Tuffy rebuild

[dstig1]

Wow that thing looks like new! How did you keep the label from wearing away with 30 yrs of use? That's just crazy! And yes the Pony model you show is identical, probably just newer. I think this one is 1998 vintage.

So I got it apart all the way. The wheel shaft looks pretty good and cleaned up with some emery cloth but the tine shaft looks pretty chewed up (to the right of the snap ring groove in the pics). The easy route will be to just replace this shaft, as it is $80 and that is not too crazy. I'll have to look into speedy sleeves as I have not heard of them before. I don't have a lathe but have a friend who is an ex-machinist that is well-equipped. I don't want to put much money into it but we did get it "free" and for what we need it for, it fits the bill. The small garden area is terraced due to our steep hillside and no way to get my tractor into it safely as it is way too big for that. We just don't have much open space for gardens here.

I've got a new carb coming next week and want to verify the motor works before I sink any more money into it. If it powers up and runs OK, then I'll get the rest of the parts. If it becomes not worth it, then I will probably just rent a tiller once a year to prep the garden or something.

 

[stevewarner1957]

I babied it for all those years, kept it clean and waxed in the shed when not in use.

Take your shaft to a bearing supply house and they can fix you up with a sleeve. They aren’t cheap but are a cheaper alternative to building up and turning it down

 

[Sonny580]

Tuffy is a bit smaller that pony and is excellent for cultivating around plants,----small light, narrow, and easy to use!

 

[5030]

Tuffy is a bit smaller that pony and is excellent for cultivating around plants,----small light, narrow, and easy to use!

Yes. it is and exactly what I use mine for. Other than the leaky axle seals, been a good little tiller and it was free, found it in a dumpster. Tossed the oil burning Tecumseh and installed a 99 buck HF pred motor
Filled my gearcase with synthetic chassis grease 2 years ago, all good now.

Best attachment I got was the Ardisam Hiller / Furrower attachment for the Cub for planting potatoes.

 

[dstig1]

Figured I should wrap this up....

Well I ordered a bunch of parts from 2 places - partly due to cost, partly due to stated availability. Well the one place sent their stuff promptly but the other place was waiting on 2 items to be able to ship - 1 was just a simple o-ring for the oil filler cap but the other was the shaft for the tiller tines. O-ring I can find but the shaft was first listed as 2-10 days...then 2 more weeks...then 2 more weeks... then it said something like "we don't know when these will be back in stock". Welll sheeeeiiit. So I called and said cancel the back ordered items and send the rest. Pulled an o-ring froma kit we have at work, so no biggie but the shaft was another issue.

I asked a friend who is a former machinist who knows his way around tools and also HAS the right tools (lathe and Bridgeport in this case) if he could make me the shaft. It is a simple shaft - 2 grooves for snap rings, 2 holes for the bolts holding the tine assemblies and one woodruff key slot in the middle for the drive gear. The woodruff key is the only part of this that is a bit challenging, but only if you don't have the right cutter, but he did. A chunk of 1" CRS and he zipped it out with me watching like an idiot in an hour or two. Then my 2nd batch of parts showed up and I started to figure out how to put it together. It's a bit of a puzzle. But as I started that I was looking at some parts that I had not closely inspected before and said, "ya know, I should get some new bits here" and remake that other shaft if I am going to "do this once, do it right"... So back to my friend's place with another bar of 1" CRS and the other shaft was done too. Almost the same but longer and 2 more grooves to turn. So we banged that out in an hour or two and the rest of the parts showed up, so it was reassembly time!

Mostly got it together last Sun but just finished it up tonight and took it for a test run. It works! Yeah it's a bit of a lightweight but I think it did OK for our small garden and should do the trick. So here's a couple photos. One of the new shafts next to the old ones, and the Tiller all complete and put away after the first run tonight.

Thanks for the help guys!

-Dave

 

[arto98607]

Looks good and it's great to have a friend like that!

I have not yet given up on getting a used milling machine but....

 

[stevem5215]

Not many neighbor machinists left anymore. Not near me at least!

 

[5030]

I own a machine shop but I cheaped out and filled the gearbox with grease. Easier than a rebuild.

 

[dstig1]

Well I also had to put a new engine on it, and I tend to try to do things "right" even though it is more expensive and slower so I just ended up rebuilding it all (mainly seals and bushings, other than the motor). In part it was a hassle that I probably didn't have time for right now, but it also allowed me to stall on tilling my wife's garden

 

[stevewarner1957]

I like your style. You can stall them so long then they get pizzed that leads to another area that you can’t till. Lol