Couple shots of the local utility workers getting the high tension tower repairs under way:
http://i.imgur.com/eLZuz.jpg

http://i.imgur.com/yt5bf.jpg

Neighbor burning off the wood and other debris from his property damage:
http://i.imgur.com/qWSgC.jpg

I've spent all day Sunday and from the time I got out of work today until I could not see to work any longer clearing trees, running a chainsaw and burning limbs. It's been a ton of work I had no idea I would be doing. In case you are wondering what any of this has to do with my cub project, let me show you how my 1978 1450 has been helping the cause.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T6sKPVjZ1Ug

I've been using it to drag huge mulberry tree limbs out of a tangled mess of 3-4 damaged trees so I can cut them up without worrying about other limbs falling on me. I also drag them over where I will stack the cut wood so I don't have to carry it far. Anyone who has ever cut down a sizable mulberry can tell you, these limbs are HEAVY! The cub doesn't even know they are back there. It has saved me quite a bit of work. My friend who was over yesterday helping me with some clean up with his saw said and I quote "that thing is pretty sweet"

As soon as I get my yard back in shape, cub project goes back into gear. I feel like I need to treat the 78 to something for all the work it has been doing too.

:American Flag 1:

Mark I'm glad you didn't have any more damage then that. I'm really glad no one got hurt.

Thanks Duke! It's good to be back in touch with the outside world. The events of this weekend really made me think about how bad it could have been. Just losing a couple old trees was painful, I can only imagine how those in Joplin or down south who lost it all in the tornados and floods are feeling. All we can do is try to be better prepped for next time, and enjoy the time we have here the best we can.

And to think not long ago, that 78 was just sitting dying a slow death. Now it's working hard and doing an awesome job. :biggrin2:

Glad you're safe, Mark! Enjoyed your vid! :beerchug:

It's been a while since I added anything to this thread. I've pretty much just been working the '78 between tree cleanup detail and grass cutting. I have a lot of irons in the fire lately and most of them are not any fun.

Last week (or was it longer than that?) my deck had some issues. It's had some extra holes in it since I got it, but the outer spindle pulleys were rusted out so bad they were missing pieces and shredded both belts I had on hand. Also the idler spring was shot, the idler bracket was seized, and the idler pulley seemed to be missing a portion of the bearing. It all just sort of came unglued at once. Some of you probably saw my thread in the wanted section looking for a replacement deck.. I found a guy about 3 hours south with a 44" deck for me but I was reluctant to make the drive. Hoping something pops up locally. In the meantime the grass is not going to stop growing and wait on me so I did a quick and dirty overhaul of my 50" deck.

Removed it from the tractor and this is what it looked like.
http://i.imgur.com/Wx7C6.jpg

badly rusted spindle pulleys:
http://i.imgur.com/ON4uC.jpg

Went and blew some bucks at the local cub dealer to get some new hardware. outer spindle pulleys, idler pulley, bracket and shoulder bolt. My old shoulder bolt did not have a grease fitting, new one does. :beerchug:
http://i.imgur.com/k196f.jpg

So I loaded the deck in the trunk and drove it over to my friends shop. Got the thing tore apart and realized it was even worse than I thought once I took the stiffener plate off.
http://i.imgur.com/mQt7F.jpg


I cut out a few pieces of steel plate to stiffen the deck in the worst spots. Made two half moons to cover the round parts of the deck and made a couple other pieces as needed. My friend handled the welding.
http://i.imgur.com/VoTmh.jpg

I can weld but he is a bit more experienced and I don't want this stuff coming apart.

The big patches are the steel plate and the smaller holes were covered with patches made from a coil of stainless steel sheet. Cutting the stainless was not any fun.
http://i.imgur.com/O3hcK.jpg

She is not pretty by any means, but this deck is now very solid and has no flex to it like it used to. I guess these 50" decks are known to bend and flex around. Mine is very rigid. It also gained about 30-40 pounds due to the plate steel.
http://i.imgur.com/ZrhSZ.jpg

I needed to get the lawn cut in a bad way so I shot a quick coat of primer on both sides and got to cutting. I may make it look a little more presentable at some point but am not in a rush to do so. This deck is a workhorse. I did not put the baffles back in either. It cuts just fine without them.

http://i.imgur.com/jiizl.jpg

All in all it worked out well. I picked up a 1/2" by 86" belt from tractor supply as I did not want to pay 30 bucks to the cub dealer for it. Cut the yard without any issues. Just between the pulleys, idler parts and belt I am into this deck for 160 bucks + maybe 6-8 hours of labor. I figure this way at least I know it's sound mechanically, even if it is not the best looking deck in the world. After all, it's what is inside that counts.

Thanks for the update, Mark! :beerchug:

No problem Allen. Just wanted to show you guys this pic too. Where's that guy who said he felt his 1450 couldn't cut the mustard? Lookie what I dragged across the yard today.

http://i.imgur.com/ubNSG.jpg

Never underestimate an IH cub cadet.

:bigeyes: Now that's how you work a cub... :biggrin2:

:) It took a couple tries to get it moving because the turfs kept breaking traction but once I got rolling it was good to go. I was impressed. This thing was very heavy and is about 15" diameter at the thick end.

My chainsaw fowled a plug (I hope haha) right after I cut this thing so I figured I would just drag it over and roll it onto the fire since I could not make any more cuts for the night. It's hard to see but there is a fire going behind the tree trunk. Once I unhooked from the tree and cut the branches off with a pruning saw I was able to roll it a couple times and it's burning slowly but surely now. I'm trying to get this clean up finalized, tired of looking at busted up trees.