TGIF!
It's been a busy week at the shop - I sent in an order for three engines last week, and I've sold them already! The last one was sold to the town, as their lawn-cutting crew totally destroyed a brand-new mower. I was able to get a closer look at the wreckage today; From what I can tell, the oil in the crankcase got contaminated with gasoline by bouncing the mower around in the back of a truck (or trailer) to the point where it became utterly useless as a lubricant. Under the heavy use that these guys put these mowers through it quickly burned out the bearings to the point where the engine seized, shattered the connecting-rod, and sent it flying out the side of the crank-case through a huge blast-hole! This is why you have to always check the oil level kiddies - and if the oil seems to be too high, you'd better find out why! Too much oil can be just as bad, or worse, than not enough oil - particularly when it's contaminated with gasoline!
A customer who already has a lawn-mower in here (waiting for parts) brought in a garden-tractor today as well. This sort of thing is another reason that I really could not go to Calgary this weekend with the rest of the family: I'm simply far too busy here! Maybe come the Fall, I can go on either the Labour-Day or Thanksgiving long weekend. Maybe...
I spent some time working on one of my own pet-project mowers. This is an old 1975-era John Deere mower. It's in remarkably good condition for its age, and given that it's been out in the elements for a while. It has no spark though, and while that's a relatively easy fix, it also requires the removal of the flywheel, and that's where there's a problem. The nut holding the flywheel in place is rust-welded in place, and so far penetrating-oil and an impact gun haven't made it budge at all. I'm going to let it soak with penetrating oil overnight, and then I'm going to try a rust-dissolving gel. If all that fails, I have a nut-splitter that should crack it off. That's really a final resort though, as it would involve destroying the nut and having to purchase a new one.
I made a good-sized cash deposit at the bank today after selling the big 17.5 HP Briggs & Stratton engine. I've also got close to $1k worth of outstanding invoices waiting for payments. It would be awesome if I didn't have an even bigger stack of bills to pay from that! (Mortgage, Utilities, and inventory.)