Simple dc motor with forward/reverse, self starting

This little motor makes a great school science project. Matter of fact the idea developed to what you see in the video from a request by my grandson to help him come up with an idea for his science class. The last clip in the video shows the tools and materials that we used.

Batteries, magnets and wire are the main parts needed

Snow blowing 28 inches snow with my Kubota BX

I've been clearing snow from my neighbours driveway all winter. We had a heavy late season snowfall and I took advantage of the deep snow accumulation in his driveway to set up 2 GoPro camera's (one on my tractor roll over bar - ROPS), and the other on my neighbours car that was parked in the driveway. My wife had the regular camcorder so she did some additional taping. I ended up dividing the footage into three separate video's. This is the first one.

Snow is about 4 inches higher than snow blower frame in this area

DIY motorized bird feeder - Arctic grade

This bird feeder has operated for a couple of years now and is holding up real good. Before I reinstall it this fall I need to repair the plastic housing as a squirrel chewed a good chunk of material out of the auger area last spring. I will post the repair info on a later blog post. Unlike my homemade fish food feeder (link below) the bird feeder auger is free to rotate in either direction when the microwave motor is turned ON. These motors (salvaged from the carousel of the microwave) have the characteristic of reversing direction when turned ON-OFF-ON. The motor in this bird feeder operates directly from regular 120VAC. Make sure you plug the feeder into a GFI outlet for maximum safety.
With the fish food feeder I rigged up a simple ratchet system to keep the motor running in one direction. As I mentioned above I found that the ratchet is not needed for the bird feeder.  Fish food feeder
UPDATE: I now turn the bird feeder ON and OFF with my iPhone. There are a number of "internet of things" power bars and outlets that are controllable with an APP. Please post a question if you need any further info on this. A regular household electromechanical timer may also be used.

The auger cuts through snow and ice and operates unattended in all weather conditions

Home made soil screener/sifter

This is one of my best machines so far as related to tractors. Works better than I anticipated and so far I have screened many tons of soil. I'm getting an average of about 1000 views a month so far on this video with additional views on the related "build" video and "screening action" video (links in the video below).

I load the soil on the "wrong" side

Snow blowing views from GoPro mounted on my head

This main part of this video shows my point of view while snow blowing with my rear mounted snow blower on my Kubota BX. My wife took some of the clips with my regular camcorder. In one scene the blowing snow strikes the roll over protection bar and reflects back to me. Since this video I had the ROPS cut down so that I don't have to fold it back to fit in my garage. A lot safer all around.

GoPro on my head views of snow blowing

Flipit the egg flipper

Inventing is a passion of mine and I've been at it for most of my life. Here's a little idea that I came up with a couple of years ago. Still needs work and modifications (especially a handle and an easy way to connect to the fry pan).

Video shows Flipit in action

Installing snowblower with maintenance tips (2nd of two videos)

This video gives details on a more controlled installation of the rear mounted snowblower on the Kubota BX. Instructions on making the drive line safer are also included in this video. Perhaps the best tip overall is to make sure you have a comfortable seating position (a little stool) when installing the main pin (that's the one with the two D bushings). I also experimented with using anti-seize compound on the chain to see how long it will last when compared with regular chain lube.

Checking for sway after installation

Installing snowblower on BX (first of two videos)

This was my first snowblower installation video on installing the snowblower on the Kubota BX. I will post the second video a little later today. In this video you will notice that we used WD-40 to loosen up the parts and to lubricate before assembly. Since I made this video I've been using anti-seize compound on all of the parts that are susceptible to sticking and rusting. It is a proven winner and I highly recommend it.

Snowblower installed and ready for the first storm

Removing backhoe and storing for the winter

There are a number of good videos on the web related to removing the tractor backhoe, but as far as I know no one has suggested using axle jacks to support the backhoe during the time it is in storage. I have been using these jacks a number of years now and the advantage is that the jacks keep the backhoe from settling down to the ground as the backhoe hydraulics leak off over the winter. This all makes it easier to align the backhoe when you get to re-mounting it in the spring.

Axle jacks keep the backhoe up and ready for re-installation in the spring

Homemade pallet forks for tractor bucket

I made these pallet forks from a couple of pieces of angle iron I salvaged from an old bed frame. The steel hooks on the ends of the angle are handy but not really necessary to make this idea work. Although I haven't tried it I'm pretty sure the load binders will securely hold the angle when the chain is wrapped around the back end of the forks (without any hooks or other hardware being necessary). But if need be you can just drill a hole in the back end of the angle and use a quick link  to secure the chain. (Or any other inventive idea that you come up with should work for this light duty tractor attachment.)

Load binders secure the angle to the bucket

Slug control electric fence (100% and most humane)

Saying 100% about anything is a bit risky but in this case, assuming every is done correctly, I feel pretty comfortable about the title. I've been making electric fences to keep slugs out of my raised beds for more than 25 years. Early on I had a patent search done and it came back positive but I wasn't prepared to invest many thousands of dollars in getting patents. Anyway the idea works and my Youtube videos have received 10's of thousands of views. Here's my latest video on this subject.

Stapling the electric fence wires around the raised bed

BX plowing and bucket work - was late getting snowblower installed

Snow got to me before I had time to install the rear mounted snowblower. Also you will notice that the snow plow (BXpanded unit) needed shoes adjusted as the blade was way too high above the ground. Ended up finishing the job with my bucket.

Max learning to use backhoe and FEL Kubota BX

Max used to play with a toy tractor on a playground near his home. Apparently the toy machine was fairly realistic in terms of the controls as Max quickly related to operating the controls on the BX during this training session.