[mitchmaine]

hey neal, a friend pointed out that teams used to be much smaller than our ton horses of today and it makes sense. all the gear i used to pull out of old barns and the collars were always 21 – 22 inch. and the pole length would also fit that model. our solution was to extend the pole with a stub pole clamped (bolted) underneath the existing one killing two birds. i can add a foot of pole and increase the height as well. i too had the same results with the d-ring. i snapped a pole strap with quarters into my d – ring. lifting the pole seems to be critical. i’ve heard keeping oil to the pitman bearing, clearing obstructions like you say. balancing the pole weight with your weight on the seat. all make sense.
good luck in the woods, and good to hear from you. best wishes

mitch

[mitchmaine]

hey russel, it has been a while since i’ve done this job, but i THINK that from the front looking back to the mower you spin the flywheel clockwise. i think this because i remember trigging the bevel and pinion gear from the top and that means spinning the flywheel to the right over the top, doesn’t it? in gear, the mower spins the pit. shaft counter clockwise so to tighten the shaft in the pinion you’d have to spin it the same way, or opposite (clockwise) to loosen it. thats what i remember, but i’ve made many mistakes before this. best of luck, no oil for thirty years??? that’ll be a tough one..

mitch

[mitchmaine]

russell, i think the pinion gear is what actually unscrews. backward threads in the same direction as the pitman turns while mowing so it doesn’t come apart while working. jam something soft like a block or wedge of wood into the bull gear and turn the flywheel on the other end of the pitman clockwise (i think) to break the threads and just back off that gear and pull your shaft. the bearing shouldn’t be attached, but i remember it’s not fun getting it out of it’s housing. there might be some shims behind the pinion gear to look for too. good luck. are there lots of no. 9 mowers over there? parts and so on. carry on.

[mitchmaine]

russell’s question about wooden trees got me to wondering if wooden trees and eveners offered any buffer over their steel counterparts. we went to steel mostly cause when you abandon them like it usually happens, there they are rusted instead of rotten when you go looking for them.

mitch

[mitchmaine]

my pole is 12’9″ total, and is 9′ from yoke pin to evener bracket. from yoke pin to evener pin is only 8’8″. and i think and am pretty sure its made of yellow pine. ash is the preferred wood up here for blanks. thanks john, i do have to adjust the bar back alot. it seems to like running on the points rather than on its heel tho if your off a bit.

mitch

[mitchmaine]

whoever has the book, can you find out the specific reason the pole wants to be 31″ off the ground? doesn’t seem like an arbitrary number. i saw a diagram in the journal a while back with a drawing and that number but no explanation for it. we have a factory pole in our mower (seems short) and i’ve pulled them in and bucked them back and shortened the pole and quarter straps and couldn’t seem to ever get the pole where it should be. it always worked well, but i sure would like to know the answer to that question. i saw donn h.’s tongue trucks at the fair last fall and thought they would solve that problem quickly. still would like to know why 31″. thanks,

mitch

[mitchmaine]

the pitman seal is pressed into the housing just behind the pitman flywheel. you can measure the shaft showing through the flywheel. i broke a wrist pin a couple years ago and thought i should pull the flywheel, but it turned out easier to pull the shaft. once it was out the seal was no problem. there is a bronze bushing right behind it acting as a bearing but i didn’t fool with it. i think that should be driven out from inside. on a number 9 the wheel shaft bearings have proper grease fittings. nice machine.

[mitchmaine]

john and andrea, do you have a link to your facebook? couldn’t seem to find ya. best, mitch

[mitchmaine]

hi russell. welcome. never tried that trick, but it’s quick and easy and can’t hurt if and when you back up and do a proper job. maybe some hard grease packed in around the seals and bearings and leave the gears to run in the oil bath. isn’t it winter down there? you might have time to pull it apart. we are right into the game here, i’d have to try out your plan till i had time. best luck, mitch

[mitchmaine]

hey carl, did you have to splice a peice into the right hand runner once?

[mitchmaine]

hi jim, really sounds like a good clever horse. how big is he? belgian? good luck with him, and keep in touch.

mitch

[mitchmaine]

one thing not so bad about breaking down was running to the saw shop and knowing you’d be fifth in line and somebodys day was worse than yours. you could all bitch about the same demons for half an hour, build up your courage and head back. i don’t hear so much of it anymore, and it’s good to hear you guys talking.

mitch

[mitchmaine]

nice looking hay, john. i can smell it from here. we used to run a tedder similar to yours. had 5 two tine forks flipping the hay. did a great job but rattled itself into the scrap pile. we are still waiting for three good days. but at least its dryer than it was last june. good haying. mitch

[mitchmaine]

hey rick, correct! superman couldn’t cut two cord of fir and spruce and keep it going, but that stuff isn’t wood. no man ever made a days pay after the fifth cut up in that mess. i hear ya! mitch

[mitchmaine]

carl, i was going to tell this tale a couple times but stopped cause i don’t know why, but now i have to do it. you won’t believe it and i understnd but…when i was young, i fished lobsters here in maine. my dad had a stroke and went in to a nursing home and the family decided to sell the family farm. distressing for all. so my dad said to me i could cut as much wood as i could on the place until it sold. my bosses brothers wifes sisters husband (which is some kind of cousin up here i think) had a twitch horse named bob i could use. they called him bob the amazing jumping horse, because he would jump and ride in the back of a pickup. he was big and strong and could jump in the truck one jump very nimbly. he didn’t like being tied, and didn’t like a tailgate, but didn’t mind saws and gascans and so on under his feet. he’d ride there as far as you wanted to go, which was pretty cool to a twenty year old kid. we had to make a loop through town no matter where you were going. he was clever and didn’t have a mean bone in his body. he might be and probably is one of the main reasons i still do this. hard to say. but when i read your story i just had to tell this one.

mitch

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