Re: Received my PowerUltra 205 Combo Unit yesterday!
I bought somebody's old MTD riding lawnmower a few years ago for $100 and have been messing around with it ever since. I spent last winter wire brushing all the rust off it and gave it a new paint job. With the Ultra205, I was able to replace the wimpy front end support with beefier square stock (see pic in my other reply). Anyway, after I sectioned out the square stock, I ground and beveled the edges and clamped it together to weld. I know, I should have used the Ultra205's TIG, but I haven't ever TIG welded and needed to practice first (plus, the grass is getting too high so I need to get the mower back into service). Anyway, I broke out the Hobart and welded the two seams. Again, as a hobbyist, I am still learning the machines and therefore I had the wire feed up too fast...very B-I-G welds. But hey, I also like to practice grinding and this was a golden opportunity. Came out nice, anyway, huh? So, the newly fabbed support is ready for machining. I did that on my Delta drill press (only sacrificed one 1/2" drill bit to the fabrication Gods) and painted it up...came out like I thought it would. Then it was just a matter of mounting it and installing the wheels and steering linkage (I painted that RED...cool). Now I've got what I call the "tractor tire look"...the front tires point toward themselves...I kinda like it since mine is probably the only rider around like that. It rides ok, so I don't think I want to spend the time bending the tabs that the steering linkage connects to to sort that out. It's custom...

I hope you like the pics and thanks for looking. My next project is to mount (weld!) some sort of front bumper so that IT gets trashed when I hit the side of my house, trees, etc., instead of the lawnmower's plastic HOOD. Wish me luck...
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