Enjoying a hobby in old tractors means more than just tinkering and working on them. It means taking them out for a ride! Here’s a video I took while on the 1959 John Deere 630 while going over the dry farm.
Update: I also recorded a video that’s similar, but with the A and 630, on New Years Day.
This fall we plowed up with the John Deere 4230 and JD plough the alfalfa field next to my parents house, as well as some additional acreage. Prior to ploughing, I also sprayed the field to kill off the alfalfa with the John Deere 4020. I also did some disking with the 4020 and BW disk.
I’ve always enjoyed the look of the 20/30 series two-cylinder John Deere tractors. Once upon a time (before I was born), we had a 630 on our farm. I believe they had a loader on it, and used it to load hay with, but I’m not quite certain. Because of this, the 630 has always had a special interest to me.
A quick history on the 630. If you know me, you know I enjoy the John Deere Model A. The A was replaced by the 60, and the 60 was replaced by the 620, and the 620 was replaced by the 630. In other words, the 630 is basically a late-fifties Model A.
I knew I would like to own a 630, I just didn’t think the opportunity would present itself quite as quickly as it did. My dad has a co-worker that was talking about selling a 630, and knowing that I enjoy the two-cylinders, dad mentioned to me that he was selling one. It wasn’t running at the time, and had been sitting for quite a few years.
Of course, I had to jump on the opportunity. Who wouldn’t, right? I ended up purchasing the tractor, and was fortunate that my grandfather was also able to go with me to pick up the tractor. As much as I enjoy spending time with grandpa, it’s even more fun getting an old tractor with him! He also grew up on and spent his entire life on a farm, and as such gives us opportunities to talk about the “good old days” when these tractors were in their prime.
To spare you the boring details, I had to do quite a bit of work on the tractor throughout the summer and fall. I don’t mind a good project though–that’s the best way to learn about a machine and become acquainted with it.
Although the project is not completed, as you can see from the photos and video, the project paid off. I now have a nice 1959 John Deere 630 to enjoy.
Till the next big thing…
A spark from a welding torch started a recently cut grain (barley) field on fire. It was a little breezy and picked up very quickly. The field is next to our barn, which contains the hay stored for the beef cattle for the winter, and our tractors. Needless to say, it was an instant adrenaline rush. I grabbed a tractor and quickly hooked it up to the plow and made a ring around the fire to contain it. I can honestly say I’ve never hooked anything up that fast before. In the end, everything was okay, except for a few unlucky straw bales.
It’s that time of year ago–time for combining, changing of the leaves, and geese. Last night, with my window open, I could hear the geese gathering all night long. They are starting to migrate south; seeing a V in the sky is now a common occurrence.
Also, this fall we’ve had a lot of rain. We’ve been trying to get some hay in, and every time it gets nearly ready to bale, it starts to rain on it again. It’s a bit of a pain, but it makes for some pretty mornings.
Over the weekend (July 13 2013) we were hauling some hay (alfalfa) from the dry farm to the barn. These videos show the John Deere 4020 and 3020 loading the hay, and the John Deere 4230 hauling it.
Nothing quite beats a morning after a rain… It’s been getting warm and dry lately, so the rain yesterday was greatly needed–even if it did rain on some down hay.
My grandpa gave me a John Deere No. 5 sickle mower that he used to use on his farm. He spent a lot of hours with it mowing alfalfa with his dad while he was growing up. Since I’ve got the machinery to pull it, I thought it’d be a lot of fun to take it and get it working with my John Deere A or B. I have since gotten it working, and it works very well behind the A! I’ll probably never cut down an entire field with it, but it’s fun to see how it works and see how they used to do it in the “good old days”. For now, it’s job is going to be trim work around the barn area and trimming down the sides of the roads.
I had intentions on writing up a photo-book story of the restoration process of the John Deere Model A. I’m having a hard time finishing it, so I thought in the meantime, I’d just throw it up here. If there are any major spelling/grammar mistakes or things you’d like added, please use the comments field below. I’ll add some photos later. Click “Continue Reading” below for the full story.
As I mentioned in the previous post, I had the opportunity to go drill (plant) oats with my 1947 John Deere A. I had a great time doing it, but forgot to take some good photos afterwords! So, yesterday I was able to go out with the Canon 5D MK II and spend a few minutes with one of my most popular photo subjects.