Machine shop bill that I didn't mind paying.

I blew the nynon bushings and acompanying seals out of a front track idler on my Kubota KX41-3 trackhoe, and chewed it and the shaft up a bit.
Got a tip on an Amish machine shop and took the idler, shaft and forks down disassembled. Asked them to true up the center of the idler, about 2.75" ID, turn a steel filler bushing, and fit a brass bushing in center and make a new shaft. Also drill the idler for a greese jerk which it never had with the nylon bushings.
I picked it up today, and went in to settle up. This was the bill.
I payed the man, and asked if he had any need for some Case baler parts that I had in the back of my PU after removing them from my dads garage, over the weekend. He was a Case dealer and a well respected "baler man" He died 3 years back and my step mom wanted the part removed.
There were a couple of pto shafts front halves, complete with steel shields that he thought he could utilize and a couple paint buckets with new manure spreader links in them.
All said an done, I gave him a hundred and he gave me back fifty.
I'm not quite sure which sect he belongs to, as the shop is not elecrified with lights etc, All the small hand tools and many of the machine tools are air powered, by very big engine powered aircompressor, and he has several welders with self contained engines. Also a pretty nifty JD4010 with a front mtd forklift on all steel wheels.
Loren, the Acg.

Loren,

I guess you can't blame the Amish for inflation with a bill like that. That's the kind of place to keep old farm equipment going. Don

Bro that is a great price, this was my view when you called
cnt

Don,
We have an Amish farm equipment repair shop just down the road from us. He has really put a big dent into the service depts. of the local CNH and JD dealer's shop business. He has 4 fulltime mechanics, Most of his time is spent just keeping things moving.
When I went down to his place the other day to locate a machinest, they had so much work that they were working out in the yard. they had a Big JD forwarder with a planitary final blown out of it All setting on cribbing, with the front wheels and axle removed. There was a whole pallet of new parts setting in a corner of the shop and one lad was there rebuilding the axle assy.
Loren

ACG,

Among those baler parts would you happen to have a wind guard tension spring for a 230?

$30 per hour for machine shop labor?

Loren,

I traveled to the Landcaster PA area with a local trucker to pick up a couple of pallets of parts at Zimmermna's for my crawler. We stopped at an Amish machine shop run by a windmill/generator and gas engine power. You couldn't find a more modern machine shop anywhere. Also stopped at a large Amish NH baler business. They had a solar panel for electricity and they had a shop maybe 50-60 ft. wide and a 150- 200 ft. long. Bale chamber rusted out? No big deal. Cut off the old bale chamber and build a whole new one. frame rusted in two? Cut out the old frame and build a new frame. They built their own brand of hay tedders also. I'd wager they had $30,000 worth of new steel piled there. They were sending repairmen out to farms for on site reapirs also.