Sweets, that turned out really great. I too love the roof over the swing part, and what a perfect way to use those wagon wheels. Sure hope you will share a pic when the plants grow on it too. Loved your site, you and your husband make a very creative team. Luvs

The information I have found about this company dose not list the source of its manure, however, since the most common source is a Confined Animal Feeding Operation, CAFO, and since those places do feed the animals a lot of antibiotics, both to attempt to prevent disease but also because it helps the animal put on weight, the manure they sell may well be full of antibiotics. Antibodies are what the body produces to aid in fighting off diseases so they probably will be in any animal manure as ours.

About beating on the shaft with a hammer: Be advised that if you strike the threaded end of the shaft repeatedly, you may damage the threads. The old tried and true trick in a situation like this is to leave the nut in place on the end of the threaded portion so that the nut is exactly flush or even with the end of the shaft threads. This will held prevent a mis-aimed blow from wiping out threads as well as help keep "mushrooming" to a minimum. Since you are already beating with a hammer, try this additionally: If you can enlist a helper, one person should STAND UP on the floorboard and pull upward with both hands (left and right hands at opposite hours of the clock) while the other person strikes the shaft or the jack bolt of the puller. With the nut in place, only a slight reaction to the person doing the pulling will be felt when the steering wheel lets go (without the nut it could turn into a backward somersault). If you are only able to work alone, try to sit on the seat and hook your knees under the rim of the steering wheel and then lift up with your feet while you strike the target spot.

***"The half moon sector gear slip pass the teeth when you hear that rip sound. this caused the sector gear to not be center and you will have less or very little right or left steering wheel travel in the direction that the gear is short in."*** NO, the "rip" sound is when the PINION TEETH are "jumping over the teeth on the sector gear, not the other way around. Look at it this way. If you removed the sector gear from the tractor and left the steering wheel, steering column, and pinion gear in place......you would be able to sit there and spin the steering wheel in whichever direction you chose (CW or CCW), to the end of time (or til the economy turns around), without ever reaching a stopping point. It is the SECTOR GEAR that limits the number of revolutions you can turn the steering wheel from "lock to lock". What is happening with the "worn out" steering gears (and wear in the shaft bushing and wear in the sector gear pivot) where "you can turn more in a certain direction than the opposite direction" is because when you turn the steering in one direction.....the sector gear is PULLING on the drag link, and this increases the "separation space" or, "clearance between the pinion gear and the sector gear. With the extra clearance caused by turning in that direction, the pinion teeth will begin "jumping over" the teeth on the sector gear BEFORE the sector gear is able to rotate far enough for the front wheels to reach the limit of travel. BUT, when you turn the steering wheel in the opposite direction, the sector gear is PUSHING on the drag link. This has the effect of forcing the sector gear tighter against the pinion gear and thus, the pinion and sector gears remain in good mesh, and you can move the front wheels to the limit of travel when turing that direction ONLY. Trying to "center" or "index" the steering wheel does not help you make equally effective turns in either direction once the wear and slop reach the point of "jumping teeth". "Indexing" the steering wheel really only means that you have equal spacing of the spokes of the steering wheel on both sides of the clock (imagine the steering wheel is an analog clock face) when the front wheels are oriented "straight ahead". Indexing is not critical for operation of the steering system in executing turns. Indexing only becomes an issue where the position of a spoke might hide or conceal a dash gauge, indicator light or other important feature of the dash or instrument panel. If none of those details apply, it matters not the least where the steering wheel (and pinon gear are oriented). Driving a tractor typically involves so much turning of the steering wheel that you hardly roll more than a few feet before you need to turn the steering wheel one way or the other, so having the steering wheel properly indexed to the dash is not something that will keep the wheel positioned "in use", as you indexed it "while parked". Highway vehicles are almost the opposite (in regard to "centering the steering wheel") for a couple of reasons. First, the sector gears in the steering gearbox of those vehicles are made with "uneven size gear teeth". The teeth in the exact center of those sector gears, (or the center teeth of the "rack gear" in Rack & Pinion designs) are "slightly bigger" than the gear teeth on the rest of the sector gear (or rack gear in those types). The larger teeth in the center actually "bind mesh", or create an "interference fit" with the teeth of the pinion gear which reduces the clearance between pinion and sector (or rack) gears to ZERO. This "interference mesh" removes all slack or "free play" between the two gears and that means that you can "feel the road" with the steering wheel and the vehicle has a minimum amount of "hunting" caused by cumulative clearance in all the other components of the steering system. Why do they only make the center teeth "fit this tight" and not the entire sector (or rack) gear? Because, when you execute a "low speed turn" (like turning into a parking space etc.) it is desirable that the mesh be "looser" to make steering easier. Secondly, because of the greater "array" of instruments on the dash of highway vehicles, and the recent trend of having "steering wheel mounted functions or controls" (cruise control, entertainment sound systems, horn, to name just a few), it is "vital" that the steering wheel be indexed properly, so the steering wheel mounted features can be seen, and operated easily and accurately. The same constraints do not apply to your typical yard/garden tractor.