Back in July I happened upon a garden tractor class puller on Facebook Marketplace that I just had to have. There were only two pictures but it seemed to be in decent shape, and the price was as well. Since I don't use Facebook, I got the seller to converse with me over email. I didn't want to annoy them by asking a million questions, and for more pics as I didn't want to risk losing it, so I just bought it. That ended up being a huge mistake as I got completely screwed over on the deal. I don't want to go so far as saying I was scammed but the puller was essentially worthless. It was one of the biggest pieces of junk I have ever bought which is saying something.

The only parts from the original that can be reused are the body, and rear tires/wheels in which I plan on replacing down the road. As it pertains to parts, my main goal is to try and use as many 'made in America' ones as I can. It's not so much a patriotic thing as I want to avoid Chinese or other similar country parts on it just because. I'm also doing the same thing with my other puller project. It's an interesting journey as it's really difficult to do so, and an incredibly expensive undertaking. For example, buying the front wheel bearings from Avid would be more than sufficient and cost around $4.00. Instead, I'm using SKF Explorer bearings to the tune of $25.00 that are made in France. You get the picture.
I'd like to publicly thank and acknowledge member jwscab for making this all possible. He graciously took on the task of reverse-engineering and machining everything! He also did it under a bit of a time constraint in which I'm eternally grateful for. As those of you know who have obtained his services in the past, he does beautiful work, and actually pays attention to what you need done. Even when you bombard him with a novels worth of text like I did.

This is where I'm currently at with it. The starting point:
Some of the parts I'll be using:
The first order of business is to refinish the aluminum. I'm after a matte or brushed type one but I don't want it too dull. I've read that a red Scotch-Brite pad and WD-40 is a potential solution. I have a test piece I'll try a few different methods on to see what I like best.