Archive for the 'The Militant Mechanic' Category

Demo the SIP Reel Grinder

Published on June 26, 2010 in In the Shop and The Militant Mechanic. 0 Comments

We just had a demo of the SIP Peerless 7000 reel grinder. What really sets this apart form other grinders is it grinds parallel to the reel rollers. The way that this happens is the table is machined so the surface that the reel sets on while grinding, is parallel to the grinding wheel travel. There is no individual adjustment to each end of the grinder, only up or down along the entire length of the travel.

What’s the benefit of that to a shop? Once you’ve gone through your reels and have ground everything true, regrinding or touchups are quick.. very quick and you are assured that your grind is absolutely parallel. Myself and a lot of people grind with other machines and there are ways to assure you have outstanding reels without this setup. It’s just that after trying this it is amazingly easy.

The image to the right here, is of Mark Pilger, CEO of SIP is using their Pii tape to determine the diameter of the reels. The image to the left shows the left and right diameters of the reels of the fairway machine we tested this on. The reel is then put on the grinder and adjusted to grind down the large side first and true it up. This is done in spin mode. The motor that spins the reel can be moved from side to side depending on the reel and automatically changes direction depending on which side of the machine it’s plugged into. It has a counter that can be set for the number of passes across the reel and an auto feed for the grind wheel. So once it was set up and spinning, the reel would go back and forth, each time would reduce the amount of passes on the counter and on each pass the auto feed would turn the hand wheel in about 1.5 thousands.

An exceptional feature of the machine is it can also grind in relief. This is done by adding an index device to the grinding head and changing the grinding stone to a thinner model. Rather then having a guide finger to keep the grinding wheel against the reel it relies on a torque clutch on the drive motor. So you set the clutch, and adjust the index guide to the reel blade and adjust the amount of grind you want. We were able to grind all the relief in each blade in one pass around. The indexer made this an automatic deal.

Mark was grinding the 5 reels on one of our Toro 5410 fairway mowers. These have groomers on the front of the reel and rear roller brushes on the rear. That’s about as many options as you can get on one. We had just done our other mower the day before with another grinder and spin only. These we put in a lot of relief. We’re going to see how they differ over a period of time.

We also tried out their bedknife grinder. To be honest, I was pretty skeptical about it, particularly that it had 2 grinding wheels and motors. That was an eyeopener. To start with, the grinders are fixed and the knife carrier travels back and forth on fixed rails. The whole thing is rock solid and smooth. Most bedknife grinders rely on their simplicity to switch between grinding the top and front face.. This seems to set a new bar because you don’t have to move anything.

The bedknife itself sits on a machined bar and a point (ball bearing) with two in/out adjustments and 2 clamps. Really simple and once adjusted works for all knives in that series. The grinding adjustment is super easy for both the top and front. The angles are selected for each face by inserting a pin in the appropriate hole. They have a special stone to handle the tool steel insert knives we use and a micro mist coolant system to keep the grinding temp down. Like I said, it was an eyeopener to use and incredibly fast..

If you’re looking for a grinder I think you owe it to yourself to try this out. Checkout more of their products at The SIP Website.

The Atomic Blade Deal

Published on May 24, 2010 in The Militant Mechanic. 0 Comments

this is the Atomic blade. if you buy 1, they are 19.56, of you buy a 5 pack for a 4500, they are 70.86 or 14.72. if you buy a 7 pack for a 4700 they are 127.86 or 18.26 each. I called them up to check and those were the prices. Then explained the costs and ordered 5 – 5 packs.

Stihl the Best

Published on May 23, 2010 in The Militant Mechanic. 2 Comments

I started in turf maintenance in the 80′s with my own lawn care service. During that period I began to appreciate well built equipment. Not that I hadn’t before, but not in this industry. Over the years I’ve tried quite a bit of what’s out there and now that I’ve been in the golf industry 2 decades I’ve settled on certain choices. One of those is our small tools.

We started using Stihl chainsaws in the early 90′s and had other manufactures products for line trimmers, edgers, and hedge trimmers. Over the years we’ve experimented with other makes items. Little by little we’ve phased out what we had and replaced them with Stihl. Most of this was determined by the quality of the product and that they worked well. When they first came out with stick edgers, we bought one, but stayed with what we were using for a few more years. Same with the line trimmers, tried one and then waited.

I didn’t actually wait for them to come out with a new model, just used what I thought was best and finally they had the one we used.. It’s really more of a survival of the fittest. One of the good things about this was we could usually get our parts and most times we could have them shipped UPS. To me, that’s a key. It costs quite a bit for me to drive 45 minutes to their shop, get what we need, then return. Quite a bit more than the UPS charge.

One of the really good things about it was I signed up for a training seminar at their Orlando facility. That was great. I’ve included some pics of their facility as it is the best one I’ve been to.

Here’s one of the reason’s I think they’re doing so well. (besides making great equipment) after the class the Manager came in, introduced himself and asked if there was anything else they could do for us.. I asked about being able to get the parts books, which is one item you usually have to do a little work to get. A few months later I found I was on a mailing list for the Stihl CD. I receive one about every 6 months with updated info. What it does for me is allow me to get the parts I need without having to describe them over the phone or drive in. It speeds it up and saves money. That’s a hard combination to beat.

Ladies Day

Published on May 3, 2010 in The Militant Mechanic. 0 Comments

I’m not sure our course is very different from other courses. We’re open 7 days a week, year around. We have no “Maintenance Day”, a day set aside for aerating, topdressing, verticutting, fertilizing, etc.

Most of those agronomic chores we begin on Tuesday, which just happens to be “Lady’s Day”. Why we don’t start some of our practices on Monday, or the Lady’s start on Wednesday, I don’t know. That’s just the way it is here. It seems a shame but at times, the Lady’s groups are viewed more as an inconvenience and an obstacle.

I look at my Mom in this light and what I see amazes me. Here’s a woman, who is barely 5’1” and as she says, “And shrinking”, who on a very good day can drive the ball 150 yards. She’s played at some of the better known and recognized clubs in the country, not that anyone would recognize her, but just because of her enjoyment of the game.

She’s the one who kept entering the ticket lotto for practice day tickets at Augusta, and then took the family there when she got them. (Twice) I’ve seen here walkup to a 6’4” linebacker type and ask if he’d mind letting a “short person” stand in front. Dad and I’d be left in the back while one way or another she’d work her way up to the ropes. At Augusta, we never saw the front nine. Mom had trouble walking. It was tough for her, we stopped regularly for breaks. Still, she managed to see her favorites, truly enjoyed being on the course and appreciated the efforts of the staff.

She’s the one who insists on the Membership in their Country Club, not Dad. She’s the one who goes for lessons, always trying to improve her game, brings him for Sunday Brunch and participates in the social activities. She’s the one who knows practically every employee by name and always has something nice to say to him or her.

Even though she’s been playing golf over forty years she also liked tennis. But shoulder surgery took care of that. Her running days ended with hip surgery. Recently, after triple bypass surgery, within 15 minutes of coming out of anesthesia, she let me know she wouldn’t be able to play golf for 3 months. Nascar would kill to have fans this devoted.

When I see the Lady’s driving out for their shotgun start, I wonder. What have there lives been like? How did they end up here on this day? It would be reasonable to assume that they represent our Grandmothers, Mother’s, Wives, Daughters and Girlfriends. I can surmise that they aren’t out trying to impress some client or cut some kind of deal. Which leaves one with the possibility that they just may be out here, on the day the club allotted, because they enjoy the game of golf.

Limited iPhone at work…

Published on March 18, 2010 in The Militant Mechanic. 0 Comments

No cellphones at work.. Can you imagine a waiter answering a call while waiting on a table?? They came up with a plan that Supervisors with Managers permission could use their phones. I’m not sure what happened but that’s finished now. No cellphones except company issued ones. I’m not sure what happened….

Not that I used it much but it was becoming unbelievably useful. If someone said they needed something I could put it in a note. I could talk to tech support while working a machine. Being able to take pictures with it was great. Being able to do this on a break was too The iPod portion was very cool after everyone had left and being able to listen to Pandora was a lot of fun..

I’ve even gotten into Filemaker working on a program for the shop that works on an iPhone, iPod touch and I guess iPad.. I’m thinking the iPod or iPad would be fun to keep track of the equipment on.. We’ll see.

China Syndrome

Published on February 17, 2010 in The Militant Mechanic. 0 Comments

We have a fleet of Club Car CarryAll vehicles. They’ve been remarkable over the years. This is my second fleet, the first one lasted 12 years. With this group I seem to be adjusting brakes more but the starters have been holding up better. Although now, at 6 years, I’ve been hearing some really horrible noises from several. Going through the steps it turns out to be starter/generator bearings. So now I’m going through a few of those and since I just put my last new starter on, I ordered one for stock along with bearing sets for a few others.

DSCN1965

WOW… Not what I expected. The usual starter is made in Korea and just about a work of art. The new one came from China and still has the sanding marks on the castings. It is bi-directional which means you no longer need one for CarryAll 1′s and another for 2′s.. and at first I thought, They’re really building these inexpensively

Thinking about it later in the day though, this isn’t about China. It’s about companies spec’ing out components and picking the one that’s “just good enough”. For Club Car, this is a real decline in appearance quality. Whether the internals hold up as well as the previous version remains to be seen.

Getting ready for Green Care

Published on February 17, 2010 in The Militant Mechanic. 0 Comments

Our NEW Jacobsen Synthetic Hydraulic Fluid arrived. Right now I have our oldest triplex in for a fluid change, filter, new hoses and lift arm pins and bushings. That’s an awful lot to be putting into a 12 year old machine with 6800 hrs on it but I don’t see many new machines coming in anytime soon. The way the budget is, we’re looking at off-lease machines now.

If you’d have told me I’d be looking at 4 year old machines to buy a few years ago, I’d have wondered what the deal was. I suppose that’s the “New Reality” seeping to golf maintenance. Do more with less and make what you have last longer. Personally, for me, this is a great time. I think it’s great for those of us who enjoy the challenge of keeping things going rather than getting “New” every other year.

This is a time for “real mechanics” to have a ball. Thinking a bit more about it, I’m not so sure manufactures would be thrilled with me right now.. How can you sell new equipment when you have a group of people who can keep what you have already out there, going for just about forever..

New Tech Award

Published on January 30, 2010 in The Militant Mechanic. 0 Comments

I just heard that the GCSAA (Golf Course Superintendents Association) MAY be starting a tech award called “The Most Valuable Technician” Award. Currently there are two awards for techs in the industry, TurfNet’s (SuperNEWS) Technician of the Year, started in 2002 ; and The IGCEMA (International Golf Course Equipment Managers Association) and Ransomes Jacobsen’s, “The Edwin Budding Award, started in 2008.

I think everyone enjoys a bit of recognition but this award puzzles me since the GCSAA doesn’t recognize the position of Equipment Manager/Technicians in their association. This has been a pet peeve of more than a few of us over the years. I think most would rather forgo an award and settle for aknowledgement of the position.

Club Tech – reprinted from TurfNet

Published on January 17, 2010 in The Militant Mechanic. 0 Comments

reprinted from TurfNet (SuperNEWS) with permission.

The Good, Bad and Ugly of Golf Maintenance

Published on January 17, 2010 in The Militant Mechanic. 0 Comments

This is an article off the original TurfTech site in 2001. I had asked on the bulletin board what were the good, bad and ugly parts of techs jobs in golf were.

The Good:
From Minnesota,

Fresh air, sunshine, green grass, mountains in the back ground, a river running through it and Lake Superior just out the shop window. Working outside in the summer and inside in the winter. Doing something that I can take pride in, like a freshly ground reel. Sometimes I’ll give it a quick spin and let it turn a whole strip of paper into confetti, just cause I like that crisp shearing whisper that it makes. Being able to take a machine that has been designed by a team of engineers, and thousands of dollars of research and come up with a few little things to make it even better. Taking an old machine that really should be laid to rest, tearing it down and then giving it new life.

Knowing that your boss and his boss and 20,000+ golfers are depending on you to keep this whole operation above water and best of all knowing that, while to you that feat is a piece of cake, they all expect you will be walking on water any day now. (11/3/01 – the whole crew, tech included, at this club, were just terminated by the management company)

From Oregon,

Regardless of the name we choose to be refered by. It takes a special person to be a golf course mechanic or tech. Not just anybody can do it, that is why there is a shortage of people who can do what we do. If you think about all the many hats we have to wear during any given day, just how many people do you know that can do what we do. Not very many. We have to know so much about so many different types of equipment and have the skills and knowledge to keep them running at all times. That is what makes us so special and that is why I say that WE are the best. And I am proud to be a part of this group.

From New Jersey,

I can not think of a better way to start a day @5:30 or 6:00 am and watch the sunrise over the beauty of the course. Seeing the results of my hard work preparing the equipment that produce the fine cuts on the greens, fairways and the stripes in the rough!!!!! And hearing the compliments from the membership on how beautiful the course looks and plays!

From Colorado,

It seems there is a common thread in these posts, a love of beauty (not bad for just mechanics) and an appreciation for the independence our jobs afford us.

The Bad:
From New Jersey,
1. Its 2:15pm and your done at 2:30pm , Friday afternoon and you have everything wrapped up and the radio comes to life. The operator thats on the 2653 is screaming something about oil all over the place !!!
2. How did that happen I didn’t hit anything, and your looking at 3 of the 7 blades on a reel folded over.
3. How did that ball mark repair tool get in my grass basket.
4. Yes I did check the oil before I took it out this morning.
5. Mix gas, what’s that ?
6. Those days when the stress starts as soon as you walk in the door and dosen’t stop until you pull the covers over your head at night.
7. Honest it was in forward and your looking at a utility cart smashed into your fairway mower in the barn.
8. I set the parking brake before I got off, why did it roll away into the woods like that or the triplex just barely surfaced in the beautiful pond next to the green.
All the more reasons why I do like what I do it makes the job interesting.

From Ohio,
1. Filthy equip. (“fairway mowers take too long to wash!” and why wash off the bunker rakes, it’s kinda neat to see how much sand we can bring in the shop!)
2. Assistant “wannabe” Supers who appear to be the missing link in evolution.
3. Topdressing and then having to mow with all 4 triplexes instead of 1 mower with “sand” units on it.
4. Treating the shop like there’s a housekeeper to pickup all the mud and sand and garbage everyone else tracks in and leaves laying around.
5. no budget for new equipment ever ever again and lucky just to get parts to “get us by”
6. I guess I better stop there. . .

From Massachusetts,
1. The funny look the children give you when they hit something, brought it into the shop, you are working on it….and you have the nerve to ask them to sweep the floor (instead of getting in my way!)
2. When the golf course doubles from 18 to 36 holes; twice the headaches,twice the equipment, and twice the responsibilty……….without a penny more an hour????
3. The children come in every day thinking that we mechanics have the easiest job on the golf course…..until they come into the shop for one hour. But strange how quickly they forget.
4. How many times do I have to answer;

what do you do in the winter?
oh…so you just work on the golf carts?
is this gas or diesel? (can know one read?)
2 cycle oil….whats that?
Where is the super?
can you get me on the golf course for free?
5. Machinery that “looks clean”…till you bend over.(don’t the children realize the equipment is in 3 dimensions…) I think they believe that we wouldn’t notice???
6. Spray equipment that isn’t washed and rinsed… because we are going out tomorrow…. then three days later; when it does go out… that call on the radio to come fix it, ’cause its not working properly…. duhhh
7. Completely new part numbers, why can’t they just add a version number on the end???
8. Salespeople who make cold calls to sell you something way overpriced…just when you were under the machine at a critical moment.
9. Is part of every dealership training teaching the line “GEE, WE HAVE NEVER HEARD OF THAT BEFORE, WELL YOU LET US KNOW WHEN YOU GET IT FIGUIRED OUT !”
10. The attitude amongest some that “WE JUST FIX LAWNMOWERS !!!!”

And The Ugly:
From Colorado,

Assistant Superintendents that think the only way up is over the Superintendents dead body. Superintendents that are tyrants and the arrogant children of members. Taking care of the superintendents jet skis, outboards, motor homes, and such and having them change your time card to remove overtime.

From Massachusetts,

The smell coming from the wash down pit and from all the old beer cans the were collected off the course. The look of the equipment after a season of college workers playing “bumper cars” with trees. …and finally….the look of how small the number on the paycheck is !!!

From British Columbia,

The three guys on our crew named “It wasn’t me”, “It was like that” and “I didn’t hit anything”.

From Michigan,

Having your only assistant tell you on Friday that he won’t be in on Monday or any other day and feeling sorry for him since you know he quit because of the low pay and lack of benefits and because he was tired of being told by the ass-istant super about the one thing he did wrong this week and never hearing a word about the 200 things he did right by anyone other than me.