Tractor John Deere 5050E on Rotary Lift

The bigger tractor made it on the lift today. Made up a list for service .Had time to change the oil and grease .Once the filters come in I'll check the rest . The tractor is on the go a lot with all the construction around the buildings . Last winter it was going none stop with snow removal . Great working tractor .

The Rotary  Lift did a little grunting to get it up in the air . No more than the 5040 Kubota we had at the other course . Had to drop the bucket but I think it will still go on with bucket/forks in the air tipped down . 

Hover mowers are ready to go and a few Stihl saws done .Just waiting on a part for the Echo 400. Course is greening up well and cuts are looking good . Won't be long now and will be flat out .

Fertilizer Spreader rack for hitch

Making things easier for the guys . I have made something similar at the old shop and they enjoyed using them their too . Recently on Twitter a wheel version was posted and the Assistant liked the idea and wondered if it would be possible to build some  for them.

Here is the first one build.

Cut the 1.5 " tube stock to size by laying it out around the spreader . I also used 1.5 " angle for inside and outside of wheels to help keep them in . The tube stock should be out enough so that the inside angle are just touching the axle . Laying it out on a piece of tubing worked pretty well .  The 1.25 " hitch you could cut off and slide into tube . 

Nothing to do with project . Just pointing out that when I first saw the scissor lift I didn't think I would use it . It may be one of the favourite tools in the shop  as uses seem to pop up for it everyday .  

Laying out the first one behind the TX Gator to tack in place . Keeping the spreader as close as possible to the tailgate .

Tac in place then had this set up to latch the bar down . 

Final set up . Worked great . We sent it out with a strap pulling spreader forward but found it wasn't needed . 

So on the second one I just welded the bar bracket in place . Nice little project .

String trimmer shop rack

At the new shop we where in a bit of rush getting things in and organized before the grass started to take off . I'm 90% to where I want to be in shop set up ,tool and parts room .  Made a rack this week . The new MIG welder is fantastic for fabrication work . We only had a stick welder at the old shop at took longer to weld things up . Having the argon gas hooked up, I can tack things together quickly with out the fumes . I did notice the arcing is a little more intense . I wound up having a little sun burn on the inside of my arms and will have to invest in some leather sleeves for future projects .

This is the old racking for the gear till it was time to build something better.This time making it portable in case we wanted to place it in a different area in the future . 

1.5" tube stock and 3/8 rod made quick work on the project . Laying out the outside measurements and welded them up . Then marking out where snippers where going I held and tac rods in place an eye ball the angles wanted and weld up afterwards  . 

With the chop saw it was about a  45 minutes to an hour project . Surprising how quick everything came together . 

Nice clean look .Even have the snipper cord hanging up .Room for another 3 or 4 in the future

Oil Pan and Funnel Storage

With the cabinets closed it makes for a clean look .

 

Oil funnels are always a problem making a mess .On the Golftechs site there was a recent post showing how some of the guys took care of the unsightly view . Pure genius . I had a cabinet left over and decided to do the same . You drill a hole in the bottom middle edge, using a ball pen hammer... hammer out a channel and bend the shelf in a V to direct the oil left in the funnels or pans down and out the hole directly into wast oil container . 

Busy ..productive week here at my shop

Lots going on at the presentation centre . Heavy machinery clearing and levelling land . Cart barn is looking good . I also managed to escape the shop an take in the sites of the front 9 holes . Joel the assistant superintendent  took me on a tour of the back 9 today after making some adjustment on the greens mowers ( first cut ).A few pictures of the course . Wintered very well and has green up dramatically since these pictures from a couple of days ago . 

Pave cart paths all the way around the course.

Awesome looking course .

Turf looks great  everywhere.

Some interesting scenery between holes . 

Sunny and warm all week will bring the course back to life soon . The guys have been busy getting traps back in shape and clearing brush . Big task and a job well done . 

Pretty cool to drive across one of the bridges spanning the roadway . 

I'm the Newbie here so you have to forgive me if I'm wrong . I think its #8 from the tee. 

Fairways are looking fantastic . Irrigation is being fired up this week and the coming rain next week will really kick things in to a start of the growing season . 

Managed to service a few pieces of gear from last season . 

Below was my front  9 tour interruption ..Lol Thanks Nick .

Second time grinding on this system and first time grinding one of these mowers . If you you have good basic reel theory and have been around a lot of different equipment you can figure it out easily . To me this mower reel to bedknife adjustment  was very similar to the old Jacobson tow behind gang units . The top of the shield had to be removed to get the machine on . 

Both machine ground in fairly quickly . 

Bedknive grinding while I was setting up the reel mower .

Electrician in to wire up the lift , compressor and building venting fans . Now it feels like a shop having a working lift and compressed air . 

Finished plumbing in the air lines . Turned on the air and heard a little pop in the shop . I knew exactly what happened . The previous week Ralph  from Lawson was setting up some bins and supplies for me an mention that I forgot to solder a joint . Hence the pop. Lol . Soldered it up and the the lines are air tight . Didn't here the compressor kick in unless it was being used . Perfect. 

First fabrication project . I learned a few things about the Mig welder set up and can make pretty good welds actually very good welds now . This is an old fairway unit . First thing I had to do is remove all the unnecessary lines and plug them . Console had to be opened up to take out lift /lower lever and PTO lever .  

Took a little doing to get an easy access to the fuel tank fill .

Mounted the wind shield and continued filling areas with mesh . 

Custom door .

Had to remove the steps to get the bracket down low enough so it could pivot up or down evenly . 

Turned out OK for a 3 day project working around a routine . A  little paint , grease and engine oil change it should last a long time as a range ball picker . Starting to number machines and will have to get more service supplies ordered in to have on hand . Most of the fleet is new and will need engine oil and filter + hydro filters changed at 50 hrs. Then I'll get my service routines and charts figured out .

Feels like a shop now and getting more comfortable in my new surroundings .

New Grinders in

The're here!!! After moving them in and looking at the space The guys helped me move them around to get the best flow in the work space . Once the rotary grinder comes in it will sit in the middle so I can use the lift table as a bench . 

Bernhard 3000 MC . Has a nice ramp to lift reels up to grind . 

Anglemaster 3000 MC for bedknives 

Reel thinning attachment . I may use it to do fairway units in winter to lessen the spin grind time during the summer months . My good friend and buddy Al from the New Ashburn came over to show me some pointers on set up . They have had Bernard grinders for a few years now .

We did the grand tour of the nearly completed maintenance building . He is pretty impressed . 

Bedknife grinder is similar to my old  Foley with the exception of the auto grind . After the initial setting the next bedknife sets up pretty quick . 

Spin grinder set up went pretty good . I think I may have gotten some dud tighten nuts or I don't know my own strength ( barely snug down and slips on threads ). After talking to Veseys they will send out another set of them ASAP. Bill offered his set off their machine but I think I'll be all right for a little while . 

Wow is all I can say . First time grinding on new system and a different reel ( JD 7500 Fairway unit) Next 3 set up dead on and for a light touch up and proper tools I'm figuring 15 to 20 minutes a reel from removal to install . The JD bedknife is easy to remove to grind and should be quick to do when I remove them for front facing when machines on the lift . Small learning curve but will be up to speed in no time . Set up after the grind went pretty quick for the first time . Only have the one left on Monday .

Rob and I set up the 3 in one welder . Set it up for MIG welding . Had to give it a go ,my first time MIG welding . After initial settings and doing a few beads and playing around with gas pressure and wire feed I can see I'll be very good at this in no time . Rob got himself set up to do a rack project for me to hold shovels ,rakes etc.  Went with .35 bare wire and was surprised how clean it was with the lack of smoke that stick welder produce .Its great have senior staff that can help out !!