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What is the most useful tool you own? Not the most expensive tool, not the coolest tool, but the tool you couldn’t get along without?
Two service calls to malfunctioning planters 30-plus years ago remind mechanic Dan Anderson of how far pre-season preparation and maintenance has come.
A new generation of metal cutting tools span the divide between hacksaw simplicity/economy to plasma cutter precision/price.
Sometimes engine oil, transmission or fuel filters resist removal. As the frustration level rises, there is a succession of alternate tools to try.
Few would consider a brush a mechanic’s tool, but most professional mechanics have a range of brushes to help with unique cleaning needs.
I salute those fearless farmer-mechanics. They build their own splitting stands, they figure out how to diagnose hydraulic flow and pressure problems and tackle large-scale repairs.
Even if we’ve done it every year for decades, it never hurts to have a primer to jog our memories about basic planter maintenance measurements.
From positive to negative, or from negative to positive? Depending on your viewpoint, it can flow either way.
Cleaning oil and grease, baked by engine or transmission heat, can be especially challenging. Here are some options.
Not all planter problems are as they first appear. Here is a guide to those less-common culprits.