Old Iron in Star Valley

Tag: antique

  • Putting Equipment Away for the Winter

    Putting Equipment Away for the Winter

    I had to move the ’39 A out of where I had it currently being stored (it’s a long story), and since it’s not running great and is a hand start I most likely won’t be getting it out this winter, so I put it behind everything else in the side of the barn. I’ve had the carb rebuilt, and it still isn’t running too well. Anyway, since I had it out and had some of the other tractors started and moved out as well, I thought I’d take the opportunity to post a short video.

    We’re fortunate that it’s been this warm with the weather as good as it has been. Typically by this time of year we’re already accumulating some snowfall and the temperatures are rarely above the mid-20s.

    Hopefully next year I’ll be able to get it running better. But the list of machines I have to work on is getting pretty large…

  • 1936 Farmall F30

    About a year and a half ago we picked up a non-running 1936 Farmall F-30 tractor from someone over in Eastern Idaho. The F-30 is the predecessor to the popular Model M tractor. Where I already have a Model M and the successor Super M, I thought the F-30 would be a good addition to the lineup.

    The F-30 is a hand-start only tractor with no battery or lights. It also originally shipped on all steel wheels, so the four speed transmission tops out at around 5 MPH. It’s not exactly the tractor to take if you want to get somewhere in a hurry… However, it was considered a big tractor for the time–almost too big, as the smaller Model F-20 was the top seller (by a long shot).

    The John Deere tractor that competed with the F-30 was the Model G. The earlier G did not sell as well either, where the smaller Model A has significantly higher sales. The John Deere A was even outsold by the even smaller Model B. I guess farms at the time just weren’t ready for the larger equipment yet.

    Anyway, I’ve been slowly working on the machine for the past year. I finally took the plunge and purchased new back tires, which was the last thing it really needed to be able to get it out and use it some. Where tires are so expensive I was procrastinating the purchase for a while.

    I hope you can enjoy this old piece of history.

  • Mowing Alfalfa with the Model A and Number 5 Sickle Mower

    Mowing hay (a mixture of alfalfa and grass) with a John Deere Model A and Number 5 sickle mower. We have a nice rotary swather, but thought it’d be fun to spend some time and shoot some video of the A and No. 5.

    Mowing with the Model A and Number 5 Sickle Mower

  • Feeding Cattle with the Model A

    Last year, I used the 630 to feed with. However, I thought it would be fun to try the A as well. I think the A is one of my favorite two-cylinder models.

    In this video I’m feeding beef cattle (Herefords and Angus) with the A and a custom-made feeder. The feeder used to be a round bale bagger. I converted it to work with the 3x4x8 large square bales. Bales are loaded with a 3020 PowerShift.

  • Support me on Patreon

    Balancing a day job, running a farm, and restoring/using old tractors and equipment takes a lot of resources! Unfortunately, the process to create the videos of these old classic tractors does take some cold hard cash. If you’d like, feel free to support me on Patreon. I’ll still continue to create them without it–but a little help would be much appreciated!

    Thanks,

    Kyle

    https://www.patreon.com/kylew2001

  • John Deere 730 in Deep Snow

    If you make a path in the snow once it starts to melt, where the tracks are melts out a lot faster. Also, where possible, the use of the blade also assists in its melting. As you can see, it was very deep!

  • Raking Alfalfa with the G and 2010

    This video is of the John Deere G and John Deere 2010 raking alfalfa. It also has some slow-motion video. Because the large baler needs to be fed so much hay, and the hay needs to be turned to dry, we rake the two rows together. Eventually it will be nice to have a twin rake that does it both in one pass. In the meantime, this is what we have–one or two tractors that rake and roll the hay together. The slow-motion of the iPhone 5s is kind of fun to watch as well.