Colt Case Ingersoll Garden Tractors

Some of you may remember I was trying to get this baler back into service. I had bought it at auction about 3 years ago with no information on it. I’ve been tinkering with it here and there. Well we had a perfect day to make hay today and I already had my test patch cut when I tried out the sickle mower so here we go!

I hitched the old rake up to the older Farmall M and made some rows. It’s got a lot of ware but it can still make windrow!
The hay was a little damp so I left it in the sun till afternoon. Then it was time to try out the baler. Who knows how long it’s been since it’s been in the field. I was a little nervous pulling out to the field. I got lined up and started baling.
Here is my first bale! I had to pull back to the shop a couple times to make adjustments, but I ended up making 4 bales off my test spot! I still have some work to do. It will miss a tying a knot sometimes, I need to adjust the bale size, there a little too long, and I broke a couple of sheer pins so I still have some adjustments to make, but we’re making hay!

He he, don't you like it when a project turns out working like this and is actually really useful!? This is great @JSinMO !

I would of liked to be there when that was happening, for the sounds and smells. Use to be all hay fields behind my parents house. Sure liked hay time.
All houses now.

Noel

Congrats on your first bales - proof of productive tinkering fixing things up
Thanks for sharing the photos

propane1 wrote: ↑Mon May 08, 2023 3:34 am I would of liked to be there when that was happening, for the sounds and smells. Use to be all hay fields behind my parents house. Sure liked hay time.
All houses now.

Noel

My buddy worked for several farmers and got me my first paying job baling hay with him. Still have fond memories of that Loved the smell, not so much the chaff down the shirt though. Lunch and supper and a beer or 2 after the work was done and $2.50 a hour was big money back in 1976


Gordy

OH hard to believe he is making hay already They are small, but I still have snow piles in the shade of some pine trees

propane1 wrote: ↑Mon May 08, 2023 3:34 am I would of liked to be there when that was happening, for the sounds and smells. Use to be all hay fields behind my parents house. Sure liked hay time.
All houses now.

Noel

You’d be welcome! nothing like the smell of fresh hay.

Gordy wrote: ↑Mon May 08, 2023 11:40 am
OH hard to believe he is making hay already They are small, but I still have snow piles in the shade of some pine trees

I did this so early just to start testing my junk! I could cut the fields now and bale it they are pretty well ready but, it will be 3 weeks to a month yet before hay season really kicks off in this area.

We’re having great hay weather. Everybody is out bailing. Time for me to get in gear!

My first pass I spooked up a newborn deer! Mom was not happy with me! Pawing the ground and stomping around.
Hard to see in the picture The old mower did pretty good. I did break one of the pitman arms I made but I was able to switch it out pretty quickly. Other than my crappy driving leaving skips things went pretty well. With day time temperatures in the 80s and low humidity it should be ready to rake and bale quick!

The pictures really do show the nice weather. That must've been a lot of fun!

Eugen wrote: ↑Sun May 28, 2023 12:45 am The pictures really do show the nice weather. That must've been a lot of fun!

Almost all of my equipment is is at least 40 years old and some of it is well over 80 years old. I do the best I can to maintain it but running this old stuff always makes me a little nervous!

When its all running smoothly though for me it’s about the most enjoyable way I know to spend a day. I don’t know of many people around here that still use this old equipment, other than for demonstration at a fair or tractor show. It seems there fewer people all the time that understand why I do all this, especially my age or younger. Sometimes that really makes me sad. I think my generation is probably the last that actually used this stuff on a daily basis when we were younger. I guess that’s the way it goes. You’d be hard pressed to find someone using a team of horses or steam engines anywhere but a show these days. I guess this stuff I mess with will be next.

There now, that’s my melancholy old junk ramble for the evening!