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Well, shoot, I thought he was going to CRANK that ol' Farmall, not push a button and START it!
ANYBODY can push a button, but sticking a crank in the front of the engine, and winding that ol' beast up, THAT would be something to watch!
My Great Grandfather, he was an interesting character and was too cheap to buy a battery for one of his old Farmall's. Back then some tractors had both hand cranks and electric starters, so he simply had the hired man hand crank it to start.
I guess the guy got tired of that darn compression stroke thing and tossed the hand crank out into the woods. He told my Great Grandfather that he lost it in the field. Knowing full well what the hired man had done, he sent the hired man looking for the hand crank out over the plowed ground. There was no way he was going to pay for a battery.
Soon enough the hired man slipped into the woods when he did not think my Great Grand Father was looking and dishearteningly "found" the hand crank.
One year my Great Grandfather was farming the Cates Field which is about 60 acres in size. Well it has this big sag in the center of the field that is always muddy. Sure enough while mowing hay he got his tractor stuck. Now My great Grandfather was a Farmall man through and through,and it just so happens that the John Deere salesman came along as he was trying to get his tractor unstuck.
"You know Fred, if you had a John Deere you would not have gotten stuck."
My Grandfather was a Farmall man and always refused John Deere's but he was mad and so said...
"If your darn John Deere can pull this tractor out and mow the field without getting stuck,I'll buy it."
Well a John Deere arrived and it just so happens that it did pull out the Farmall and it did mow the rest of the field. Back then a man's word was a man's word so he bought the thing. Now just because he bought it does not mean he liked the John Deere. Oh no.
So the salesman pestered him to go to the potato board convention and say a few words about how great his new John Deere was. My Great Grandfather tried his best to get out of it, but they insisted, even driving down to pick him up and take him to the convention in Bangor. Now back then the potato board had some serious power and there was a lot of people there. So they stuck my Great Grandfather up on a podium and said...
"This is Fred, the biggest potato farmer in Waldo County and has a total of 5 tractors and farms 400 acres and he would like to say a few words about his latest tractor."
My Great Grandfather got up there and simple said...
"Boys I think you are a little confused. You see I got 4 tractors and one John Deere."
), and I often had to hand crank that ole tractor....or pull it off with Mama's car...had to be careful or you'd break your arm.
walkin2e
Really? I've got two Super A's and they're the easiest starting hand-crank tractors I've ever used. A light pull upwards on the crank once you've put the motor on a compression stroke (with the choke on and the switch off), then "switch on" and a quick pull upwards gets them going on the first or second pull every time. It helps that I keep the mag points and timing in good condition and have good carbs on both.
The only way I know you'd "break an arm" on one of these is if you are pushing downward on the crank, which is a no-no on any hand cranked motor ...
Location: On the "Left Coast", somewhere in "the Land of Fruits & Nuts"
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Quote:
Originally Posted by sunsprit
Really? I've got two Super A's and they're the easiest starting hand-crank tractors I've ever used. A light pull upwards on the crank once you've put the motor on a compression stroke (with the choke on and the switch off), then "switch on" and a quick pull upwards gets them going on the first or second pull every time. It helps that I keep the mag points and timing in good condition and have good carbs on both.
The only way I know you'd "break an arm" on one of these is if you are pushing downward on the crank, which is a no-no on any hand cranked motor ...
Gotta love those Farmall Super A's.... simple & durable motor, stable wheel setup (not tricycle), w/PTO & hydraulics, and they're just the right size! Plus that beautiful classic look by famous industrial designer Raymond Loewy (designer of other great 20th century icons, like Air Force One, the Coke, Shell & Lucky Strike logos, the Avanti sportscar, etc.).
I grew up on a ranch in sw Nebraska and my dad had a 1949, I think, W-9 with a hand crank. I never could get it to go fast enough to start until I was in my late 20's and went out to start it after it had sat for 2yrs and I got it started and was so excited.
My dad came out of the house and wondered what that noise was and was surprised that it started.
We also had an old john deere that had a round wheel on the side and dad would spin that to start it. I was so young that was all I remember and the hissing sounds it made.
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