hello from Maine

Hi folks. I'm on wooded mostly undeveloped property in southern Maine. I have poked around this site in the past as a visitor, primarily for a Case 580b backhoe. That machine is an old, dirty, leaky, death trap and has many faults but its soo simple. I once ran it without any wires for a summer. I have learned operation and most basic repairs on it over the past several years but the overall situation was always break/fix with grumpy downtime. I kept my eyes peeled on Case and JD backhoes from the 80s and 90s (limited electrics) and found a '87 580k which i hope will be a keeper. Obviously there is typically a lot to do on older machines but I love working the land especially with hydraulic monsters. I hope to eventually expand to contracting. My next goals are far away dreams - newer mini-Ex (6-way blade, wrist), a truck to move it all, and fire wood processing. I am looking forward to intermixing with the community, forums, and wealth of knowledge! matt