[darmic1]

Yes! I do have an axle and wheels……. the plan was to maybe recreate a trailer for it??? Cant be sure the red is an exact match as this had been painted before, but then green is an acurate match from some original paint. My Farmer’s Boy Minor is a lighter metallic shade pf green, closest match is a Datsun/Nissan colour from the 70/80s…….

[darmic1]

Once painted and dry I reassembled the rest of the mower……

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[darmic1]

The mower was missing one of the safety guards. I made a cardboard template, marked out the steel and cut it out. Rolled the steel by hand to get the conical shape, welded it together and made the mounting bracket……

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[darmic1]

Once all the bits were painted and dry I made a start putting it all back together……

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[darmic1]

I’m using brush enamels mixed to match the original colours. The green is BS282 Forest Green and the red is BS593 Rail Red. The paint itself covers really well, goes on quite thick and flattens out leaving virtually no brush marks……

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[darmic1]

The Mold board returned with quite a lot of pitting. After using a flap disc to ‘polish’ the surface up as best as possible, it looks much better. Have been told it will ‘shine’ up with use!

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[darmic1]

Another issue to be addressed was the cast wheels on the mower attachment. The cast axles had worn from 19mm or 3/4′ to about 14mm or just over 1/2′ meaning they wobbled quite badly! I asked my local welder if he could do anything with them, he suggested cutting them off, drilling out a hole of 3/4′, obtaining some 3/4 bar and make ‘new’ axles? Here’s the pictures once repaired…..

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[darmic1]

The ratchet pawls are missing from the ploughing wheels and I was fortunate to be contacted by Alan, who told me about broken and very rusty machine near Guilford, Surrey. A trip was arranged and on a very damp chilly day I took myself down to remove them from the bones of the donor machine. Unfortunately the springs were rusted away, so once I have it back together I will have to try to make some.

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[darmic1]

I’ve decided to make use of this machine as a working exhibit. I will however give it a makeover, so I made a start on the attachments due to space and storage restrictions. I’ve broken everything down to component parts, and took it all to the shot blasters. It’s been etch primed and I’ve decided to brush paint this one, as it will be easier to patch up, should it get damaged during use.

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[darmic1]

Hi Shaun, There is some information about The Raven Engineering Company on the post about my Farmers Boy Minor……. I have 2 of these machines, one fully restored and one in its working clothes. Both mine are fitted with Villiers MK12HS engines. There should be a production number stamped into the large plate at the base of the handlebars, where they bolt to the machine. Unfortunately there doesn’t appear to be any surviving factory records to date these machines, the company changed hands and name a couple of times before going into liquidation. However there is often a date stamped on the engines flywheel. This will of course only give you the date of the engine, and if its been changed at some point will not really help date your machine.

[darmic1]

Well done to Gareth aka S1G…… His freshly restored very early Series 1 Gem won 1st place in its class with my later series 1 as ‘runner-up’

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[darmic1]

And the larger machines…….

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[darmic1]

A big thank you to those who came and supported this new show, Here are the pictures I took from this 1st year for the Autumn Tractor World……

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[darmic1]

And a daylight picture of the ‘oily rag’ machine with its restored brother, a before and after if you like? Found it really hard not to strip the 2nd machine of all the rust and flaking paint, not to re-spray it and make it as good as new! I want to use this one and hopefully demonstrate it working at shows etc. I also had them both running together, it always pleases me when after a long while just sitting, these machines start 1st pull of the rope!

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[darmic1]

Here is the almost reassembled machine after a long day in the garage cleaning loose rust, mud and oil from each and every part.

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