Ethan Snow
Member
- Joined
- Aug 27, 2020
Just thought I'd share a few pics of my recent rope tow build. This is by far the best and most powerful design I've had yet.
Over the last 7 seasons, I have been through 3 motors, and 4 gear boxes. Two of them fried. It's all a learning experience. It was time for something that would last a long long time that will continue to operate in my parents backyard trouble free.
It started with a 90's Craftsman lawnmower. well, what was left of it. This one was special because it appeared to have a fairly heavy duty transaxle with a horizontal driveline. Most of the newer ones have vertical drive shafts, and vertical engines which make it hard to use as anything other than a lawnmower.
Then I pulled the axle out, cracked open the bell housing and dumped everything in a tub of parts cleaner.
The drive pinion was shot. Searspartsdirect.com was the solution for that, and I had a new one in a week.
Then, the differential had to be welded to create a single, solid driveshaft rather than two independent driveshafts.
I preheated the thing a lot before TIG welding it. Having these welds strong and clean with good penetration was critical.
Cleaned the corrosion off the bell housing primed and painted it.
Then put it back together. I removed one of the shifting forks to make it a 3 speed rather than a 6 speed. Some of the gears are nothing but spacers now. There was no gasket for the bell housing, so RTV silicone will have to make due.
filled it with 40W and done!
I had to make some mounting brackets to get it to fit on the previous rails.
I picked up a used Honda GX390 from a guy in Roxbury who is a small engine mechanic. It's a really solid engine, and it has an electric start! No more messing around trying to pull start this thing in cold temps!
My dad is hell bent on having some sort of safety stop, so today I built a stop gate. It shuts the engine off as soon as it is opened.
looking down the 750' lifeline.
Next year I will need to replace the rope that I've had for 5 years now.
Over the last 7 seasons, I have been through 3 motors, and 4 gear boxes. Two of them fried. It's all a learning experience. It was time for something that would last a long long time that will continue to operate in my parents backyard trouble free.
It started with a 90's Craftsman lawnmower. well, what was left of it. This one was special because it appeared to have a fairly heavy duty transaxle with a horizontal driveline. Most of the newer ones have vertical drive shafts, and vertical engines which make it hard to use as anything other than a lawnmower.
Then I pulled the axle out, cracked open the bell housing and dumped everything in a tub of parts cleaner.
The drive pinion was shot. Searspartsdirect.com was the solution for that, and I had a new one in a week.
Then, the differential had to be welded to create a single, solid driveshaft rather than two independent driveshafts.
I preheated the thing a lot before TIG welding it. Having these welds strong and clean with good penetration was critical.
Cleaned the corrosion off the bell housing primed and painted it.
Then put it back together. I removed one of the shifting forks to make it a 3 speed rather than a 6 speed. Some of the gears are nothing but spacers now. There was no gasket for the bell housing, so RTV silicone will have to make due.
filled it with 40W and done!
I had to make some mounting brackets to get it to fit on the previous rails.
I picked up a used Honda GX390 from a guy in Roxbury who is a small engine mechanic. It's a really solid engine, and it has an electric start! No more messing around trying to pull start this thing in cold temps!
My dad is hell bent on having some sort of safety stop, so today I built a stop gate. It shuts the engine off as soon as it is opened.
looking down the 750' lifeline.
Next year I will need to replace the rope that I've had for 5 years now.
