Magna Tillsmith Tiller Question

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Permalink Reply by Chris Byers on September 12, 2009 at 12:55pm

Can you post a photo of the problem, if not give me a call and I will see what I can suggest. 623-444-5287

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Permalink Reply by Denise on September 12, 2009 at 3:23pm

Chris - I've attached 3 pics of the main shaft and pulley we're having trouble with. The long bolt that looks like it should fit into the grooves in the pulley should fit, but there's some back & forth play in the main shaft that causes the bolt to spin in front of the pulley. You can see the metal on metal scrapes on the face of the pulley. If you have any ideas, let me know and I'll have my husband give you a call. Thank you!

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Permalink Reply by Chris Byers on September 12, 2009 at 3:40pm

Go to the hardware store and get a socket head bolt that will fit into the grove on the shiney part. It looks from what I can see like the grove it fits into is larger on one side than the other. I appears it originaly used a specialized key to fit in there but a shorter socket head bolt will most likely work. Try to get something as close to the size of the hole on the main shaft as you can to reduce the failure rate.

One thing I realized after looking at this for the 4-5th time is the part you are replacing is a shear pin I think. What that means is when you hit a big rock instead of breaking the crankshaft on the engine the pin breaks and needs to be replaced. Most solid bolts will break, a rolled or hollow pin of any kind will not break but rather fold causing possible damage to the motor.

If this does not work well enough for you we can fabricate a piece to fit properly and take care of the problem for years. Good luck.

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Permalink Reply by Denise on September 13, 2009 at 9:26pm

Thanks, Chris! We'll try this out and see how it works! If it doesn't work well enough, Scott will call you.

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Permalink Reply by Chris Byers on September 14, 2009 at 7:35am

I have been studying the photos and thinking about it. I feel like a piece may be missing as after consideration I think this is a type of flex or clutch coupling. We may need to locate or fabricate a piece that will lock onto the shiney part that is already there or look at a different way of achieving a lock up mechanism for you. Possibly adapting a newer flex coupling to this shaft that may turn out to be the simplist. Do you know how many years old this machine is?

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Permalink Reply by Denise on September 19, 2009 at 8:28pm

Chris, I can't find much of anything online about this machine. I do have the sales tag and owners manual from the previous owner, but there's no date on any of the documents anywhere! My best guess based on the printing of the documents is maybe early to mid 1980's.
My husband was thinking along the lines of a missing part, too, because of the grooves in the pulley and the play in the main shaft. He's out of town for work next week, so I'll give him your number and have him call you the following week. Thanks so much for your help. We're a couple of novices and just know something's not right.

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Permalink Reply by Chris Byers on September 20, 2009 at 7:36am

I was guessing from what I could see in the pictures it is about the age you are thinking. Looks like a good machine overall and I think one way or another some new life can be breathed into it.

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Permalink Reply by Bunchgrass Farm on September 24, 2009 at 10:17am

Hi Denise,
We're a permaculture farm in Oregon.
You have a magna tillsmith similar to ours, WITH A MANUAL??! I have been trying to find that manual for YEARS! Years, i tell you, with no luck. Can you be persuaded to copy that manual to a pdf and email it to me @ arbortender@gmail.com? Ours is big 'ol nasty temperamental but working beauty, a front-tine model #500847, serial # 1837. I'd really like to find a way to replace the belt & get that reverse gear going again.
You are going to love that mighty tiller, it's just the ticket for us on 5 acres, tractor-free.

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Permalink Reply by Denise on September 24, 2009 at 5:59pm

Hi Bunchgrass - I would be happy to scan it to a .pdf and send it to you. I have to hook up an old scanner I have at home to do it, so probably sometime over the weekend. It is the owner's manual, not as detailed as a Chilton's guide or anything like that, but probably more than you have now. I was pretty surprised to get it, actually.
We wore out the front tine tiller we had for 20 years (shared it with a few friends now & then), so we were looking for a workhorse and this one looks like it fits the bill. Good to know it's a reliable product.

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Permalink Reply by Chris Byers on September 25, 2009 at 8:53am

How is getting it fixed coming along?

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Permalink Reply by Denise on September 25, 2009 at 10:17pm

Hubby comes home tomorrow and will hopefully get to it this coming week. I need to plant my garden!!

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Permalink Reply by Bunchgrass Farm on November 23, 2009 at 1:19pm

Hi Denise,
I wonder if you have found time to hook up that old scanner and scan the Tillsmith manual. No hurry, but still very interested! We got snow yesterday & big wind: 30 amps + for easily 20 hours!
Peas,Pat

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