I can't understand why people don't enjoy watching this series. I love the fact that it is a one of a kind machine, without manuals, parts catalog, etc. This is where a technician can truly show his abilities. This is not showing some kid how to replace a spark plug. It's how a machine starts it's earliest conception. The original technicians did not build this to sell to a farmer and plow, it was built to sell the idea to the corporate bean counters and bankers. I love the fact that you're trying to restore that level, instead of trying to convert some of the parts into a later production tractor that would just get torn up in a field and be boring. I can imagine how the original technicians went home at night, causing some issue they had to find some way to invent.
It is cause people just want to see results immediately. They want to see part after part being put on and not how it actually works or why it is the way that is. This doesn't just to apply here but to basically everything in society.
I agree. Modern technology has sucked the inventioniness out of inventing. If you want to appreciate how good you have it now, you have to know how it used to be. The best evidence (as Perry Mason liked to say) would be to review the recordings made while the prototype was in the prototyping stages. Since there are no recordings to review, the next best is to watch an expert recreate those activities to the best of anyone’s abilities. We have that opportunity. We can’t expect everyone to like the same thing but Squatch is like the weather in New England. If you don’t like what he’s doing right now, come back the next day to see where the content has landed now. If you do like what he’s currently doing (or everything he does 🙋♂️), you should be subscribed and you should like each video. Leave a comment if you have something to say (courtesy, please). Everything we do feeds the algorithm which in turn allows him to keep doing what he does. 🥸👍👀❗️✅
Biggest problem with views on videos like this is the lack of immediate gratification, people are being trained very well by short form content to not have an attention span.
@@gherkinisgreat - Boy did you nail it! The downfall of society will be the rush to see and have it all immediately. In one of Alabama’s songs, “We’re in a hurry to get things done. We rush and rush till life’s no fun” Relax, have fun, make time for your family, let your children be children and don’t sweat the petty stuff. 🤠🖐️
This content deserves much more attention from anyone hoping to actually restore anything! You are museum quality preservation and restoration of a vital part of the history of industrial America. I will watch every episode until Christine rolls on her own or we all die screaming like the banshee Shop Vac!
FYI, it was X231 that got me to your channel. I have no connection with farming, American farming, tractors, ploughs etc, nor do I have any special appreciation for Minneapolis Moline machines. In fact I had never heard of the make before. After a couple of years watching your work, that has not changed a bit. What keeps me with this channel is the quality. The quality of your work, your knowledge, your experience. Also the resourcefullness that you show - especially with this X231 restoration. Last but not least your enthousiasm for your machines. I will never contemplate a restoration of an American heavy machine - yet your restoration work is fascinating. So please, keep this series going, it is engineering on a level that I can only dream of.
The same here. I found Squatch's channel and subed then and there. X231 being a one off touched my heart and I love and respect what Squatchy has done. I think X231 has proved her concept and more. 😊
It's spooky: all of this applies to me as well. In particular it was setting up the DIY line borer to machine the brazed-casting repair. It boggled my mind that you would go to such lengths to make this whole again. I'll keep watching these as long as you keep making them.
Squatch, I find it crazy that these vids are low performers. To me this is the real heart of any restorations, the work no one will ever see. Keep up the great work.
I can’t figure out why people wouldn’t like this series. I absolutely love it. I also love how you are trying to restore X231 back to as close to original as possible. It so important to keep it original it’s a special tractor. I’m glad it’s in your care you are doing a fantastic job. Keep up the great work. People that don’t watch this series don’t know what they are missing. The chance to see what a true craftsman can do. Thanks for a very educational and entertaining series.
I enjoy the compare and contrast aspect of the series! My understanding is the average person this stuff goes over or around their heads! I have many ideas that there are just a few people that would even be interested in. Back around 1974, when I was in the 5th grade, I had the idea of making a remote car starter. None of my classmates were even slightly interested! I didn't get past the concept stage.
Christine and the machining is what originally brought me to this channel. It's a shame it doesn't have the same draw as your "bigger brand" projects but I love it just the same!
It's a bummer that X231 has the least amount of attention (by viewers) on your channel. This project was the reason i subscribed, many, many years ago. Im glad it hasn't discouraged you from working hard to complete this awesome piece of history, even if it is a nightmare at every corner. Thank you, Squatch!
May I have your attention please! Squatch is making tools again....that is all, carry on. Glad to see you taking so much time to show us folks in UA-cam land what it takes to support these odd ball machines. Definitely helps carry over into other types of vehicles that are no longer supported or are custom one offs as well.
The beauty is in the fact that he doesn’t immediately go to spending a lot of money when he needs a “something” to get a job done. There are more than one ways to skin a cat and the Squatch will build his own cat-skinner if it can be done. He takes obvious delight in planning his work and working his plan so don’t ever feel sorry that he had to make it himself. If there were no problems to solve, he would invent the problem just so he could invent the solution. He’s gonna smile when he reads this one. 🥸👍👀
Squatch, X231 is the series that made me subscribe to you so many years ago. I was so invested in it having binge watched all of the episodes catching up on everything up until you put her on the back burner and I was initially bummed when you started other projects. The level of detail you go to achieve the same mentality and approach to rebirth X231 is what hooked me to the channel
It's funny... X231 is what brought me to the channel. I remember when you started on the Cat dozer and didn't go back to X231, I was like... what?! But I've enjoyed all your content... just have a soft spot for rare and unusual equipment.
This is a fantastic series, I’ve watched a couple video’s regarding Christine over several times. This channel is a great salute to agriculture and the folks like Squatch who put this degree of effort into saving another staple into the working class farmer. And please don’t fix that vacuum, it brings a quick laugh and absolutely makes my day.
Every time I hear you're vacuum I get a huge smile!😊 I have one that sounds similar. Thank you Toby for the excellent content and pushing forward on x231. it's the reason I started watching you.
X231 carries on the tradition of two steps forward, one or two steps back. The value is the overcoming of unforeseen difficulties that lay under the machine like alligators, waiting to bite . I can imagine that first start when it is ready. We’ll be here!
You are one of my top UA-camrs. I eagerly look forward to seeing any new post from you. In fact when I see a notification of a new video of yours I go to it immediately pausing any video I may be watching. Maybe you could do a short of taking apart that vacuum and lubricating it - or not. I've kinda gotten used to it and almost look forward to hearing it screech when you turn it off. :)
As I have been watching this hole tractor rebuild I have to admire what this tractor has done in the past. Being a prototype never meant to being put through the torture it was and holding up with all these one off unrefined parts for so many years. You have to give this tractor it's due. It put food on peoples tables and wasn't suppose to pull a single implement
I too like this series. I started watching this tractor when I first found this channel and have been waiting for him to get it back on its tires and running again.
Another great video! Yep lots of challenges! I find it so interesting how you do the repairs, fight and win in the end! Love your machine shop equipment and seeing how you use the tools that go with them. Thanks for all you do to show and explain your process of restoration!
Just want to say thank you. I've just recently started my adventures with fixing tractors, having bought a used tractor that had a hard life. It's just a start of a hobby but it is all so new to me and I've truly learned a huge amount from watching your channel. Things that you do naturally are not so obvious to me and have helped me quite a bit.
The other day my 8 year old daughter asked me how do you eat an elephant? I said I dunno. She proceeded to tell me, one bite at a time. Very eye opening from such a small child, but I now use this is my day to day work. Christine is a huge project, like an elephant, one bite at a time! Keep it up you're doing great. Love the project.
I have enjoyed this restoration on Christine. It truly shows the skill levels of both you and senior. You are going about it the right way and not just clobbering things together. Keep doing what you're doing.
I also don’t understand why Christine is not as popular as other projects you are involved with. She is quite the challenge and that is what makes her so enjoyable. Best wishes with further progress. Thanks for the video.
When I fabricating something for a client I frequently get asked how long will it take (Valid question :) ). Since almost everything I build is a one-off or prototype I'll give them a educated guess to a first milepost and at that point I can give them a better idea. You're remarkably patient with the Minneapolis Moline prototype. I find I don't have the level of patience I once had when I was younger, I'm not sure why that is. In my 30's I could hunker down of a project and see it through without it dragging me down. Today two plus decades later I seem to have gotten in the pattern of starting, then getting frustrated/burned out, diverting and not getting back to that project for weeks or months (or in the case of two different projects, years.).
I’m not that different with X231 though, the 6+ month layoffs from this project are about the only thing that keeps me going on it. If I had to fight something like this constantly without any breaks from it, I’d either just quit on it completely or sell the whole basket case to somebody else lol 😂
Very nice very precise! Sounds like we all have a shop mascot. I have a cat and you have a talking vacuum, 😂. Another great video! Doesn't matter if you fumble, it's how you finish the game!
You don't have to apologize for your equipment, or your machining expertise. You have excellent instincts and they lead you toward perfectly acceptable methodology, considering the tools available. BTW, those Bokum boring bars are fine, but you can actually use an endmill for boring using the same boring head. Toolmakers do this all the time. What you want to do is mount the endmill in the boring head loosely and hold the tool upside down with the endmill facing you. Arrange the flutes (whether a two-flute or four-flute endmill) aligned with one flute at the twelve o'clock position. Then back it off (Clockwise) a few degrees so you are sure to get good cutting action. If you are boring a deep hole, you might either relieve the endmill shank, or choose an endmill with flute diameter larger than the shank. You are doing a great job and I enjoy watching the process. And, by all means, do google the term "Indicol" - you will need one when you get your bridgeport.
I have always liked this series. Actually it was one of the earliest x231 videos that drew me to the channel and the other series have been just icing on the cake. My shop vac makes the same noise on shut down.
X231 is the reason I subscribed to your channel, found it when you were putting together your tooling for machining the rear housing. I have been a machinist for most of my life and have had to come up with many strange ways of doing things with less than the perfect piece of equipment for the job. Some of your solutions are very inventive and get the job done, even though you don't have the best machine for the job. I have a fairly well-equipped machine shop with quite a bit of tooling and I still have to resort to making tools or fixtures to get the weird jobs done. I have even made special cutters (I have a cutter grinder for that and sharpening cutters) for some jobs. Keep making the videos and using your talents and X231 will run again.
And this is why I joined this channel,X231 ! All the other stuff is great but X231 is why. Take your time and get it done as right as it can be. Can’t wait to see what you do after this is done.
I am sure it's not just me, but I really don't understand the low views. I am enjoying very much every segment of X321. Thanks Squatch, keep up the good work
This project just takes too long and progress goes too slow to be very appealing to most people. It takes a certain type of individual to appreciate the problem solving process in general, and a lot of people out there can’t relate to it because they don’t have any real experience in that area. Most are more interested in just seeing the end result than they are watching how everything gets to that point. That’s just what it is 👍
Toby, you do a marvelous job and have a hell of a lot more patience than I do on the project. It takes months or even years to complete the iterative, deliberate trial-and-error process, as you are aware. You may be sure that 99.99% of the problems have been resolved by the engineers in the background before the models are sent to the assembly line. After all, they don't want the product to be recalled after it is sold. To witness the iterative process in action, observe the construction of the SpaceX Starship or the Tesla vehicles, including cars, trucks, and robots. That is the closest approach to building a machine similar to the MM that I am aware of in the field of invention today. I get to watch you work so hard on a project like the MM, and I find it remarkable.
Toby: From the resident Ford tractor nut: I have the greatest admiration for you in tackling a project as complex as this. I have 9N 52 sitting out there in the rain. When it showed up on eBay I drove from Pennsylvania to Indiana to get it. It’s in really bad shape, with “farmer fixes” everywhere. It even has a sheet metal patch with roofing tar held on the block with 1/4 X 20 screws. Somebody obviously forgot antifreeze one year. It’s so bad that it’s depressing. It’s the fourth oldest N tractor known to exist. First week of production with Henry Ford himself no doubt watching it go down the line. I’ve owned it three or four years now and you are giving me the inspiration to finally tackle the restoration. I thank you!
That lathe brought back memories from high school. In metal shop we had 3 south bend lathes . They were all belt driven 2 were 10 inch chucks and one was a 16 inch chuck. We also had a belt driven drill press that stood 8 foot tall .it was all us army tooling. This was back in 1972 through 1975 when I was in high school. Denis from Santa Rosa CA
I like these videos where it takes you 2 days to drill one hole. It really makes your mechanical and machining abilities shine. The attention to detail is great and I always learn alot as a viewer not about quantity it's about quality.. keep up the good work!!!!!!
Hey Squatch . I did a similar job years ago on a bearing housing. My set up process was exactly the same with regard to your dial indicating . I had to the Extra step of having to show my work and set up to the erector who was in charge of the project. At the end of the day I bored out the out of round hole with an adjustable boring head just like your original set up . You are doing an excellent job . Your attention to the final outcome is spot on and it’s the final outcome that matters . Sometimes the path is not as straightforward as we would like . Your efforts provided a quality Job and precise finish is achieved. Well done ,keep at it and keep making these videos as they are of great value to many people who are interested in machine repair.
I'll never own any vintage tractors but there is still plenty interesting to learn about how things used to be made and the thought process of fixing items where bolt on replacements are completely unavailable. I'll keep watching and patiently waiting for the rock crusher videos
I think Squatch video’s are very good. His knowledge and craftmanship are one of a kind. I only know one other man on UA-cam with the same qualitys and that is Allen millyard!
I really appreciate the work you do.Irs hard to imagine the planning and precision it take to basically build most of the parts from scratch. And most important patience. Keep up the good work always enjoy all your projects especially when working with Senior
Great episode, as usual. The flywheel looks like it is machining nicely, cast iron usually doesn't give too many problems. It's just the limited space you have to make design improvements... and the rarity of the parts, and their age, and past abuse, and obvious prototyping rework, and, and, and
Yep you hit the nail on the head - just the “unobtanium” factor of these one-off unique prototype parts alone, combined with having to do “un-doable” things to them like permanently removing material, makes this one stressful project at times 👍
Thanks for the video Toby! It’s definitely going to take time to finish this but will be here watching every step of the way! Can’t wait to see what comes next!
The real reason to machine from the crank side of the flywheel is to be able to center with respect to the flywheel flange around which everything must be true. The spline galled because the screws that pinned it in place had some clearance allowing the spline to shift ever so slightly when under load. So the engineers did a bodge which you can improve on. One thing you can do is create a force fit and press the splined bushing in. Machinery's Handbook gives .008~.024" interference for the bore size you have. If you put a step on the splined bushing and go on the heavier side of interference fit that may solve the galling problem.
Because these videos are always a few days to a week old by the time I get them off of the camera and onto the main feed here, I'm usually finishing the next installment with the camera by the time I publish anything here so unfortunately most of what is discussed under what's currently playing has already happened. I did do the majority of what you mentioned here, although did not go up to that tight of a force fit with the new splined center. The raised step/ridge was also a feature that I built into the new hub, which helped a lot in positioning it for the following steps :-)
I have NEVER hit the thumbs up to so many comments in a post before! As one personal said, they saved me keystrokes with he comments. As another said, i love this series as well, i dont understand why viewer numbers decline, this is awesome! And finally, i have more faith in you and your skills than you do Toby!! Im betting you dont have to go back inside to fix or change things once its running, unless there is a catastrophic faure befond your control and not caused by your work!! Don't prove me wrong, lol
Hey Squatch, kinda surprised your boring head does not have holes to mount a tool radially, as opposed to only axially. But you easily overcame the lack! REALLY enjoying your channel. I love restoring old English Lister diesels, and learn a lot of general knowledge from your content. Keep up the good work, and regards from Oz.
Considering the original owner thought this was the best tractor on the place and worked the heck out of it. And seeing the comparisons of prototype parts and how the production parts improved upon them in every way. I'd have to think the production MM 445 must have been a heck of a tractor! I wonder why I haven't heard more about them.
I just love your channel....ALWAYS great to see such enthusiasm and engineering!!!! If there was just anyway possible for me to aquire the things you no longer remember....I could die a happy man!! But then again....something tells me there isn't much you've ever forgotten. (smile)
I find this build one of the most interesting you have done because it is a series of problems to be solved. How to restore irreplaceable stuff and keep it as original as possible. I suspect that originally the splined bush was just a press fit in the flywheel which failed very early on, possibly causing some embarrassment. I can imagine the tractor being torn down quickly and someone sent off to a workshop to repair the thing in a couple of hours. They came up with an innovative repair that obviously lasted years but eventually started to wear out causing the wallowing of the flywheel.
Squatch, no matter how many times you repair and rebuild it is still 1 step forward on the final outcome, Lil ol' Chrissie maybe putting up a fight but in the end she will realise that she's gunna be the bell of the plow field displays. let her know that
I remember a video from SuperFastMatt where he said: "It's been five months, so I'm now half way through my three month project..." -That's just the way it goes with these kinds of things. Makes for good video though!
Don't worry about the destination, we'll get there when we get there, Just enjoy the journey!! Squatch if you have a spindle clamp for your mill you can set up a dial indicator to the cutting tip for accurate adjustment.
x231 is great content i can't believe the views are low i love them so informative i love watching you with your knowledge of machining and making new parts to make it all work it's much more challenging and more fun to watch than a normal restoration tractor keep up the good work i love it all.
For a "proof of concept" machine, the previous owners sure flogged this thing like it owed them money. What I like about the work/repairs done up to this point is they seem to be more from a "technician/mechanic" perspective vice an engineering perspective. I'm not saying you didn't take the engineering perspective into account at all, as you've remained as true to the original "final delivery" design as what was left of her/available replacement parts would allow, but you've also incorporated tweaks to increase function, reliability, and repairability (if it didn't stray too far from the original design). I know her working days are over while she's under your stewardship, but if she had to be put to work, I'd feel better doing it with your finished product over how she originally left the R&D shop.
People want to see rapid progress - a 30-minute “resto-episode” showing the whole project from start to finish is about perfect for 75% of the people out there because they’re mainly just interested in seeing the end result. A lot of people can’t relate to very in-depth problem solving because they’ve never had to do it, therefore it doesn’t spark much interest plus theres no entertainment value. That’s why the channels that mainly feature sledge hammers, torches, and ether do so well with the masses - this isn’t a gripe, it’s an honest overview of the demographic.
@@squatch253Yup, my lack of of understand *why* people think a particular way doesn't change that way of thinking. I guess it's like someone who loves watching trains but has no interest in the machinery itself.
The front bolster is currently away at the radiator shop getting the new radiator core fitted to it, but when it comes back we still have a line-bore repair to do to the repaired end of the power steering piston opening, and then do a complete rebuild of the front steering pedestal swivel mount that resides in the bottom of it.
Yeah, you're setup for machining something always takes the longest. I have the same Matco micrometers. When using telescoping gauges, I like to lightly clamp the plastic pads of the mic in extremely soft jaws just enough to hold it while I work the clutch on the mic and t-gauge.
Nice work it's coming along 😅 yea with all the issuies Christine has had and for that matter uys hard to have a time to have the restoration complete the way I see It progress is progress and no corner have been cut that s the way to do it every thing right and great work can't wait to see it done and running and watch the process the rest of the way
I think so far the progress has been decent. I can see that with project like these it's never going to be a straight road forward. However that is also the beauty of it.
3:32 Short of having a brand new lathe or a fixed up lathe, you can't do small work in a big lathe, not efficiently not without hassle. You'll end up with all sorts of cones, truncated or otherwise or you have to spend more time on it than it's worth. I have one of those small lathes too (prolly made in Taiwan or Hong Kong as it's a touch better than what you get for super cheap these days - made in the late 90's), it's still a lathe, and if you set it up on a good solid surface and spruce it up here and there, it's a good mule to work with. I've mine on a slab of concrete with a few metallic legs i rescued from an cast iron lathe that was too saddled to work anymore. The only thing i wish to remedy on it now is the tail stock, i want to make one that has a deeper reach. I feel that even for such small lathes, the reach on them is too short for some operations. Other than that, it gets my approval. Still ten times better to make pins on it than trying to make them on the bigger ones and having to use a chuck in the chuck to make it work proper or using bigger stock to grab it properly. Some smaller size work just doesn't make sense on medium and large. And when you get to sizes like 3 meter and up... yeap. So little red lathe is still a lathe, even if it's little. You and Sr. made plenty of good things on it.
From machining brake rotors with our special “on the car” brake lathe years ago back at the Ford dealer. Learned the hard way that I needed to torque the adapter plate down on the rotor to the same spec as the lug nuts, because that tightening process actually moved the rotor’s braking surface a tiny amount. If you set the lathe runout to match a lightly tightened rotor and then made the cut, it only ran true at that torque setting. But when you would put the wheel back on and tighten the lug nuts to full torque, many times you had a new brake pedal pulsation because the tighter lug nuts moved the rotor surface from its prior setting, skewing the accuracy of the prior machining.
Regardless of the fact that X231 is the lowest performing content I find it fascinating. Every quirk and turn. All stuff you have to go through to bring it back from (worse than) dead.
I can't understand why people don't enjoy watching this series. I love the fact that it is a one of a kind machine, without manuals, parts catalog, etc. This is where a technician can truly show his abilities. This is not showing some kid how to replace a spark plug. It's how a machine starts it's earliest conception. The original technicians did not build this to sell to a farmer and plow, it was built to sell the idea to the corporate bean counters and bankers. I love the fact that you're trying to restore that level, instead of trying to convert some of the parts into a later production tractor that would just get torn up in a field and be boring. I can imagine how the original technicians went home at night, causing some issue they had to find some way to invent.
Hey up mate you've just saved me a load of button pressing, I agree totally with your comments
It is cause people just want to see results immediately. They want to see part after part being put on and not how it actually works or why it is the way that is. This doesn't just to apply here but to basically everything in society.
I agree. Modern technology has sucked the inventioniness out of inventing. If you want to appreciate how good you have it now, you have to know how it used to be. The best evidence (as Perry Mason liked to say) would be to review the recordings made while the prototype was in the prototyping stages. Since there are no recordings to review, the next best is to watch an expert recreate those activities to the best of anyone’s abilities. We have that opportunity. We can’t expect everyone to like the same thing but Squatch is like the weather in New England. If you don’t like what he’s doing right now, come back the next day to see where the content has landed now. If you do like what he’s currently doing (or everything he does 🙋♂️), you should be subscribed and you should like each video. Leave a comment if you have something to say (courtesy, please). Everything we do feeds the algorithm which in turn allows him to keep doing what he does. 🥸👍👀❗️✅
Biggest problem with views on videos like this is the lack of immediate gratification, people are being trained very well by short form content to not have an attention span.
@@gherkinisgreat - Boy did you nail it! The downfall of society will be the rush to see and have it all immediately. In one of Alabama’s songs,
“We’re in a hurry to get things done.
We rush and rush till life’s no fun”
Relax, have fun, make time for your family, let your children be children and don’t sweat the petty stuff. 🤠🖐️
This content deserves much more attention from anyone hoping to actually restore anything! You are museum quality preservation and restoration of a vital part of the history of industrial America. I will watch every episode until Christine rolls on her own or we all die screaming like the banshee Shop Vac!
Speaking for myself Toby, I can't get enough X231 content
FYI, it was X231 that got me to your channel. I have no connection with farming, American farming, tractors, ploughs etc, nor do I have any special appreciation for Minneapolis Moline machines. In fact I had never heard of the make before. After a couple of years watching your work, that has not changed a bit. What keeps me with this channel is the quality. The quality of your work, your knowledge, your experience. Also the resourcefullness that you show - especially with this X231 restoration. Last but not least your enthousiasm for your machines. I will never contemplate a restoration of an American heavy machine - yet your restoration work is fascinating. So please, keep this series going, it is engineering on a level that I can only dream of.
The same here. I found Squatch's channel and subed then and there. X231 being a one off touched my heart and I love and respect what Squatchy has done. I think X231 has proved her concept and more. 😊
It's spooky: all of this applies to me as well. In particular it was setting up the DIY line borer to machine the brazed-casting repair. It boggled my mind that you would go to such lengths to make this whole again. I'll keep watching these as long as you keep making them.
Squatch, I find it crazy that these vids are low performers. To me this is the real heart of any restorations, the work no one will ever see. Keep up the great work.
Wheels on the ground is going to be a huge milestone! I hope that renews enthusiasm for both yourself and the channel.
I can’t figure out why people wouldn’t like this series. I absolutely love it. I also love how you are trying to restore X231 back to as close to original as possible. It so important to keep it original it’s a special tractor. I’m glad it’s in your care you are doing a fantastic job. Keep up the great work. People that don’t watch this series don’t know what they are missing. The chance to see what a true craftsman can do. Thanks for a very educational and entertaining series.
I enjoy the compare and contrast aspect of the series!
My understanding is the average person this stuff goes over or around their heads!
I have many ideas that there are just a few people that would even be interested in.
Back around 1974, when I was in the 5th grade, I had the idea of making a remote car starter. None of my classmates were even slightly interested! I didn't get past the concept stage.
Christine and the machining is what originally brought me to this channel. It's a shame it doesn't have the same draw as your "bigger brand" projects but I love it just the same!
It's a bummer that X231 has the least amount of attention (by viewers) on your channel. This project was the reason i subscribed, many, many years ago. Im glad it hasn't discouraged you from working hard to complete this awesome piece of history, even if it is a nightmare at every corner. Thank you, Squatch!
May I have your attention please! Squatch is making tools again....that is all, carry on. Glad to see you taking so much time to show us folks in UA-cam land what it takes to support these odd ball machines. Definitely helps carry over into other types of vehicles that are no longer supported or are custom one offs as well.
The beauty is in the fact that he doesn’t immediately go to spending a lot of money when he needs a “something” to get a job done. There are more than one ways to skin a cat and the Squatch will build his own cat-skinner if it can be done. He takes obvious delight in planning his work and working his plan so don’t ever feel sorry that he had to make it himself. If there were no problems to solve, he would invent the problem just so he could invent the solution. He’s gonna smile when he reads this one. 🥸👍👀
Squatch, I enjoy the X231 videos as much as all of your other content. Please keep them coming. Thanks.
Squatch, X231 is the series that made me subscribe to you so many years ago. I was so invested in it having binge watched all of the episodes catching up on everything up until you put her on the back burner and I was initially bummed when you started other projects. The level of detail you go to achieve the same mentality and approach to rebirth X231 is what hooked me to the channel
It's funny... X231 is what brought me to the channel. I remember when you started on the Cat dozer and didn't go back to X231, I was like... what?! But I've enjoyed all your content... just have a soft spot for rare and unusual equipment.
This. When you drug home 5J211 I said, “cool”. Then you STOPPED working on X231 and I was sad.
231 was for me also
This is a fantastic series, I’ve watched a couple video’s regarding Christine over several times. This channel is a great salute to agriculture and the folks like Squatch who put this degree of effort into saving another staple into the working class farmer.
And please don’t fix that vacuum, it brings a quick laugh and absolutely makes my day.
Another great video! Absolutely can't wait to see it with wheels on the ground!
Every time I hear you're vacuum I get a huge smile!😊
I have one that sounds similar.
Thank you Toby for the excellent content and pushing forward on x231. it's the reason I started watching you.
X231 carries on the tradition of two steps forward, one or two steps back. The value is the overcoming of unforeseen difficulties that lay under the machine like alligators, waiting to bite . I can imagine that first start when it is ready. We’ll be here!
X231 was the first thing I watched on your channel. Work onX231 is still my favorite thing to watch. 😊👍
You are one of my top UA-camrs. I eagerly look forward to seeing any new post from you. In fact when I see a notification of a new video of yours I go to it immediately pausing any video I may be watching.
Maybe you could do a short of taking apart that vacuum and lubricating it - or not. I've kinda gotten used to it and almost look forward to hearing it screech when you turn it off. :)
As I have been watching this hole tractor rebuild I have to admire what this tractor has done in the past. Being a prototype never meant to being put through the torture it was and holding up with all these one off unrefined parts for so many years. You have to give this tractor it's due. It put food on peoples tables and wasn't suppose to pull a single implement
I too like this series. I started watching this tractor when I first found this channel and have been waiting for him to get it back on its tires and running again.
I like seeing X231 stuff and it's nice when senior gives appearance .
I love the x231 content, keep up the great work
Another great video! Yep lots of challenges! I find it so interesting how you do the repairs, fight and win in the end! Love your machine shop equipment and seeing how you use the tools that go with them. Thanks for all you do to show and explain your process of restoration!
Just want to say thank you. I've just recently started my adventures with fixing tractors, having bought a used tractor that had a hard life. It's just a start of a hobby but it is all so new to me and I've truly learned a huge amount from watching your channel. Things that you do naturally are not so obvious to me and have helped me quite a bit.
The other day my 8 year old daughter asked me how do you eat an elephant? I said I dunno. She proceeded to tell me, one bite at a time. Very eye opening from such a small child, but I now use this is my day to day work. Christine is a huge project, like an elephant, one bite at a time! Keep it up you're doing great. Love the project.
I have enjoyed this restoration on Christine. It truly shows the skill levels of both you and senior. You are going about it the right way and not just clobbering things together. Keep doing what you're doing.
I also don’t understand why Christine is not as popular as other projects you are involved with. She is quite the challenge and that is what makes her so enjoyable. Best wishes with further progress. Thanks for the video.
When I fabricating something for a client I frequently get asked how long will it take (Valid question :) ).
Since almost everything I build is a one-off or prototype I'll give them a educated guess to a first milepost and at that point I can give them a better idea.
You're remarkably patient with the Minneapolis Moline prototype. I find I don't have the level of patience I once had when I was younger, I'm not sure why that is. In my 30's I could hunker down of a project and see it through without it dragging me down. Today two plus decades later I seem to have gotten in the pattern of starting, then getting frustrated/burned out, diverting and not getting back to that project for weeks or months (or in the case of two different projects, years.).
I’m not that different with X231 though, the 6+ month layoffs from this project are about the only thing that keeps me going on it. If I had to fight something like this constantly without any breaks from it, I’d either just quit on it completely or sell the whole basket case to somebody else lol 😂
Very nice very precise! Sounds like we all have a shop mascot. I have a cat and you have a talking vacuum, 😂. Another great video! Doesn't matter if you fumble, it's how you finish the game!
You don't have to apologize for your equipment, or your machining expertise. You have excellent instincts and they lead you toward perfectly acceptable methodology, considering the tools available. BTW, those Bokum boring bars are fine, but you can actually use an endmill for boring using the same boring head. Toolmakers do this all the time. What you want to do is mount the endmill in the boring head loosely and hold the tool upside down with the endmill facing you. Arrange the flutes (whether a two-flute or four-flute endmill) aligned with one flute at the twelve o'clock position. Then back it off (Clockwise) a few degrees so you are sure to get good cutting action. If you are boring a deep hole, you might either relieve the endmill shank, or choose an endmill with flute diameter larger than the shank. You are doing a great job and I enjoy watching the process. And, by all means, do google the term "Indicol" - you will need one when you get your bridgeport.
I have always liked this series. Actually it was one of the earliest x231 videos that drew me to the channel and the other series have been just icing on the cake. My shop vac makes the same noise on shut down.
X231 is the reason I subscribed to your channel, found it when you were putting together your tooling for machining the rear housing. I have been a machinist for most of my life and have had to come up with many strange ways of doing things with less than the perfect piece of equipment for the job. Some of your solutions are very inventive and get the job done, even though you don't have the best machine for the job. I have a fairly well-equipped machine shop with quite a bit of tooling and I still have to resort to making tools or fixtures to get the weird jobs done. I have even made special cutters (I have a cutter grinder for that and sharpening cutters) for some jobs.
Keep making the videos and using your talents and X231 will run again.
And this is why I joined this channel,X231 ! All the other stuff is great but X231 is why. Take your time and get it done as right as it can be. Can’t wait to see what you do after this is done.
I am sure it's not just me, but I really don't understand the low views. I am enjoying very much every segment of X321. Thanks Squatch, keep up the good work
This project just takes too long and progress goes too slow to be very appealing to most people. It takes a certain type of individual to appreciate the problem solving process in general, and a lot of people out there can’t relate to it because they don’t have any real experience in that area. Most are more interested in just seeing the end result than they are watching how everything gets to that point. That’s just what it is 👍
Toby, you do a marvelous job and have a hell of a lot more patience than I do on the project. It takes months or even years to complete the iterative, deliberate trial-and-error process, as you are aware. You may be sure that 99.99% of the problems have been resolved by the engineers in the background before the models are sent to the assembly line. After all, they don't want the product to be recalled after it is sold. To witness the iterative process in action, observe the construction of the SpaceX Starship or the Tesla vehicles, including cars, trucks, and robots. That is the closest approach to building a machine similar to the MM that I am aware of in the field of invention today. I get to watch you work so hard on a project like the MM, and I find it remarkable.
Toby:
From the resident Ford tractor nut:
I have the greatest admiration for you in tackling a project as complex as this. I have 9N 52 sitting out there in the rain. When it showed up on eBay I drove from Pennsylvania to Indiana to get it. It’s in really bad shape, with “farmer fixes” everywhere. It even has a sheet metal patch with roofing tar held on the block with 1/4 X 20 screws. Somebody obviously forgot antifreeze one year. It’s so bad that it’s depressing.
It’s the fourth oldest N tractor known to exist. First week of production with Henry Ford himself no doubt watching it go down the line.
I’ve owned it three or four years now and you are giving me the inspiration to finally tackle the restoration. I thank you!
Well done, Squatch
If it was easy it wouldn't be Christine
And it's always nice to hear the shop vac in action 👍
He's almost becoming part of the family: Vick the Vac?
"No Click, No Slack" you should get that put on T-shirts when you open a merch store
That lathe brought back memories from high school. In metal shop we had 3 south bend lathes . They were all belt driven 2 were 10 inch chucks and one was a 16 inch chuck. We also had a belt driven drill press that stood 8 foot tall .it was all us army tooling. This was back in 1972 through 1975 when I was in high school. Denis from Santa Rosa CA
I like these videos where it takes you 2 days to drill one hole. It really makes your mechanical and machining abilities shine. The attention to detail is great and I always learn alot as a viewer not about quantity it's about quality.. keep up the good work!!!!!!
Good update on the X!
Some of us ride along on your adventure happily as things just take time.
Hey Squatch .
I did a similar job years ago on a bearing housing.
My set up process was exactly the same with regard to your dial indicating .
I had to the Extra step of having to show my work and set up to the erector who was in charge of the project.
At the end of the day I bored out the out of round hole with an adjustable boring head just like your original set up .
You are doing an excellent job . Your attention to the final outcome is spot on and it’s the final outcome that matters . Sometimes the path is not as straightforward as we would like .
Your efforts provided a quality Job and precise finish is achieved.
Well done ,keep at it and keep making these videos as they are of great value to many people who are interested in machine repair.
Good morning squatch I wanna wish you your father and your family a very happy Easter and I do love this project no matter what anybody says
I'll never own any vintage tractors but there is still plenty interesting to learn about how things used to be made and the thought process of fixing items where bolt on replacements are completely unavailable. I'll keep watching and patiently waiting for the rock crusher videos
I think Squatch video’s are very good. His knowledge and craftmanship are one of a kind. I only know one other man on UA-cam with the same qualitys and that is Allen millyard!
The Man That Never Made A Mistake Never Made Anything.
I really appreciate the work you do.Irs hard to imagine the planning and precision it take to basically build most of the parts from scratch. And most important patience. Keep up the good work always enjoy all your projects especially when working with Senior
Thanks for the plan! Looking forward to seeing it on wheels, sometime in the future! Cheers
Great episode, as usual. The flywheel looks like it is machining nicely, cast iron usually doesn't give too many problems. It's just the limited space you have to make design improvements... and the rarity of the parts, and their age, and past abuse, and obvious prototyping rework, and, and, and
Yep you hit the nail on the head - just the “unobtanium” factor of these one-off unique prototype parts alone, combined with having to do “un-doable” things to them like permanently removing material, makes this one stressful project at times 👍
Thanks for the video Toby! It’s definitely going to take time to finish this but will be here watching every step of the way! Can’t wait to see what comes next!
The real reason to machine from the crank side of the flywheel is to be able to center with respect to the flywheel flange around which everything must be true.
The spline galled because the screws that pinned it in place had some clearance allowing the spline to shift ever so slightly when under load.
So the engineers did a bodge which you can improve on.
One thing you can do is create a force fit and press the splined bushing in. Machinery's Handbook gives .008~.024" interference for the bore size you have. If you put a step on the splined bushing and go on the heavier side of interference fit that may solve the galling problem.
Because these videos are always a few days to a week old by the time I get them off of the camera and onto the main feed here, I'm usually finishing the next installment with the camera by the time I publish anything here so unfortunately most of what is discussed under what's currently playing has already happened. I did do the majority of what you mentioned here, although did not go up to that tight of a force fit with the new splined center. The raised step/ridge was also a feature that I built into the new hub, which helped a lot in positioning it for the following steps :-)
The proto type shop was one of my favorite places to work in the shop. It used robotic welding so i would get to work in the area on occasion.
"How many holes per day can you do?" "Two." "That seems slow, only two per day?" "No, that's two days per hole." :-) Keep up the good work!
lol 😂
I am enjoying X231
I'm glad to see that you are getting out more content on the channel.
Remember, the editing doesn't need to be perfect, just more videos!
Happy days!
I have NEVER hit the thumbs up to so many comments in a post before! As one personal said, they saved me keystrokes with he comments. As another said, i love this series as well, i dont understand why viewer numbers decline, this is awesome! And finally, i have more faith in you and your skills than you do Toby!! Im betting you dont have to go back inside to fix or change things once its running, unless there is a catastrophic faure befond your control and not caused by your work!! Don't prove me wrong, lol
I love the X231 series, great content and entertaining
Hey Squatch, kinda surprised your boring head does not have holes to mount a tool radially, as opposed to only axially. But you easily overcame the lack!
REALLY enjoying your channel. I love restoring old English Lister diesels, and learn a lot of general knowledge from your content. Keep up the good work, and regards from Oz.
Excellent video it's nice to see you making progress with the flywheel drive hub .keep up the great videos
To have the tooling and the knowledge to build and machine your parts is awesome. Denis from Santa Rosa CA
Considering the original owner thought this was the best tractor on the place and worked the heck out of it. And seeing the comparisons of prototype parts and how the production parts improved upon them in every way. I'd have to think the production MM 445 must have been a heck of a tractor! I wonder why I haven't heard more about them.
I just love your channel....ALWAYS great to see such enthusiasm and engineering!!!! If there was just anyway possible for me to aquire the things you no longer remember....I could die a happy man!! But then again....something tells me there isn't much you've ever forgotten. (smile)
I find this build one of the most interesting you have done because it is a series of problems to be solved. How to restore irreplaceable stuff and keep it as original as possible. I suspect that originally the splined bush was just a press fit in the flywheel which failed very early on, possibly causing some embarrassment. I can imagine the tractor being torn down quickly and someone sent off to a workshop to repair the thing in a couple of hours. They came up with an innovative repair that obviously lasted years but eventually started to wear out causing the wallowing of the flywheel.
I enjoy every thing you put out. I like x231 and the way you been rebuilding the machine the machine work youve done . Its fascinating to watch.
30 minutes of video: Machining, 2 hours. Preparation dor machining, 2 days. Preparing to capture on camera, 1 day. Results: priceless 😊
You’ve pretty much summed it all up too, with almost perfect accuracy lol 👍
Squatch, no matter how many times you repair and rebuild it is still 1 step forward on the final outcome, Lil ol' Chrissie maybe putting up a fight but in the end she will realise that she's gunna be the bell of the plow field displays. let her know that
I remember a video from SuperFastMatt where he said: "It's been five months, so I'm now half way through my three month project..." -That's just the way it goes with these kinds of things. Makes for good video though!
Excellent great. Job happy holidays cheers 🥂 😊
You are very smart and you fix things the right way and you are funny 😂😂 thanks!!! for the videos
Ican paint weld grind valves etc but x231 has me sitting at attention because of your machine work and resourses I love it.
I love the X231 series!!!
Don't worry about the destination, we'll get there when we get there, Just enjoy the journey!!
Squatch if you have a spindle clamp for your mill you can set up a dial indicator to the cutting tip for accurate adjustment.
x231 is great content i can't believe the views are low i love them so informative i love watching you with your knowledge of machining and making new parts to make it all work it's much more challenging and more fun to watch than a normal restoration tractor keep up the good work i love it all.
Keep up the good work. Love x231 videos.
For a "proof of concept" machine, the previous owners sure flogged this thing like it owed them money. What I like about the work/repairs done up to this point is they seem to be more from a "technician/mechanic" perspective vice an engineering perspective. I'm not saying you didn't take the engineering perspective into account at all, as you've remained as true to the original "final delivery" design as what was left of her/available replacement parts would allow, but you've also incorporated tweaks to increase function, reliability, and repairability (if it didn't stray too far from the original design). I know her working days are over while she's under your stewardship, but if she had to be put to work, I'd feel better doing it with your finished product over how she originally left the R&D shop.
I enjoyed the measurement & setup work. I've done similar precision survey work on a large hole in the ground for a rocket like thingy.
Don't really understand why X231 views drop off. The complications make it much more interesting than a straight parts-swap rebuild.
People want to see rapid progress - a 30-minute “resto-episode” showing the whole project from start to finish is about perfect for 75% of the people out there because they’re mainly just interested in seeing the end result. A lot of people can’t relate to very in-depth problem solving because they’ve never had to do it, therefore it doesn’t spark much interest plus theres no entertainment value. That’s why the channels that mainly feature sledge hammers, torches, and ether do so well with the masses - this isn’t a gripe, it’s an honest overview of the demographic.
@@squatch253Yup, my lack of of understand *why* people think a particular way doesn't change that way of thinking. I guess it's like someone who loves watching trains but has no interest in the machinery itself.
Your attention to detail is amazing. I am still hoping you will get into the graders at some point.
You are the Bob Ross of tractors.
man that is going to be a huge feat to get all four wheels on the ground!
You’re absolutely right - just the work that is still ahead of us on that front bolster casting/steering mechanism alone is substantial.
Very true. Is it just the complexity of transmission, and the shape it was in or are things starting to fight you at least a little less?
The front bolster is currently away at the radiator shop getting the new radiator core fitted to it, but when it comes back we still have a line-bore repair to do to the repaired end of the power steering piston opening, and then do a complete rebuild of the front steering pedestal swivel mount that resides in the bottom of it.
Yay, about that long - admire your precision and accuracy, have used that measurement myself many times.
More wonderful work and you can take alot of these tricks and apply them to other projects.
Good job. T appreciate knowing the planned workflow which I am sure will have a few more oops moments!
Yeah, you're setup for machining something always takes the longest. I have the same Matco micrometers. When using telescoping gauges, I like to lightly clamp the plastic pads of the mic in extremely soft jaws just enough to hold it while I work the clutch on the mic and t-gauge.
Gotta Love these Extreme one off tools. lol Very nice.
22:32 estimated completion date was 10 years ago 😂. Reality isn't so rosy. again, thanks for sharing with us. keep on doing what you do❤
Nice work it's coming along 😅 yea with all the issuies Christine has had and for that matter uys hard to have a time to have the restoration complete the way I see It progress is progress and no corner have been cut that s the way to do it every thing right and great work can't wait to see it done and running and watch the process the rest of the way
Outstanding!
I think so far the progress has been decent. I can see that with project like these it's never going to be a straight road forward. However that is also the beauty of it.
Thanks for the video Toby. Cheers
If you ever get a chance, try a coax indicator, they are a real time saver & the dial is always facing you. keep plugging away, thanks
No worries brother! Who among us is perfect?! BTW, I for one am loving the X-231 content.
Another great episode waiting for more
3:32 Short of having a brand new lathe or a fixed up lathe, you can't do small work in a big lathe, not efficiently not without hassle. You'll end up with all sorts of cones, truncated or otherwise or you have to spend more time on it than it's worth.
I have one of those small lathes too (prolly made in Taiwan or Hong Kong as it's a touch better than what you get for super cheap these days - made in the late 90's), it's still a lathe, and if you set it up on a good solid surface and spruce it up here and there, it's a good mule to work with.
I've mine on a slab of concrete with a few metallic legs i rescued from an cast iron lathe that was too saddled to work anymore. The only thing i wish to remedy on it now is the tail stock, i want to make one that has a deeper reach. I feel that even for such small lathes, the reach on them is too short for some operations. Other than that, it gets my approval. Still ten times better to make pins on it than trying to make them on the bigger ones and having to use a chuck in the chuck to make it work proper or using bigger stock to grab it properly. Some smaller size work just doesn't make sense on medium and large.
And when you get to sizes like 3 meter and up... yeap. So little red lathe is still a lathe, even if it's little. You and Sr. made plenty of good things on it.
Great video as always
What was the lesson that inspired you to check for rebound in such a large, thick piece of material?
From machining brake rotors with our special “on the car” brake lathe years ago back at the Ford dealer. Learned the hard way that I needed to torque the adapter plate down on the rotor to the same spec as the lug nuts, because that tightening process actually moved the rotor’s braking surface a tiny amount. If you set the lathe runout to match a lightly tightened rotor and then made the cut, it only ran true at that torque setting. But when you would put the wheel back on and tighten the lug nuts to full torque, many times you had a new brake pedal pulsation because the tighter lug nuts moved the rotor surface from its prior setting, skewing the accuracy of the prior machining.
Good video
Well, you could always respond to the "when will it be done?" question like Leo with Tally Ho. He has been saying "in two years" for five years now.😊
Regardless of the fact that X231 is the lowest performing content I find it fascinating. Every quirk and turn. All stuff you have to go through to bring it back from (worse than) dead.