Hey Pearl,
My suggestion would be to hook it up. You seem very bright and intelligent. So I think your gut will tell you if it needs the bracings your friend told you about. Have confidence in your gut. When you hook the auger up and go to digging you are gonna know. Plus, you can throttle it back and keep the PTO low for safety. If it starts to shake like Elvis on stage then you will probably need to get a machine shop to craft you some bracings or Craigslist it.
I agree with you. I don't think it needs bracings. Mainly, because our farm has a really old one and it doesn't have bracings it just hangs.
But trust your gut.....My suggestion would be just to find some soft ground at first. Maybe a little moist after a rain and then move to more firm ground. The old equipment is really well made (as you know) and often times heavier than the newer equipment. So it could have been designed without bracing like my trusty auger or they could have been lost. Your probably not going to know until you test it. A lot of those old units didn't have bracing. The biggest advice I can give you is to don't test in any ground with roots. Obvious, but great to keep in mind and to remind your help if you have any. The torque from hitting the root is going to be more than needed in a test. The pivot doesn't bother me. I would think you could build a stand for that too. That way you could make hooking up to the three point even easier when your by yourself. Also, get yourself a good nickname for the old beast. The old stuff has a soul and deserves a good nickname. Plus, if it breaks and you want to cuss it a nickname will help you get through the day. I have to laugh or cry with my old equipment.
. D
