Winter project

[hope to float]

Inspired by PhPaul, I too have taken on a winter project.

I just got an old fertiliser shaker at the right price (free).

I was told that the gearbox was seized and the bottom was rusted out.
So far, I've gotten the gearbox freed and all the levers and chutes freed (Day 1)

The rust repair doesn't look too bad but won't know for sure until I take the hopper off.

 

[PHPaul]

I sure hope you have better luck than I did!

Need any crawler parts?

 

[CaveCreekRay]

Und vere are zee pik-chures?

 

[hope to float]

und vere are zee pik-chures?

 

[CaveCreekRay]

Neat tool. A little elbow grease and paint and you should have a handy new device for your machine. Keep the pictures coming!

 

[hope to float]

Kept meaning to finish this thread.

Hopper was very rusty around the holes. So rather than trying to fabricate metal, I went with filler and metal mesh covered with fiberglass. My theory being that if I can get a couple of years out of it I can buy a new hopper later, if the gearbox lasts.
Quick coat of paint, which got ruined when a load of empty bags fell onto it overnight.
Re-assembled it and found that I had lucked out when filling the bottom. There is a roll pin through the agitator holding it onto the driveshaft from the gearbox which had just enough room left to get back into its hole.
Test fitted it to see what length PTO shaft I needed.
And went spreading pelleted lime. That is one dusty job.
On a side note, I can't get perspex for the back window because all the shops have used up all the supplies building kiosks for their till operators.

 

[hope to float]

I hope they are the right way round this time

 

[skeets]

I would have never though of using bondo to do that,, A nice job I must say,,and like you said a couple yeas out of it you are way ahead of the game

 

[Magicman]

I agree with skeets about the repair. You did an amazing job.

 

[hope to float]

I agree with skeets about the repair. You did an amazing job.

Thanks Guys,
There wasn't really much to it once I got the gearbox freed up. It wasn't even that badly stuck. I had gotten all the measurements to repair the hopper with metal but didn't want to invest much in it if it was going to spew its guts the first day out.
I noticed that I have to re-adjust the slides that feed the spinner because they don't close properly, but other than that (and having to wash the tractor after using it) I'm pretty pleased with the results.