The Times Advocate, 2008-06-18, Page 1818
Times—Advocate
Wednesday, June 18, 2008
Men's charity breakfast this Saturday Bear sightings in
CENTRALIA — Moving gravel, soil
or just about anything that gets in
the road is best done with a front-
end loader.
On most farms, a tractor is
pressed into service, but not on Bert
Knott's farm near Carlingford.
Bert's only tractor has other tasks to
do, so what does a handyman like
Bert do? He builds a loader, and this
is no toy. It has the same width as
all road -travelling vehicles and has
a top speed of eight to 10 miles per
hour.
The main frame is built of 5/16"
thick square tubing measuring 4"
square, and the size of the frame is
determined by the 16X38" tractor
tire treads going around six
Aerostar van wheels, three on each
side.
The width is the same as the
Aerostar rear axles and differen-
tials, giving it the appearance of a
crawler tractor. To give the tractor
treads some rigidity, 52 metal strips,
bent to the shape of the inside of the
tire, were bolted with four bolts
each to the tire tread. The metal
strips, with a loop at each end, were
bent using hand -made jigs, and the
52 of them ended up being exactly
the same.
To give the tire its elongated oval
shape, the sidewalls were cut off.
This task alone was tedious and
time consuming.
The power for this neat not -so -lit-
tle crawler is a four -cylinder flat-
head Continental engine from a
Massey -Ferguson No. 34 swather. It
is placed behind the operator's seat
to help hold the rear down when
there is a load on the front. Since
the motive power was supplied
through a five -speed Ford Mustang
standard transmission, a foot clutch
was necessary. This came from a
Massey -Harris model 22 tractor.
Since the clutch and engine were
from different machines, a special
adaptor plate to fit the two together
had to be made, and that presented
Bert with a whole new set of
machining challenges. The trans-
mission is placed beside the driver,
driven by a No. 60 roller chain
through two different -sized sprock-
ets to achieve a slight speed reduc-
tion.
The second speed reduction
occurs at the front of the tractor
where a second chain goes down to
the differential drive shaft. The two
differentials are attached to a P.T.O.
gear box, so the two differentials
end up turning in the same direction
at the same speed.
This crawler is unique because it
drives the track from both ends. To
make the tractor turn, two separate
hydraulic brake systems are
employed. A separate brake pedal
applies brakes on each axle on one
side and the
second pedal
applies brakes
on each axle
on the other
side, causing
the machine to
change direc-
tion of travel.
Bert's idea
for a loader
was to get a
used small
farm tractor
loader and cut
it down to
make it fit his
home -built
tractor, but
that wasn't
"Food Safety"
Strengthens Your
Community
Organizations and businesses need to be aware of the growing
public concern regarding food safety. This training opportunity
providing certification recognized by all health units across
Ontario is of value to organizations involved in food service
Community events or individuals working in food service.
London Training Centre
With the support of
Huron County Health Unit
is pleased to provide
Safe Food Handler Training
In Exeter
Tuesday June 24th, 2008
10:00 am - 2:00 pm
South Huron Municipality Office
322 Main St, Exeter Ontario
To Register or for information call
London Training Centre
(519) 685-4331 ext 23
www.Iondontraining.on.ca
LONDON
TRAINING
CENTRE
going to happen. It virtually all had
to be cut apart to fit so why not build
the left arms to fit both the used
bucket he was able to buy and the
tractor he built?
The arms were built of the same
tubing as the main frame and three
new hydraulic cylinders were pur-
chased, two to lift the bucket and
one to tilt or dump the bucket. The
swather donated the hydraulic
pump and oil reservoir. A new joy-
stick control valve completed the
job, and it works beautifully.
This month's "We Care" Men's
Charity Breakfast is Saturday at
8:30 a.m. at the Malibu Restaurant
south of Exeter near Centralia.
Come and enjoy good food and the
great feeling one gets when you give
cash to provide food for someone
starving due to conditions beyond
their control.
For further information, contact
George Burgin at 229-8833 or Dave
Hern at 229-6339.
— submitted by George Burgin
Huron County
HURON
The
Huron
OPP is
working
with the
Ministry
o f
Natural
Resources (MNR) inves-
tigating several alleged
bear sightings in the
area.
Not all sightings have
been confirmed,
although police say
some are valid.
The latest uncon-
firmed report came
from Bayfield June 11.
Huron OPP officers
are maintaining patrols.
Bears live all over
Ontario but can travel
far in short periods of
time looking for food.
If you encounter a
bear and there is imme-
diate danger, call 911.
To report non -emer-
gent bear problems, call
1 -866 -514 -BEAR
(2327).
For more information
on bear behaviours visit
www. mnr.gov. on. ca/en/
BusinessBearwise
Any sightings will be
investigated by both the
OPP and the MNR and
every attempt will be
made to remove the
bear from the area
without harming it.
A#I,��.V■��1 ' •._ "F WWaf��llrrrl�i�w>iE�.
Sign up for eaksaver°and receive $25:
pea
.s
r
er
We'll install a switch that will allow us to cycle down your air conditioning temporarily
during peak electricity demand periods this summer. We'll only do it when it's absolutely
necessary to reduce the strain on the system.Your fan can continue running to circulate air
and the temperature in your home will only change slightly, so you should hardly even notice a
difference.You'll be helping your community save electricity - and that means you'll also help the
environment. Plus you'll end up with a cool $25.*
Visit www.festivalhydro.com or call us at 519.271.4700 or toll free at 1.866.444.9370
every
P kilowatt
counts-.
Fesrival 'Hydre
A program offend by tha Ontario Pourer Autharily and �I
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