[My craftsman 917.27308]

If I buy a different brand tractor I'm stuck with my name.

 

[ECONORAM]

Made a little progress today. Welded some metal onto the blade tips to replace what the grass wore off. Is it worth my time to do? Hard telling, but I wanted to try it because I could. Painted them and the blades 'cuz I sharpened them when I was done.
Also got the electric actuator mounted on the bucket, after welding an extension onto the support. And now for the fun part; wiring.

 

[dave_r]

I'm not sure about your particular blades, but it's my understanding that at least some are hardened steel, and welding on them would remove the heat-treating in that area.... I see you welded onto the wing towards the rear of the blade, which is less critical for the heat treat, but it is also the spot where the blade will undergo the highest stresses, both from rotation, as well as from things striking the blade.

 

[ECONORAM]

Honestly, the blades are an experiment. I suspect you are right; they are heat treated. They may not last, but at this point I'm willing to give it a try. Next set of blades will be something tougher. I found it a little odd that it was rather easy to grind the areas before I welded them.

 

[mikeinri]

Just a little tug duty for the GS6500 today, barely got it warmed up.

First job was bringing the red cart (17 cuft), which was completely stuffed with cardboard, down to the sidewalk so I could transfer the cardboard into the robotruck recycling bin while the driver ran the lift. Since covid started, they're not allowed to leave the trucks and touch anything, so if you have more stuff than will fit into the bin, you have to meet them and reload it yourself. The hardest part is timing their arrival...

After that, I loaded some oak into the same cart. This is stuff that we recently had delivered. These pieces were too big, too wet, or both, so I need to re-split them.

Spent lots of time working outdoors today, between 11 am and 7 pm. Got a grand total of about 2 minutes of seat time...

Mike