infrastructure – Page 2

July 30, 2021April 23, 2026

Tractor Repair

(1941 Ford 9N tractor needs a name)

I’m not mechanical. I can change my oil and I’ve done alternators and batteries and the like, but parts swapping is not real mechanical problem solving. Part of the allure of the antique tractor is the reputation for being an easy and simple system to keep in good repair.

That is probably true, and I’m learning how to do that. The problems kicked off when I unloaded a rotary shredder after dark and came inside for the night. The next morning the tractor no worky.

Broken coil spring in the black box called the coil…that connects to the distributor cap (background). It sends electricity to the spark plugs.

When I get time to troubleshoot, I find the problem is somewhere in the electrical & ignition sequence. The troubleshooting guides gets me to this black box called a coil. (After replacing the battery and spark plugs first, that is) Take that off, find this spring inside is broken. Maybe I broke it taking it off. Tractor Supply has one on the shelf. Go and pick it up. Get it home. Find it also has a broken spring. This is what we in the country call a wasted trip.

After nothing changed, I lean heavily on my ranch hand friend and west Texas mechanical friend while we sipped beverages on independence day. The brain trust concludes the distributor cap has a poorly seated gasket, points in need of trimming and maybe a ground out rotor cap. Next Saturday I attack all of those issues…and the tractor still no worky.

I’ve run through all the troubleshooting guides I’m familiar with and found no solution. So I get to searching for part numbers in the ignition sequence I haven’t tested, get to Amazon review with a great description of why you would need to replace this part called the resistor.

Order that part in, put it on…boom. Tractor kicks over and back in business. Shred several acres of weeds and get it back in the barn.

Next day…won’t start again. Good thing I ordered a spare resistor, I guess. Now I need to figure out what’s causing that to burn out before I put the new one in.

June 28, 2021April 23, 2026

Pole Barn Post Repair

I used an auger to clear a post hole, stuck a cardboard sleeve 36in deep and filled it with concrete. Set an anchor for a 4×4 in there.

Then I took a 4×4, cut it to length and drilled out a socket for the bottle jack stem to sit in. This is the brace to push up on the joists to lift the roof.

Then I put a 4×4 in the post anchor and aligned to the lifted post. Ran an auger drill bit through the good wood. Bind these together with threaded rod, washers and bolts.

Repeat for 3 posts, each a mildly different story that rhymes with the first.

I think it worked, or at least is a solid C grade. Some of the rafters in the roof that had shivered from being unsupported came back together, so some marked improvement is in place.

Still cant keep the goats out of here though. They are persistent.

April 10, 2021April 23, 2026

Need a Lift?

Tractors use tools that pin in place to 3 points on the back, called a 3 point hitch. Remarkably, the ancient 9n uses the same mounts and drives as category 1 tractors today. This means nearly a century of tractor tools all work together.

Meanwhile, I look at my laptop and recognize 5 different computer ports. 1 of these have been replaced with newer versions of the same port since I bought it two years ago. Engineering has changed(!)

Pulled on a trailer to be pulled on a tractor

There was a promising ad on craigslist. It had a difficult to find implement, the dirt scoop. It’s a big dumping bucket that pulls behind the tractor to scrape up earth and move it elsewhere. $150

He was recently retired and thinning out his stuff, no more horses because 30 years was enough. His wife is a decade younger and has more work to do, but he told her she could work until he was able to sell most of their things. Then they’ll switch to travel in RV all across America before settling down somewhere. It was a good conversation.

The gentleman had a high quality 6ft blade to level and grade surfaces behind the tractor, eg, can level a gravel driveway. $400.

He loaded these on the trailer with his tractor, then asked how I was going to get them off. Being new and flush with the Dunning-Kruger high, I said I would get a furniture dolly or something under it. Can’t be that heavy, right? He laughed, said hang on and drove the tractor away.

He came back with a boom lift. It is an arm that mounts to the hydraulic lift on the (back) 3pt hitch of the tractor. It makes a kind of crane out of the hydraulics.

I asked how much, he said no. I said no really, he said no it’s a gift, go use it and teach the boys how to be safe around it.

People can be a real blessing, and so I said thank you to him and then to God that night when we prayed.

…now I was confident I can get anything off this trailer, so more to come

April 7, 2021April 23, 2026

Stone Age Tractor

Over the past year we have celebrated using goats and cattle to manage brush and grass. It’s a running joke that we could either spend 10k on a depreciating asset (tractor) and do extra work or half that on an appreciating asset (livestock) and let them celebrate doing the work.

Over the winter, we noticed the pastures cut for hay did better at growing new grass to stockpile for winter. Our property is small and doesn’t come out very economically to pay a profitable rate to hay balers. How could we cut down old growth to make room for fall growth when the livestock can’t keep up with summer growth? For sure, the push mower was off the table.

Then I get a note from my Dad:

Now the cost benefit starts to look better: it won’t loose any value, maintenance costs are low because parts are widely available, and the hard work of restoration has already been done by a trusted party.

Life lesson: it is worth listening to other people’s experience. If you asked me to consider something older then many museum exhibits last year, I would have laughed. I like history but I don’t work history. But a friend talked about restoring an Old Ford 8n (similar tractor) and getting a lot of utility from it on his land in Georgia in a passing conversation. I didn’t do anything with that data except mentally file it away. That planted a seed that these really could be a viable option. (Thanks Dave!)

So I put a new battery in and learned how to drive it.

Next up, every good tractor needs some implements, and this needs some maintenance checking when the manual comes in the mail. Updates to come!

March 16, 2021April 23, 2026

Workshop Upgrades

Safety signage is an important part of any shared working space. When it’s just me in the shop, I know how to use tools safely and I don’t need to put signs up. The moment it becomes a shared workspace, safety and organization requirements change.

Recently the boys have started working in the shop to build and design (glue and glue and glue) As they continue to develop and sharpen their skills, they’ll take a bigger footprint and use more tools.

The big challenge is getting my co workers to clean up after themselves. Maybe I’ll get some of the signs for that later. But first…

Keep your eyes open and be aware of your surroundings. The mystery of nature must never be underappreciated.

Hat tip to Accuform for quality signage.