Good morning!!!!

[sodamo]

67°F and .4 inches rain last 24 hours.

Will start installing firring for Sheetrock today, but got some clean up and other misc stuff to do first. Really need to get all the furniture out of the way, but easier said than done, so I just keep shuffling it around.

Be safe
Have a great day

David Sent from my iPad Air using TractorByNet

 

[rswyan]

78F with rumbles of thunder @ 12:30 ... Accuweather says heavy rain about to start in 4 minutes ... lol ...

Looks like we are in for several days of wet weather then a significant cool down.

Really slow going trying to cut the grass around the house withe LawnBoy ...

Managed to compact the fill on the retaining wall removal project with the tractor yesterday ... got the west side planting beds pretty well cleaned up ... will probably have to wait until Tuesday before I can spray them to avoid any rain.

Stihl dealer just called back on the brushcutter ... the carb - which is available for $70 or so - needs replaced, as does the grommet/hose assembly to the fuel tank (it leaks ... badly).

Unfortunately, the grommet/hose assembly is NLA ... and he says he doesn't have anything that he can cobble together to work as a replacement.

A new FS 90 is around $325 ... but I dunno if all the accessories I have - which are considerable - would fit or even work on it.

The hits just keep on coming ...

 

[rswyan]

Anyone heard from murph ? ... haven't seen him around lately ...

 

[rswyan]

RS, you'll find your mower part when you're looking for something else. DAMHIKT!

No doubt ...

Also, there are automatic chain oilers for use on motorcycles out there. One called the Scottoiler comes recommended, but I have no personal experience with it. Might help your chains and sprockets last a bit longer.
Scottoiler | Motorcycle chain oiler | Scottoiler FS 365

Yeah ... I probably shouldn't have dismissed Drew's original thought so flippantly ... failure to keep the chains properly lubed, as well as properly adjusted, has probably played a big role in them wearing ...

I like this little mower ... other than having to adjust the chains, which is a bit of a PITA ...

Then it was off to the welding supply house for a new tank of Argon. The nice man behind the counter was very helpful unloading the empty tank for me, but just stood there and watched while I heaved the full one back into the truck. WTF?!?

LOL ... count your blessings - at the LWS here, we have to unload and load ... they won't touch the tanks due to liability reasons ...

 

[RedNeckGeek]

63F when I got up this morning, headed to 90F this afternoon under partly cloudy skies with light wind. The weather station is still hangin' in there, so maybe I got lucky and the hiccup was just a temporary glitch. Fingers crossed on that one.

RS, I have more than a few Stihl products, and my only reservation about any of them is that Stihl isn't very good at maintaining production on parts for older machines. I had to get rid of an 032AV because of parts issues, even though it was running fine. Its undoing was lack of replacement air filters of all things. And just like you, my dealer could only shrug and say "Yeah, I've got one of them, and I really like it, but I don't know what I'm gonna do." It would be worth knowing the policies of the other major manufacturers. I hate the idea of being forced to buy another computer operated, dealer service only machine, but when you can't keep an old soldier goin', what are you supposed to do? :confused3:

BTW, I did rebuild the carb on that 032, but it took a few tries to get it right. The gaskets went on the diaphragm end like a layer cake, and even though they're all the same size, each as a specific position and orientation in the stack. It's easy to get it wrong unless you take time to figure out what each one of them does. It's no wonder your dealer won't mess with rebuilding the carb on your weed eater, but you could probably do it yourself for about ten bux in parts. Take lots of photos on how it comes apart (and I mean LOTS) and you should be fine. As far as the unobtainable grommet/hose assembly, try typing the part number into eBay. Several vendors there have New Old Stock inventories, and you might get lucky.

A friend stopped by yesterday afternoon about the time it got too hot to keep welding on the RTV, so I helped him by drilling out the ends of a pair of Tomaselli clip on handlebars for his BMW cafe racer bike. The pieces had a knuckle on the end that was too big to fit through the head stock on the lathe, so I ended up clamping it to an angle plate on the mill in a pair of V blocks. The set up was surprisingly solid, but I still kept the speed and feed rate down just in case. Came out nice, and he reports that the bar end mirrors that needed the larger bores fit just fine.

Smoked ribs on the BBQ for 7 hours yesterday, and they were fallin' off the bone tasty by the time they came off the grill. Nice end to a good day.

Hope you're all enjoying the weekend!

 

[rswyan]

RS, I have more than a few Stihl products, and my only reservation about any of them is that Stihl isn't very good at maintaining production on parts for older machines.

I've got a couple of Sthils (031AV, FS66, HT101)

The brushcutter is probably 30 years old ... but I have probably 3 or 4 blades for it ... plus the SuperCut auto-feed head ... plus a cultivator head (mini roto-tiller) ... all of which are in good shape. Not an insignificant investment in accessories.

I had to get rid of an 032AV because of parts issues, even though it was running fine. Its undoing was lack of replacement air filters of all things.

I guess I'll take real care in cleaning my 031AV air filter then ...

And just like you, my dealer could only shrug and say "Yeah, I've got one of them, and I really like it, but I don't know what I'm gonna do." It would be worth knowing the policies of the other major manufacturers. I hate the idea of being forced to buy another computer operated, dealer service only machine, but when you can't keep an old soldier goin', what are you supposed to do? :confused3:

Yup ... sadly so ...

BTW, I did rebuild the carb on that 032, but it took a few tries to get it right. The gaskets went on the diaphragm end like a layer cake, and even though they're all the same size, each as a specific position and orientation in the stack. It's easy to get it wrong unless you take time to figure out what each one of them does. It's no wonder your dealer won't mess with rebuilding the carb on your weed eater,

Oh ... he offered to take a stab at it, but was dubious about the eventual outcome.

I can see spending the coin on a new carb ... rather than paying him to try and monkey with it for an uncertain result. On rebuilding it, I'd probably just be inclined to pick the unit up and pull the carb, take it apart, and let it soak for a few days, if anything - something I didn't do originally ...

but you could probably do it yourself for about ten bux in parts.

Yup.

Been there, done that ... tried rebuilding the carb before I took it to the dealer ...

Actually had it apart around 6 or 7 times ... trying to get it to stop puking raw fuel out the muffler.

According to the dealer mechanic - who actually pressure tested the carb - the problem is two-fold: internal corrosion or other damage on the seat which the needle sits in, and one of the internal check valves is either stuck open or closed, likely due to corrosion.

Take lots of photos on how it comes apart (and I mean LOTS) and you should be fine.

Yeah ... this one wasn't too bad ... only a couple of layers on the one side IIRC.

I laid everything out very carefully as I disassembled it, and made sure that everything went back together in the correct order.

I've done a couple of them (Walbro's and Zama's) before ... on the Echo Blower and maybe on the FS66 or the 031AV ...

As far as the unobtainable grommet/hose assembly, try typing the part number into eBay. Several vendors there have New Old Stock inventories, and you might get lucky.

That's a great idea ... I'll have to get the p/n from the dealer when I pick it up on Monday.

 

[buckeyefarmer]

Just finished up my sons Eagle Scout project. Cleaning out and painting some of the storage bays in the church barn. Was a good day, and it looks much much nicer than it did before.

 

[vtsnowedin]

Blew the main drive belt on the X300 the other day. Sticker shock on how much they wanted for a new one. $51.00 plus tax. I couldn't find the owners manual for it as I remember giving it to the daughter with the big lawn but she has no clue as to where it is now. Any way went on line to find out how to install the new belt. Best info I came onto said there was a place to stick in a 3/8" drive ratchet and pull off the tension on the rear pulley. Looked for it and couldn't find it. But did find the lever arm under a hook that does that job with no tools required. Up and running but you have to wonder why instead of all these stickers telling you to not run over children they don't add a few telling you how to change the belts.

 

[Eric Salop]

Good morning. I could be lighting the fire today, forecast to only get to 10C/50F by mid day and with a 19mph wind.

RN,RS : As you say, taking pictures as you dissasemble something for the first time is a great idea. Only problem for me is that the camera often gets coated in greese. And then there was the time I took a bale wrapper control box apart, confident of the pics showing where each color wire should go back, only for the SD memory card to crash it's file system when I came to put the box back together again. I still take pics but have gone back to paper and pencil for what I think are the critical parts of the process.

My wife had a smashing day yesterday. She broke up old pieces of slate and I put them into a mixer for 10 minutes to round them off before screening and rinsing clean. We are filling in the drainage gaps arount the edge of the paving stones. Yes, gravel would be much quicker, however it feels right to make use of what we can from the discarded parts of the old building.





Looking forward to seeing pictures of Kev's oak cart.

 

[dave1949]

Good Morning!

65F dropping all day to 50F and staying there Monday & Tuesday with rains they say. We had a nice shower last night too. I think we are past the dry spell. Looks like a good day to get back to the baseboards in the walk-in closet.

Nice recycling Eric. Probably polished the inside of the mixer drum too as a side benefit.