[Complete] Mr.Modified's Craftsman HE [2018 Build-Off Entry]

Hood paint looks very cool! Stands out pretty good too. Craftsman seems to have held up well during Haspin.

It looks like it did going to Haspin, I would call that a success!  Very nice!

Nice! Any video footage coming put from this year?

Thanks guys. Yes I have video of the craftsman HE, the Simplicity, and the off road trailer. I have a bunch of video of everyone else too. I tried to cover as much of the action as I could.

Really sounds like a great time! Maybe the people in the lower states sould figure out a similar event but closer to home

Interesting to know that the direct steering did pretty well on trail riding.  I like the low buck approach you took to this build.  It's the roots of ATLT building.

Well, the tires are the most expensive part of mower building and if your fine with using turf tires there's no limit to the fun you can have still.

I think the direct steer is a bit jumpy, but my dad thought for the most part it was alright. I was thinking the other day, why not make some sort of steering damper? They help a lot on dirt bikes and motorcycles so the same principal should work if I got the correct drag on it. It would allow you to steer but rocks and things wouldn't jam the steering around. Needs to be like a shock or something on the steering somewhere. But it can't be too heavy or you won't be able to steer very quick.

What if you cut the shaft, weld a big washer to each side, and drill a couple holes in each and bolt a hockey puck in between? That would space your handlebars up an additional inch, and slightly dampen your steering

Or just some thick rubber. Maybe even some layers of tire rubber stacked up.

That might help with vibration but a damper would stop quick movements of the steering like when one of the front wheels hits something. Obviously like a rock or rut, not a tree lol. It would be for times when the handlebars are moved 2 or 3 inches without you wanting them too. With a damper, the front wheels would hit the rock and ride over it before it has time to turn them. On motorcycle damper's they are adjustable for different situations. For instance at higher speeds you might crank it up a bit more so it has some more resistance, but for slower speeds you may have to steer quicker and you back it off a bit. In this case maybe just some sort of small shock would be close enough.

I like the damper idea.  I'd find an old gas shock from a tool box lid or hatchback to try out.

Yeah I rigged up a screen door cylinder for a steering damper on the MTD at one point. Seemed to work okay but I took it off for some reason.

try a screen door closer, my buddy put one on his rer when we raced them, and we all made fun of him till we rode it, it made a huge difference.

Oh yeah that's a good idea. Never thought of that. And it would be adjustable too.

Craftsman HE
ON THE LIMIT!


Up and over!

Those are some awesome action shots!

When in doubt, wind it out!

Thanks guys! It's nice to be able to go through the video and check every frame to get the perfect shot. Not quite as cool as if you took a normal pic but that would be hard to catch.

I didn't realize the front end came up that high until I checked the footage later.

Cool shots, those turf tires seem to have done alright!

At the current time, the Craftsman HE is sitting in the garage behind the simplicity. Needs the valves adjusted at a minimum to fix the hard starting issue I think. I was thinking of possibly selling it soon as I'm trying to free up space and I have so much stuff.

Still didn't get a chance to get the HE valves adjusted or take it out of the garage. Pretty sure I'm going to sell the HE sometime in the near future. Pretty much it is done as far as the build off is concerned.

When you are ready to call it complete... shoot up some video and let us know. I can tag it complete then.

No problem, I'll get that done soon.

Here's the finished build. Just a quick walk around video.