I got the crack fixed. I took the waterpump, alternator, and radiator off so I had good access to it. When I brazed it the first time, it cracked in the weld as it cooled.

I brazed it a second time, then as it cooled, I hammered all along the crack with the point of my chipping hammer until it was much cooler, then I zip tied my welding glove around it so it would cool slowly. It held!

I put everything back together but I still have to put antifreeze in it. Hopefully I'll do that tomorrow.

I posted the pictures below. The first is a closeup of the crack. The second is a poor example of my brazing, but it did hold! The third is me hammering all along the crack to stress relieve it. The last one is a shot of the engine before I started the repair, showing the little 2 cylinder diesel engine.
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I tore apart the tractor today to fix a crack in the thermostat housing on the head. The previous owner left straight water in it during the winter and it cracked the head around the thermostat housing.

I repaired it with JB weld, but when it heated up, it broke the repair.

Today, I took it apart, pulled the alternator, radiator, and water pump so I could get to it good. I took a diamond tip on a dremel mototool and ground out all of the JB weld I had put in the crack, getting it prepared to weld.

When I braze it, I will pour ashes from the fireplace around it in a heap to insulate it and let it cool down slowly so it won't crack again. (or at least that is what I'm thinking right at the moment!)

I want to do a permanent repair so I don't have to keep worrying about whether it has enough water in it, and it will hold antifreeze.

My tractor is a 70's model grey market tractor, a 16 HP Mitsubishi with a 3 speed transmission, a low, medium and high range, and a 3 speed PTO. I have a rototiller for it, mower, grader blade, and a front end loader (which I haven't mounted yet.)
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Yes, it is a good idea to can butter. If you can it, you don't need to refrigerate it, same thing with cheese. It will last about 3 years canned, though I have heard of people eating it after 5 years and it was still good.

My wife caught a sale and canned several jars of it.
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I just built from an idea. I had little money, so I wanted something cheap. It was actually 5' wide, which is 1/2 a stick of pvc pipe. I used 1" pipe, and bought a bag of fittings from Home Depot. The fitting had 3 openings, each at 90 degrees to make the corners.

I bought hog rings from tractor supply to join the wire together.

The first incident was due to bad location. I moved the coop to a new spot every two days, and that particular day it was in a low spot and had over a foot of water run through the coop. We had never had that large of a rain since we had lived there, and in normal rains there was no run off where the coop was sitting.

The second time, if I had a vestibule or some other way that the rain could not blow straight inside the doghouse door, disaster would have been averted. Or, if the coop area had been larger, with a roost above the floor, they would not have got wet. As it was, I had 2x4s on the floor for them to perch on, and the driving rain soaked them. I did have one chicken survive from that, though she was sick for a few days. I gave her to a neighbor down the road.

I intend on building another chicken coop, but this time it will be fixed and off the ground with a ramp going up into it. There will be nest boxes across the top back, and roost on either side. I think I can avoid this the next time.
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I brought home 18 barred rock chicks when we lived in Texas. I built a chicken tractor pen that was 10' long and 4' wide and 4'tall. I used pvc and glued up the frame, then wrapped the sides in rabbit wire and the top and bottom in 4" mesh.

I bought a dog house and put inside for a house, and put in shavings.

Everything went well for a while,the chicks grew and put on feathers, then one day while I was gone to church, a cold torrential downpour caused water to run through my yard and through my chicken coop.

I came home to find all of my young chickens apparently dead. I got a 5 gallon bucket and piled them all inside of it and took them in the house. I ran hot water over them and rubbed them. Some responded, and those I wrapped in towels and put in a box with a heat lamp. I managed to save 9 of them!

Over the next year, I lost one to a possum, one just up and died for no apparent reason, and one all the chickens pecked on until it got sick and died.

The remainder of the chickens were doing well until yet another rain hit. This one came out of a different direction than the storms normally came from, and blew rain right inside of their doghouse and soaked them all to the bone. All my efforts to save them was to no avail.

Both major losses were due to freak storms, but they could have been avoided if I had better housing for them, off of the ground and set so that the rain couldn't blow in.
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My wife bought cheese and butter on sale, so she canned it to preserve it. She plans on doing some bacon next. Excellent way to set aside a little so if we need it, we have it.
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Good idea! I've used 5 gallon buckets for tomatoes and collard greens in the past, and right now I have sawed off 55 gallon barrels for my dwarf apple tree, pear tree, blueberries, grapevine, etc. and a big pot for my dwarf orange tree that is inside.

Since I rent, I wanted to be able to take them with me if I move. However, I will plant a big garden in the ground. If I move, then someone else will get a really fertile garden that hopefully is producing well!
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I made the mistake of letting the tractor sit from June until this month and the clutch stuck on it. I had to split the case to free it up. I bought a front end loader for it and I still need to mount it up, and I've got a antifreeze leak that needs to be patched.

I got another load of mulch from a house I cleaned today, so the pile is growing! I need to visit one of the farmers on craigslist advertising free cow manure. I could put that on my mulch pile and till it in together and have an awesome boost for the garden.

I am looking forward to see what I can grow here. Shorter growing season, but more moisture and longer days, so I want to see how it will do.

My landlord said I can use whatever land I want to to farm on, the only limitations are the semi tame deer that the neighbor feeds. They are going to think I'm growing it just for them!
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Thanks for posting a link to your board on craigslist! One of my favorite places, by the way!

I am a recently transplanted Texan enjoying this cold weather! I lived in Louisiana for years, and when gardening it seemed I could do no wrong. I went to the chicken houses and got manure and tilled it in to the soil, and everything grew. No watering, and the plants outran the weeds.

I thought I was a good gardener until I moved to Texas! Nothing grew there! I endured $100 month water bills to end up with a season harvest that could fit inside of a 5 gallon bucket! I did get a harvest of watermelons one year that were 16 to 32 pounds each, and okra did well. Everything else was a real struggle.

Now I am in the Northwest, so we will see what can happen here! I have a 16 hp mitsubishi diesel tractor with a rototiller, so I intend on trying to plant a pretty good size area.

I do foreclosure cleaning, and this week I had to haul off a whole 16' trailer load of semi composted leaves from a yard. I was grinning from ear to ear, thinking that I am getting paid to get organic material for my garden!

I look forward to finding what others have to say here!

Jeff
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