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Farmall & IHC Tractors Discussion Forum
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Pallets to prop up the tractor?

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Mike CA

11-06-2006 08:53:32




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In a previous thread I asked you all what you did to safely prop up the tractor. I could buy a stand that is $400, and sell it back to the company for 60% of the new price... but that is still expensive. I can't make my own stand out of metal because I don't know how to weld. I could hire it out, but I bet that would be expensive. So, one suggestion that seemed inexpensive and should be pretty safe is using pallets. Or is it safe?

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scotc

11-06-2006 19:12:50




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 Re: Pallets to prop up the tractor? in reply to Mike CA, 11-06-2006 08:53:32  
we've used cement blocks before but there is one HUGELY IMPORTANT thing to remember- they hold weight when stacked with the hole side up, they break when the flat side is up. What we did was stack 2 pillars, 2 blocks side to side, one tier oriented north-south, the next east-west, up till a serious peice of blocking was almost up to the right height then shim it with 2x8, 2x6, the widest peice of wood we could. Blocks will hold quite a bit if laid right and if there is some softer material(wood) between the blocks and the object being supported. When cribbing with wood blocks, keep the 2 peices in each tier parralel(or thereabouts) but with some space between them. The wider you start the better. Bring each tier in a little so you get a slight pyramid shape to it. If you butt the blocks right against each other they aren't nearly as stable. For the sm and the 300 my uncle used 2 peices of spreader web( real heavy angle iron). He cut them a little longer then the floor to the top of the flat sides of the bellhousing, welded a couple peices of flat scrap to the bottoms for feet, and burned holes in them to bolt them (using 2 bolts) to the sides of the bellhousings. It's ok for an m h 300, up to a 450, I don't think I'd use that setup for anything bigger. For the 10 and 1566 we used a freind's massive trolley jack and a he-man powered crane to split them at his shop. The 756 and 786 we cribbed under the bellhousing then used the backhoe to hold up the rear of the engine and move it away from the bellhousing. If you have a backhoe or even a skidsteer on the smaller ones, it takes some of the work out of moving the front half around.

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kejab21

11-06-2006 16:43:54




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 Re: Pallets to prop up the tractor? in reply to Mike CA, 11-06-2006 08:53:32  
If you use pallets they have to be hard wood. I work at Kraft in distrbution. We lost a loaded trailer off our yard truck. the way they get it off the ground is lift it with cables with a big wrecker, put the pallets under it back far enough so we can get the yard horse back under it. We are talking over 40000lb. They hold alot of weight.



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Paul G. in Mn

11-06-2006 15:47:56




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 Re: Pallets to prop up the tractor? in reply to Mike CA, 11-06-2006 08:53:32  
I made a pair of stands for spliting my M. I had an extra set of frame rails that I set straight up and down then I took a piece of angle iron and drilled a hole in each end. The rails I mounted to the last set of holes on the tractors rails buy the clutch houseing then made the angle iron fit going forward at a 45 degree angle. Once you have it supoerted you can take hydralic pump out then take the top 2 bolts out. once they are out get the longest bolt you can fit back in those hole and put them in. then remove the bottem 4 bolts. Once they are out you can carefully roll the back half backwards. Once it is back block the wheels. You should be able to do most everything you need to do this way and it is very solid

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tractorsam

11-06-2006 15:44:35




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 Re: Pallets to prop up the tractor? in reply to Mike CA, 11-06-2006 08:53:32  
I've done a couple of splits pretty cheaply using railway sleepers (ties) and some old steel pipe. I put several lengths of pipe on the floor (old boiler tube) all lying parallel, put some plywood on top, built my cribbing under the tractor on top of the plywood. I then rolled the front away from the rear feeding the pipe that came out back into the front. It was cheap for me at the time because I was working for a railway so I borrowed the sleepers and the pipe was scrap. Good luck and keep safe, chances are if you're not sure about how good an idea is your best off leaving it alone. tractorsam

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Mike CA

11-06-2006 13:44:56




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 Re: Pallets to prop up the tractor? in reply to Mike CA, 11-06-2006 08:53:32  
ok, I think I'm having it beat well enough into my skull... get the stands made. Do it right, do it safe.

I need to start a charity collection. :-)



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City-Boy McCoy

11-06-2006 14:28:26




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 Re: Pallets to prop up the tractor? in reply to Mike CA, 11-06-2006 13:44:56  
Thanks. Glad to hear it. You are a neat guy and we want you with us for a while longer.
mike



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kopeck

11-06-2006 11:59:08




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 Re: Pallets to prop up the tractor? in reply to Mike CA, 11-06-2006 08:53:32  
I don't see why having a splitting stand built would be all that expensive (far less then $400.00 buck). Get something you know is going to hold, it's not worth getting hurt.



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Janicholson

11-06-2006 11:25:51




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 Re: Pallets to prop up the tractor? in reply to Mike CA, 11-06-2006 08:53:32  
I lost a friend to cinder blocks, smashed under his car. They are ceramic like material, no more reliable than stacked up dinner plates. They cannot stand point loading, they have internal fractures, and explode into powder with no warning. DO NOT DO IT. If I remember correctly your H has a wide front. Using solid metal wedges between the front casting, and the axel on both sides to prevent the front from tipping over is needed. The basic plan I provided below could be made by a community technical college for the cost of the materials. It is safe and will provide you with confidence. Because you are seaking this info, you are not experienced with cribbing and blocking (Most farmers are from burth due to the nature of moving supporting and dealing with very heavy things). Supporting about 1/3 of a tractors mass on blocking no more than 20" apart, is not easy, and not adjustable for positioning the components to come apart, or go back together. I respect your intentions, my statements are direct and unambiguous because I want you to succeed as well as not get hurt. Very respectfully Jimn

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Don L C

11-06-2006 10:21:53




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 Re: Pallets to prop up the tractor? in reply to Mike CA, 11-06-2006 08:53:32  
NO!-----USE HARD WOOD BLOCKS 6"x6" or 8"x8"-- ~15" long---stack them two wide, criscross until you reach the tractor then only one.....



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old

11-06-2006 09:50:47




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 Re: Pallets to prop up the tractor? in reply to Mike CA, 11-06-2006 08:53:32  
Pallets are good to put parts on but not hold a tractor up. If you can't afford the right jacks then go and buy some rail road ties and cut them down to size for what you need. Then stack them in a criss/cross way to keep them from falling. Cheap but also very strong



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26Red

11-06-2006 09:50:38




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 Re: Pallets to prop up the tractor? in reply to Mike CA, 11-06-2006 08:53:32  
Mike,

If you need to split the tractor, you don"t really need those fancy stands. You can get by with 4x4 pieces of wood, cinder blocks or truck jack stands and wood cribbing. I use a hydraulic bottle jack (6 or 8 ton) and cribbing to get things lifted. I"m not sure I would use pallets. it would have to be the heavy duty kind.

I did buy a engine crane($180 from Northern tool) on casters to roll the front half of the tractor away. I thought it worked pretty slick!

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Don L C

11-06-2006 10:24:28




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 Re: Pallets to prop up the tractor? in reply to 26Red, 11-06-2006 09:50:38  
Please dont use cinder or concrete block..... ..
They break easly..... .



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gene (missouri)

11-06-2006 09:36:56




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 Re: Pallets to prop up the tractor? in reply to Mike CA, 11-06-2006 08:53:32  
Not sure which portion of the tractor you are propping up or how big the tractor. Pallets - no way.

Couple of ideas. Crib up with 4"x4"s or 6"x6"s. Heavy duty jack stands - not terribly expensive. Rent the necessary equipment.

What every method you use. Make it safe.

Gene(Missouri)



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Michael Sheik

11-06-2006 09:26:13




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 Re: Pallets to prop up the tractor? in reply to Mike CA, 11-06-2006 08:53:32  
Mike - Give it up!!! You DO NOT screw around with these types of things. You do it right the first time. You may not get a second time!
SPEND THE MONEY!



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RustyFarmall

11-06-2006 09:19:29




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 Re: Pallets to prop up the tractor? in reply to Mike CA, 11-06-2006 08:53:32  
Pallets are built of wood that is not good enough to use for anything else. the wood that is used is the sap wood from the outside of the tree, or it might be wood from less than desirable trees. Shipping pallets are ok for what they are used for, but I sure wouldn't trust them to hold up a tractor. you might try visiting some building sites where new houses or other buildings are going up. You might be able to find some 2x6 or 2x8 scraps that you can haul off for free. Another option is to find where someone is taking down a large oak or other hardwood tree and see if you can get a couple of big chunks cut out of the trunk. These work very well for the base, and then stack the 2x8s on top of that.

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P Backus

11-06-2006 09:10:20




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 Re: Pallets to prop up the tractor? in reply to Mike CA, 11-06-2006 08:53:32  
Sounds like a PITA to me. Pallets are good when the weight is spread out over the whole thing, like bags of seed are. When something heavy is "point loaded", like a tractor engine or tranny, the boards tend to break. Remember, pallets are made out of the lowest grade of wood.
I would find some 6x6s or 4x4s and make them 2 feet long, and stack them "Lincoln Log" style, called cribbing. (Two this way, two across them, two more this way..... )
Paul

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nballen

11-06-2006 09:10:11




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 Re: Pallets to prop up the tractor? in reply to Mike CA, 11-06-2006 08:53:32  
The big drawback to pallets is the size (typically what...42 x 48"?). So they will be very stable, but hard to work around.

You would also need to secure the stack, so that the pallets can't shift to one side and tip over.

I've never split a tractor, so I can't be too helpful, I'm afraid.

However, I have used blocking in various forms...6x6, 8x8, etc. With a firm foundation (24" x 24" x 1/2" plywood, on level concrete, etc) blocking could be ok.

Hmmm...What about heavy auto jack stands with a 4x4 (3 ft long) across the two of them? Bolted to the jack stands? Thinkin' "out loud" here.

Nathaniel

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Patrick Martin

11-06-2006 17:40:47




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 Re: Pallets to prop up the tractor? in reply to nballen, 11-06-2006 09:10:11  
I just stack up solid red bricks under the tranny to where my floor jack is elevated enough to pick up under the bellhousing and then attach a long pipe or bar to the engine, split the tractor and using the bar to balance the engine, walk the unit right off.



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