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So a buddy that works at the auto parts store asks me last week if I'm still into wheel horse tractors. So naturally I say yea, what ya got? He says I have a raider 12 been sitting in the shed for 6 years and needs to go. He says I'll sell it to you for $200. Well I don't need another tractor but he only lives 4 blocks from me so I literally drug it home.......got it running too! 20240318_205914.mp4

The Combine, perhaps the greatest combination of good ideas ever made. Harvesting grain crops was the most labor-intensive operation on any farm prior to mechanization. The modern combine harvester, or simply combine, is a machine designed to harvest a variety of grain crops. The name derives from its combining four separate harvesting operations—reaping, threshing, gathering, and winnowing—to a single process. None of this just happened; it took hundreds of innovative improvements on one-another’s ideas to arrive at today’s modern combine. I will cover each of these operations in the coming week. Among the crops harvested with a combine are wheat, rice, oats, rye, barley, corn, sorghum, millet, soybeans, flax, and sunflowers. The separated straw, left lying on the field is then either chopped, spread on the field, and plowed in or baled for livestock bedding. Combine harvesters are one of the most economically important labor-saving inventions, significantly reducing number of man-hours needed to harvest crops In 1826 in Scotland, Reverend Patrick Bell designed a reaper machine, which used the scissors principle of plant cutting plant stems. The Bell machine was pushed by horses. A few Bell machines were available in the United States. In 1835, in the United States, Hiram Moore built and patented the first combine harvester, which was capable of reaping, threshing, and winnowing cereal grain. Early versions were pulled by horse, mule, or ox teams. In 1835, Moore built a full-scale version with a length of 17 ft and a cut width of 15 ft. This combine harvester was pulled by 20 horses John Deere claims to have developed the first self-propelled combine in 1946 but they seem to have missed a couple of predecessors. In 1911, the Holt Manufacturing Company of California produced a self-propelled harvester. Their 1888 14-foot cutting bar combine was pulled by an 18-horse team so a self-propelled version was a vast improvement. In 1923 in Kansas, the Baldwin brothers and their Gleaner Manufacturing Company patented a self-propelled harvester that included several other modern improvements in grain handling. The Gleaner used Fordson engines; early Gleaners used the entire Fordson chassis and driveline as a platform. In the 1920s, Case Corporation and John Deere made tractor drawn combines with a second engine on the combine to power it. Pull-type combines became common after World War II as many farms began to use tractors. These combines used a shaker to separate the grain from the chaff and ejected the straw while retaining the grain. Later combines were PTO-powered as larger, more powerful tractors became available. These machines either fed the grain into bags that were then loaded onto a wagon or truck, or had a small bin that stored the grain until it was transferred to a grain wagon.

Something growing in popularity over the last half dozen years. Seems very useful.

That's where he got all those last year...

@Pullstart The guys can get that many plates for free at the BS , all they need is screwdrivers and vice grips.

Well this is one that falls under "any reason is a good reason to get a tractor out..." So Jack and his friends were making a small wiffle ball field in the woods behind our house and wanted dirt baselines...I couldn't watch them with a rake and shovel any longer so out came the Wheel Horse garden tractor implement system! Had to take off the snow plow that I never got to use this year. Then put together the cultivator and put on the old rear tires on the 312-8 and it was ready to go. Ended up adjusting the tines close together for a narrower line.

Excellent catch! Limited Slip Differential 6 speed. Excellent workers.

it is under 7’, but I am WELL under 6’!

I may have an underlying plan in my head…

When someone comes up here to the Mitten state and shows me how to get Colleen UNSTUCK from the field, then and ONLY THEN we will talk about hanging it upside down

You guys send riders, I’ll put ‘em up there. I think I’ve mentioned this before. No bill collector is knocking on my door. Taxes are paid. Tractors make me happy. So do Rat Fink things.

These early Rangers were sharp little tractors. Yours look like a solid machine. Pound for pound, probably the toughest little tractors ever. I just finished one for my son. I couldn't find an early one, so I just made mine look like it.

+ + Equals Best attraction on the big meet ever. Anybody know how to start a 'go fund me' campain?

So in addition to the jorts and sandals, are hard hats required for a visit?

removed from the tractor and the other set of tires with chains to be swapped on Bill ...... Hopefully you have also went to studs to make transition effortless !!!

Advantage there is these will be permanently mounted on Trina's 867 Pigpen. She leaves chains on all year.

like Jesus cruisers @Achto?

I would be afraid I would hit my head on it. Pretty cool though.

And a VERY LONG extension cord!

Wouldn't be for the angle arm, it moves forward and back too much. Perhaps to clear a support for a cab the previous owner may have had on there.

If you have a big enough turnout for the plow-day you could hook up a twenty horse (Wheel Horse of course) hitch to Colleen and free her from that muddy mess.

Mike - - - - - - com on Mike, you can do better than that gott'a be a RED TRACTOR. Plus, Kevin has chickens.

They were in the back, in cold storage. This will keep them away from mice, keep them in the warmer shop, and be appreciated rather than ignored. Like I mentioned in the video, the RJ35 is quite slow and slightly impractical. It is however a wonderful piece of history and a crucial part of Wheel Horse’s legacy. I’ve brought it on the show circuit. Though I don’t mind those who do, I prefer to mix up my show tractors. It’s not worth putting cash in my pocket, but it’s better than a dark barn. At the end of the day, it makes me happy

It does, I like that idea! I have a chain hoist I can take the hood and raise the front. I thought about using my homemade fluid extractor too.

Possibly drilling a hole thru and using a "spiral screw extractor"?

LOL! If only the WH's could handle that job! Field will be flooded regardless though...That area looks like a pond when we get a major spring shower here. Kinda neat watching it form and then drain out within hours. But if the field needed work after that wouldn't be the worse thing either...maybe the disc harrow will get a turn

A couple more reasons. Drag those three trees outa the diamond and pull out the beaver dam before it floods the field.

WAKE UP JIM

Decent idea to pop that carb off and just give it a quick clean and rebuild. Check the bottom and top of the throttle shaft for looseness in the bore.

Mike: Nice find.Good to know who can help you. Enjoy the ride.

seems like with other life tasks there are those that just aren't worth the frustration and aggrivation - Doing chains since starting plowing with my 312 in 1989 has been hassle -- thus, rather than fighting certain battles I look for more alternatives - so this past fall upon wrestling with snow chains I have made the choice to leave the chains on a set of tires and simply deal with the relative ease of lugs -- so next fall a jack along with my Makita one set of wheels will be removed from the tractor and the other set of tires with chains to be swapped on -- Yippee, less stress and fewer bad words -- and oh yeah -- easier on my back

I, for one do not have to deal with that. Dedicated fluid filled rear tires that the chains stay on. Put them on in the fall, switch to summer tires in the spring.....

@Mike'sHorseBarn nice pick up on that , don't know what your plans are , but a thorough service , verification , operational check , TAKE ADVANTAGE OF WHAT WORKS , and enhance those areas . also a perfect time , if you want to , is a lubrication rub down , to enhance patina , and give it a perfect period paint look . obviousely , all lubricants , change out , clean out tank , filter , drop carb bowl , would give that an engine run in on a separate gallon of treated gas , fresh hot oil change . pete

Agree, I was just curious what it's function may have been. It also looks longer than all the Raiders I've had. Maybe home made from what ever he had on the junk pile. It does add some character.

I'm hoping to do just that but I may have to just use those to build a whole new set so I can keep the length even.

Oh, Boy!! I can see one soon hanging upside down at the @Pullstart Stable!!! Using a Zero Turn instead of a garden tractor certainly give better maneuverability in compact areas....

@Tractorhead THANK YOU !! Type L has a heavier wall thickness and blue lettering on the outside wall instead of red as Type M has. 1/2'' M wall thickness is 0.028 and 1/2'' L is 0.040.

It looks right at home ....

We were forced into having wheeled bins probably around 40 years ago. Prior to that we had a metal round dustbin which was collected once a week. Our "bin men" or refuse collection operatives would take every bin from where the household kept it and empty it into a dust cart, before putting it back. This obviously took more men and time. So the "Wheelie bin" came along. Emptied only ever two weeks fir general waste and every four weeks for garden waste and six weeks for recycling. Now the householder has to put each bin out before 6am on collection day, so they all go out the night before. This blocks pavements, which is in itself an offence. Invariably the bins are full to bursting and if its windy the contents end up blowing out because the lids are so light. Oh, there's another offence racked up by our council of littering. The bins are loaded by very expensive automatic bin trucks that are way more complex than the old style trucks. So to save on wages and employing people our councils have created more problems than they fixed. No one wanted wheelie bins. No one likes wheelie bins. Not many people have room outside for the FOUR much larger bins we have to have. And if they get damaged or stolen you have to buy your own replacement. Yes they do get stolen, either to replace a bin at some nefarious persons home or to use by nefarious persons for transporting stolen property in at night, yes the council provides wheeled transport for burglars. And finally a popular passtime for our Yoof cultcha is setting fire to the bins left out overnight as they burn beautifully, leaving the result welded to the pavement outside your home. Progress is not always All it is cracked up to be, especially if the council using public money are treated to perks and trips abroad by the wheelie bin manufacturers. Now, help me down from this damn soap box and give me a hand to carry it to the kerb edge.

I agree. I've seen several machines that I wouldn't change anything. But here in the southern US, a 2007 model often looks like a 1967 model from the northeast. An old joke here when we found barn treasure was "swamp fresh". So more often than not here, patina isn't an option if you're going for full function. No other option but refresh in the least.

Exactly what i learned in my training time several moons back.. turbulences results in kavitation what causes that it washes copper out of the pipe - until it leaks. Deburr is a main underestimated reason for that. the difference between M and L is unknown for me. Our Copperfittings we dealing with and pipes have about 1mm thickness. i see sometimes the cleaning after Soldering is an important point, but also often be forgotten. @953 nut You said Upon inspection I found green corrosion on every fitting along all eight 2" supply and return pipes. The sloppy installers had not wiped down any of the fittings and they were all ticking time bombs. That‘s also my experience over time. I be a old school craftman. we learned to check every step we do twice, to be safe when we leaving out work. If we must repair, we exchange as much as needed but as less as needed. The result was in 99% sloppy Work - while not deburr or not cleaned after soldering. but to say it is a worse material because of sloppy work - hum... Calc is a different story i know about. i just have seen once one problem with a blown pipe what was material failure. all other was typical craftmans fails.

I guess you’ll just have to wait for either a dry spell long enough to firm up the soil, or someone showing up with a fairly powerful tracked puller.

Hey guys, thanks a lot! I’ve been away for a while. Logged in this evening and saw your notes. Thank you! Attached are two pics of what I’ve been up to …. Found some nice sanded plywood at our big box store. My wife’s idea for some basement storage … she’s happy. Just got 4 inches of snow (Cleveland/Akron) and still falling. Will be breaking out the horses in the next couple weeks.

Took the snowplow off my 310-8 and put the 42in SD mower deck and power flow bagger system on. Added a little oil, and greased. All ready for mowing season!

How about this idea, I am sure from time to time good used Ferris wheels come up for sale. You know the small ones used in carnivals. Could one be put in the shop and have tractor replace the seats and them rotating on display. Like an oversize wiener cooker. Those small Ferris wheels fold up for transport like a trailer and it could be towed to the show to display all the horses. Yes, you can call me super genius!

I will let the decals adhere for a couple of days then install the hood latches. Until then this is how she sits.

It does, but the way it sticks out kind of makes it hard to get on and off of. I have a correct pto arm that I'll put on it. Plans are to go through it and clean up everything/change fluids. It has some shoddy wiring that needs taken care of and then I want to put some ags on it and build it into a plow tractor.

Have a Great Day