you. The mower does NOT get tired, nor does it really care how much it hurts you. Usually. Yesterday, it got tired and quit about 30 minutes after I started cutting. I wasn't even angry, because of that slight hope that I was about to get the green-light for a hammer flail from the missus. As it were, I went back and got it with the LX and some slings hanging from the grapple, and sat it down gently in the shop for a little troubleshooting.

Checked the carb. No, nothing out of the ordinary there. Plenty fuel. (Did anyone have a Carl Childers "Outta Gas" moment just then?) Pulled the cover, checked the flywheel key, not a mark on it, and I didn't figure there would be because it's belt drive. It would crank at WOT, and run about 800 RPM, but sounded like it was back-firing through the carb every second power stroke, and would not idle at all. Hmmm. I pulled the valve cover, and the exhaust valve rocker fell out in my hand when I touched it. I dunno how it was running at all. Set gaps on both valves, it started on the first pull, and bingo, ran like a top. Crap, now I can't ask the missus for the flail. Zero cost in parts (except for a dab of silicone I already had), nothing but labor (and delay of the job) for cost. The Swisher (when new) cost almost as much as flails do now, so I can't just not use it. (That's actually my thinking, not hers). I bought it in 2008 thinking me and two scrapping teen age boys would get the property under control. 15 years later, I had the first major mechanical issue with the mower, which actually turned out to be pretty minor. One of those general maintenance things I never thought about on a 'lawn mower'. This is NOT a lawn mower. Lawn destroyer maybe, mower definitely not.

So what did I do on the Kubota? Carried the Swisher a couple hundred feet back to the shed 'cause I sure as heck wasn't pushing that heavy bugger all the way back to the tool box. I think letting the Kubota watch while I worked on the Swisher may have let the Swisher know its days are numbered. (Or perhaps the days I can use it are.)

I feel your pain.
I have a 12HP Gravely Pro walk behind, with 30" rotary deck, and 9lb. brush blade.
Has dual wheels, reverse, electric start, and steering brake.
It is a fantastic machine, but I have quit using it.
Even though it is self propelled, it is more of a workout than I want at 82.

 

[trial and error]

Well, might as well make light of trouble and have a little fun with it. There was a time I was unfit for human contact when something like this happened. The missus changed that, considerably. She's my rock steady influence.

"Slingblade" is perhaps one of my all-time favorite movies, right up there with "Forrest Gump" and "The Waterboy". I do a fairly decent Carl Childers imitation when I'm working on something with a small engine, and the missus usually just walks away shaking her head. I just wish Billy Bob Thorton and Tom Hanks would collaborate on a movie with both Carl and Forrest in it.

You make me Google that movie @Old_Paint
(Slingbkade) I was 12 when it came out lol

 

[NCL4701]

Sorry about the pictures

Second vote for RR ties. If you have forks they’re easy to manipulate. If not, it takes a couple of stout guys.

Did this one in one day by myself… with a little assist from the grapple tearing out the original and the forks setting the new ones.

Some of the original was getting kind of punky after 35 years so it needed R/R.

Used a corded Super Sawzall with a 14” blade to cut them. A bit slower than a chainsaw but swapping blades was quicker and easier than sharpening a chain multiple times. Overall much easier than a block wall and I personally prefer the look for our property.

 

[NCL4701]

I feel your pain. Here’s my wife backing into my Kubota.

Guessing that was your fault for parking the tractor in the wrong place.

 

[Matt Ellerbee]

Went and checked the garden after the rain we had. Veggies are doing good, but my rocks are doing outstanding!

Well, it kinda depends on whether you get the Korean built 608's, or the Taiwanese built ones. I bought two pair (because I killed two pair) in one year from the same store about 4 months apart, and they looked COMPLETELY different. Not sure how a completely different shoe can have the same model/style number. Second pair took forever to break in and get them to stop making blisters on me. One pair was also a half size smaller than the other, but stretched quicker, so it became a non-issue soon.

Yesterday, I planned on an 'easy' day of running the walk-behind brush mower out back. I use the term "Walk Behind" loosely. It's more like stumble behind and be dragged behind. It acts more like a 400 pound bear that likes to kick my butt as soon as I pull the start cord and bring it to life. It's a devastating beast. ANYTHING that is in front of it and sticks up at least 2.5 inches is going to meet certain destruction. I've knocked 3 inch stumps out of the ground with it, and chopped up seasoned pine knots. that were hiding under the leaf mat. The latter usually comes out the back of the machine in fragments, where they like to embed themselves in the shins of the unsuspecting operator. 1" diameter brush isn't even a challenge, other than pushing it over until the blade hits the first time. 2" muscadine vines can be a little rough, especially if they grab the end of the axle shaft and cause a sudden turn, which will deliver a body blow with the handle bar rivaling that of Mike Tyson. Anything that is behind it (namely the operator) is going to be thrown around like a rag doll, slapped up against trees, dragged through ditches and briars, and generally wishing for a good flail mower to replace it. I weigh 195, and if this mower decides to go a different direction, I just let go of it and wish for the best hoping it stops before disaster happens. The largest difference in this mower (Swisher Predator 24 with 11.5 HP Briggs on it) and a 400 pound bear is that a bear will either get tired or bored and eventually stop hurting you. The mower does NOT get tired, nor does it really care how much it hurts you. Usually. Yesterday, it got tired and quit about 30 minutes after I started cutting. I wasn't even angry, because of that slight hope that I was about to get the green-light for a hammer flail from the missus. As it were, I went back and got it with the LX and some slings hanging from the grapple, and sat it down gently in the shop for a little troubleshooting.

Checked the carb. No, nothing out of the ordinary there. Plenty fuel. (Did anyone have a Carl Childers "Outta Gas" moment just then?) Pulled the cover, checked the flywheel key, not a mark on it, and I didn't figure there would be because it's belt drive. It would crank at WOT, and run about 800 RPM, but sounded like it was back-firing through the carb every second power stroke, and would not idle at all. Hmmm. I pulled the valve cover, and the exhaust valve rocker fell out in my hand when I touched it. I dunno how it was running at all. Set gaps on both valves, it started on the first pull, and bingo, ran like a top. Crap, now I can't ask the missus for the flail. Zero cost in parts (except for a dab of silicone I already had), nothing but labor (and delay of the job) for cost. The Swisher (when new) cost almost as much as flails do now, so I can't just not use it. (That's actually my thinking, not hers). I bought it in 2008 thinking me and two scrapping teen age boys would get the property under control. 15 years later, I had the first major mechanical issue with the mower, which actually turned out to be pretty minor. One of those general maintenance things I never thought about on a 'lawn mower'. This is NOT a lawn mower. Lawn destroyer maybe, mower definitely not.

So what did I do on the Kubota? Carried the Swisher a couple hundred feet back to the shed 'cause I sure as heck wasn't pushing that heavy bugger all the way back to the tool box. I think letting the Kubota watch while I worked on the Swisher may have let the Swisher know its days are numbered. (Or perhaps the days I can use it are.)

I can picture everything as I am reading one of your posts. Lol. And we’ve all been there, there is a machine that has whooped each and every one of us. Glad it was a simple fix, too.

 

[NCL4701]

Went and checked the garden after the rain we had. Veggies are doing good, but my rocks are doing outstanding!
View attachment 104980

Your helper needs a bigger truck if he’s going to haul all of those rocks out of there by the time he graduates high school.

 

[L35]

Congrats!

Textbook case of why one should NEVER use the model number of their machine in their username!

And yes...I'm guilty too!

Guess I’ll just have to keep mine..

 

[Matt Ellerbee]

Your helper needs a bigger truck if he’s going to haul all of those rocks out of there by the time he graduates high school.

I’m gonna give him and the daughter a 5 gal bucket, every time they fill it up, I’ll give them a nickel.

 

[DustyRusty]

I’m gonna give him and the daughter a 5 gal bucket, every time they fill it up, I’ll give them a nickel.

Last I checked, they were still minting pennies!

 

[jimh406]

I did a few passes to finish correcting the Winter damage to our community road. I put in about 8 hours for that section.

Still to do the next section. I have about two hrs into it, so far. It's not quite as bad since it is almost all in the sun all of the time. I have some ditches to fill in, but otherwise, not much left.

If you are wondering, I'm using my grader scraper primarily. Quite a bit of gravel has moved, so I'll build up some material, scoop it and fill in the "runoff" ditches. Then, smooth it out with the grader scraper.

 

[Quick]

Didn't get a lot of pics as I was busy using the little B with a grapple to remove downed limbs.
Had a tree overhanging the house that needed to come down. Couldn't just cut it down as there were obstacles on all four sides.
Hired a young lad from a tree trimming outfit to de-limb the tree and then drop it when it cleared everything.
Stump was WAY too big to use the backhoe as it would have made a mess of the yard. Rented a stump grinder to finish it off.
Got it done for about half the price of just hiring it out as I did all the ground work with the little B.
The feller that I hired to de-limb the tree said he was envious of the work the little B could do. Killer bon fire afterwards. (-:

 

[beckmurph]

Bush hogged a property in the next county.
I had to chase the fawn out of the field I was cutting.
I think it would lay still until it was too late.

 

[fried1765]

Last I checked, they were still minting pennies!

Not in Canada.
Only in the USA!

 

[PoTreeBoy]

I’m gonna give him and the daughter a 5 gal bucket, every time they fill it up, I’ll give them a nickel.

I'll give you a dime a bucket, if you'll pay the shipping. I need a driveway.

 

[D2Cat]

Bush hogged a property in the next county.
I had to chase the fawn out of the field I was cutting.
I think it would lay still until it was too late.

Nice weed free field. Doesn't anyone around there have any animals they eat grass? That would make perfect hay for later.

 

[IronRyan]

After bush hogging for 4 hours, why not, yes I did pressure wash my tractor. If only I had a 55 gallon drum of armor all for the tires.

 

[Matt Ellerbee]

Last I checked, they were still minting pennies!

I’m not a complete monster!

 

[beckmurph]

Nice weed free field. Doesn't anyone around there have any animals they eat grass? That would make perfect hay for later.

I also thought it would be good for hay.
But, I don’t anything about hay, except it’s expensive at the big box stores.

The owner also lives out of state.

 

[lynnmor]

I also thought it would be good for hay.
But, I don’t anything about hay, except it’s expensive at the big box stores.

The owner also lives out of state.

I would think there would be a local farmer that would have done the work for the hay, saving you the work, With the drought here in PA, the poor second cutting of hay may leave farmers short.

The fawn issue is real, they will squat down till it is too late, glad you saved that one.