Some places need to be wild
Julie Reed wrote:Eric,
I don’t know how many hours he worked on the days he taught, but adding up weekends, Xmas break, spring break, 3 day weekends a few times and summer vacation he had an equal number of days not in school, not teaching, which left him free to log with horses and raise a few dairy cows. That’s how he explained it to me and it made perfect sense. I’ve heard other teachers comment similarly. The school day is 6-7 hours, I would guess most teachers end up at around 10 with prep, correcting papers, etc? It’s not a job I would want, or could do well. I love kids and am able to teach them things (we homeschooled for a few years) but not in multiples of 25!😳
Some places need to be wild
Some places need to be wild
Some places need to be wild
Some places need to be wild
Some places need to be wild
Julie Reed wrote:“The thing that I would favor a tractor for is the FEL on the thing. I don't know of an easy way to do what an FEL can do with a horse team.”
I love horses, riding is relaxing and peaceful, and a working draft team is really impressive to watch. But horses do pretty much one task- pulling. No FEL, no PTO, no drawbar, no remote hydraulics, no ability to back up equipment easily. No way to attach a winch or backhoe, no lights for working past dusk. My grandfather probably spent half an hour before and after working to mess with harnesses, blankets, drying horses off, rubbing them down... and again, he loved it, but they are just not even remotely comparable to the practicality of a tractor, as least to my thinking. As far as going where machines can’t, to lay fiber optic cable, I can’t quite picture that. I’ve hiked in VT and NH, and I know what the terrain is like, but there is equipment built specifically for that, 4wd articulating with tracks at each corner that will climb near vertical slopes (such as the Ditch Witch RT Quad).
john mcginnis wrote:Fairpoint Communications bought the NE holdings from GTE/Verizon years ago.
Eric Hanson wrote:Travis,
THAT is a crazy/great idea....
Some places need to be wild
Permaculture...picking the lock back to Eden since 1978.
Pics of my Forest Garden
Chadwick Holmes wrote:My wife got one this year, 1957 farmall cub, it's a tiny machine that has very cheap parts, runs a very small 9hp gas engine, so it is thrifty too, we mostly need a trailer puller, and maybe some other tasks, but we don't need the weight to plow barrow or dig, so a small thrifty machine with the highest priced part being $100 and most parts being $15 was right for us. I replaced the muffler repaired the transmission gears, changed all the fluids and bought a crank to start it with for about $85....oh and $900 purchase price
bruce Fine wrote:wish I could find a belly mower for my super a, I also have one of those super av's it got robbed of distributor, carburetor, generator, starter and air filter, but I found a farmall c that has all these parts and the block is full of water and rust for the past decade. I hopefully will get it home in the spring and get it going.
I looked into the walk behind 2 wheel tractors. I like them but unless you can find one for sale really cheap I can't justify the cost as both new tractors and implements and even the 2 wheel tractors would cost over $20,000 dollars to get less than I could get buying old well built and running Farmalls or MF... (not a fan of Ford 8n, 9n) but they are also good for what I'm describing) For under $8,000 I'll have 2 cub tractors, an SA and an SA-V, a front end loader, plows, disk, a trailer to haul them, a bush-hog, a bed maker (makes 4" raised beds), chisel plow, a potato digger (also used to harvest other root crops like carrots, turnips, rutabagas etc) cultivators, planters... So even if one of my tractors needs to be repaired and is down I'll still have a backup and can even run things like a milking machine, a generator, hammer mill (grinds grains and feed) run an elevator (hay or grain loaded into top of barns) so to me could I live without them ? YES but I couldn't make a living. I would need to spend way more buying things like a tiller, a mower, and many other gas powered things to do half the jobs I need done. Could I rent? Yes but again, rent a tractor and in just 2-3 years I'll have paid them more than what a good running farmall costs.
James Whitelaw wrote:I’ve seen this $20,000 figure elsewhere rgdg the 2-wheel tractors. The Farmall small tractors are all sorts of awesome, but your comparison directly to new equipment leaves out certain factors such as availability of functional equipment available for sale within a reasonable distance, work required to bring the equipment up to working condition, storage of the larger tractor, taking the time to bring together all the pieces and get them working and finding or adapting implements can be a major expenditure of time. When I purchased my BCS it was delivered, ready to go in two days. Sure parts are available for the Farmall and not super expensive and there is an enthusiastic hobbyist community, but your $8,000 figure leaves out additional time and effort older equipment usually requires.
Safety is another issue I see with going with a 70 year old tractor such as condition, PTO guard issues, lack of or inadequate ROP, seat belt or cab. Here is a good paper on overturn hazards. For those who downplay hazards on smaller tractors, people have been killed while skidding logs using small garden tractors, drowned by overturning zero turn mowers and killed by the tractors PTO (including incidents using a Farmall). Another hazard people don't often associate with small tractors is the danger of a slipped clutch propelling the tractor and rider into hazards such as thick brush where the driver get impaled. Also, a 4-wheel tractor limits a lot of areas where it will fit or be safe to use, at least on my place and would have more issues with soil compaction over the WBT.
Not planning to spend this much, but a $20,000 itemized list of what I would buy in addition to a BCS or Grillo walk behind ($4,000) and implements in general for cropping the Berta 30” Flail Mower ($2,000) - Aldo Biagioli Spike Tooth Harrow ($200) - Berta single rotary plow ($1,300) - Aldo Biagioli Bedshaper ($400) - 30” R2 Rinaldi Gear-Driven Power Harrow & drop seeder ($2,700) - Aldo Biagioli Potato / Tuber Digging Plow ($250) - Earth Tools/Hoss Four-row Vegetable Seeder ($1,500), misc connectors ($500) (subtotal $12,850). Non cropping implements could be the Del Morino / BCS 32” Brush Mower ($1,200) - CAEB “Minicargo” front mounted Power Barrow 1,000 lb capacity ($1,500) - MeccAlte 5200 watt continuous / 6000 watt surge generator ($1,000) - (subtotal $16,550). To bring it to the total add a Bell horizontal log splitter ($1,600) and a Caravaggi BIO-150 chipper-shredder ($1,900) (or the stump grinder, etc.).
Some places need to be wild
Some places need to be wild
Eric Hanson wrote:Travis,
My back still aches but the pain is tolerable and I read your last post. I COULDN'T AGREE MORE!! Different sized tractors for different sized jobs. And you are absolutely right that a good 2-wheel tractor can really do wonders. Personally I would not want to bush hog acres with one, but it can do so very many jobs just as well as if not better than a 4-wheel tractor. Even though I am not a big fan of tilling, if I did want to till I really would not want to use a tractor. I just think it compresses the soil too much, and a 2-wheel tractor is much more maneuverable.
For a time I did want a 2-wheel tractor for clearing some undergrowth in our woods. Mostly it was some thorny bramble that impeded my way through my woods. I still like the idea of a little flail mower for maintaining pathways.
I also have seen some people get pretty huge tractors for the acreage they own and the jobs they do. In some cases these people overestimate the job and underestimate the potential of a tractor, especially if they are moving from a gas riding mower to a diesel tractor. At other times I think some people are buying sort of an ego tractor. Mine-is-bigger-than-yours sort of thing. I am so thankful that I sold my tractor to my neighbor as the two tractors work very well together.
But overall I absolutely agree with everything you said in that post.
Eric
Eric Hanson wrote:Today, not only was a tractor a necessity, but the job required two tractors. We were clearing some brush and moving some pretty big logs. For me that means 12” diameter and 25-35 feet long. I can’t imagine what that would have been like without a tractor.
My back aches nonetheless,
Eric
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brian hanford wrote:I love the two wheel, walk behind tractors. A book just on them would be a great addition to my library. Also it is a source that really isn't out there.
The only thing they don't do well is moving large amounts of dirt. Or moving large bales of hay. We needed both so we uped to a compact tractor with loader.
We have 2 David Bradley walk behind tractors, and I have used them to skid small logs around, on 40 acres. It works but is slot more work than a 4 wheel tractor. Our wood lot right now, can't even get my compact tractor in. We picked up the David Bradleys for just a few 100$. A predator motor and a weekend with my son in the garage. Completely rebuilt, we have used it all over our two acres. Was used on our 40 acres and my parents have used it to redo their lawn. Only drawback to these old ones is no reverse.
With our experience I would love a grillo, and with all the attachments it would be 15,000$ to 25,000$ and the high end would include all the attachments for bailing hay. We only have maybe 5 acres to bail. And the walk behind tractors would be the only way to do it at all. Hoping we have the money later to get the hay setup. Right now it's a scythe and rake, trying to get the sickle bar going on the David Bradleys.
I have done it the hard way, and some times it's still the best. Most people think I'm just crazy, but free 2-3 tons of hay a year. Done with a rake, pitch fork, and truck, now that's a savings.
Brian
3HR
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Eric Hanson wrote:Travis,
My back still aches but the pain is tolerable and I read your last post. I COULDN'T AGREE MORE!! Different sized tractors for different sized jobs. And you are absolutely right that a good 2-wheel tractor can really do wonders. Personally I would not want to bush hog acres with one, but it can do so very many jobs just as well as if not better than a 4-wheel tractor. Even though I am not a big fan of tilling, if I did want to till I really would not want to use a tractor. I just think it compresses the soil too much, and a 2-wheel tractor is much more maneuverable.
Eric
This is awkward. I've grown a second evil head. I'm going to need a machete and a tiny ad ...
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