Our Season has started. The membership meeting at Foskett's garage in Woodstock, CT was fun as always. Our first plow day in several years was at the Hunt Farm in Orange, MA on May 18th. I have added two videos that I shot that day to the Videos section of this site. I had a great time as did all who attended. Thanks to Dave Eklund for coordinating this event. The next event is June 1st at the Granite State show in Hollis, NH. I hope see you there. We have a new event this year. On July 21st we will have a chapter member site visit. Member Steve Dearborn will show us his collection at his place in Broad Brook, CT. More details to follow.
|
I wanted to share some thoughts on this past season. 2023 was a good year for our chapter, some changes and lots of good times. 2023 sort of got the chapter back to normal. The shows were well attended for the most part and people seemed to be happy to get out and take in shows. The chapter did well financially for the most part and we now can breath easier with the money decisions that the board of directors have to make.
The first in person meeting of the directors was held on Jan 21st. It was good to see everyone and conduct business in person, The next meeting is planned for March 10th. The new shows season is being planned. I will post more updates as the show dates become available. Thanks Well, the 2021 show season is over. After 2020, the Directors were not sure what would happen. It was assumed that the membership would be ready to take in some shows and the level on enthusiasm would be high. Just in case it was not as anticipated, we were cautious on all purchases. We ordered less inventory than we had in past years. We ordered fewer raffle tickets than in past years. As the season went on it was clear that our assumptions were correct. Attendance at the shows and members were eager to have some fun. The chapter did well financially and we were happy. The Power of the Red show turned out to be a challenge. All of the food vendors were booked and could not take in our show. Every other cost was higher than in the past. In some cases, much higher. We tried some different things at the show and most of these events were a hit. The tractor slow race was competitive and the other events were well received. The banquet on Saturday night was not well attended, but a good time was had by those who did attend. We learned this year that the Power of the Red is primarily for our members as most people who came through the gate were member or had attended the show previously.
The other shows also were well attended and fun was had at all of them. The chapter banquet in October turned out to be a good time. Attendance was normal and most people went way happy. Happy Fall. Earlier this month I took a trip to Village Power in hopes of getting a few parts for my C-20 Plow. As you know, Village Power is closing its doors after a long time selling IH parts. As luck would have it, I found just what I was looking for and I left with a feeling of success. I did find a few other things that I can use; a grass board for the C-21 mower and a share and shin for my plows. I also bought a left hand share for my Cub plow. I thought if I ever broke the one I have, it is best to have a spare.  It was with some sadness as I left, this being probably that last time I would go to Village Power. Charley said he will be gone by September. Given that so many of these former dealerships have closed, it is sad to me that one more is gone. Thanks, Charley  I have been working on my IH mower recently. My mower is a C-21 or so I thought. I ordered a owner's manual for it as I did not have one and I thought it is a good idea to have one. I have rebuilt the cutter bar and painted it. I have learned a few things in this effort. One, the pitman stick is painted harvester cream (refer to the post below for more on cream paint) that is, all of the stick is painted cream. When I cleaned mine up, it was cream. I had thought the metal parts were painted blue, but this one all cream. So, I am painting it cream. I thought the model number was C-21, but as you can see in the first image, the manual covers two mowers; 2C-F21 amd the 34-F21. IH added the tractor model to the related implements from the early days until the mid 1950's or so. In this case the 2 indicates that it is for a 200 tractor, the C is for the Super C tractor the F means Fast Hitch and the 21 is the model of the mower. The other mower covered 34-F21 means there was a mower model for the 300 & 400 tractors. Again the F means Fast Hitch. So the basic mower was the same and IH used the small point Fast Hitch tongs for the 2C-F21 and the large Fast Hitch tongs for the 300 & 400. There are some other differences, but the main idea is that the same basic mower can be installed on ore than one tractor.  The second image is the back of the manual showing that the manual does cover both mowers. You can see that there differences in the mowers. At the bottom of the image is the publishing date 7-25-55. I am guessing that this must be one of the last manuals for implements that carry tractor model information in the model number as I believe that IH did away with this practice in the 1950's. Looking at this manual is a trip down memory lane for me, Just the way things used to be.  I wanted to update this blog to keep the members apprised. I have communicated with Mark Walker regarding the Chapter #18 picnic in July. Rooster suggested that the event be cancelled. I had to agree. While New Hampshire has lifted most of their restrictions, there would still be issues. The serving of food for one. It really would not be a picnic is everyone had to bring their own food and not be able to share. Also, mask would really have to be worn for safety's sake. I have updated the Chapter Calendar as you can see. Since most shows have been cancelled, it is unclear when or if the Chapter can gather this year. The plan is still to hold the banquet in October, but we will have to see what happens.
On Saturday, 5/23/2020, the Chapter #18 plow day happened as planned. I had debated if this event should occur or not for some time. Most of the chapter events up to this point had been cancelled due to the pandemic, but since a plow day could be held (at least in my mind) within the rules of social distancing I felt the need to have the event proceed. In the end, I was glad that it happened. Not only did the participants all seem to have a good time, there were some spectators who seemed happy to share in the fun. Having fun is what Chapter 18 is all about and the ability to use our toys just adds to the fun. There were 8-10 tractors, 3 horse teams and a mule team at the event. I plowed from 9:00am until 6:00pm with only a break for lunch. Since there were fewer tractors with generally smaller plows on the field, it took longer to plow the fields. But, we came close. I was able to finish the day without any issues. I came close to running out of gas once, but I did not have to walk back to get more.
Pictures of the event are in the Pictures section of this web site. Thanks It is spring even if the weather is not cooperating here in New England. Every year as the days get longer and the sun shines, I feel the need to drive a tractor. The later in the year it gets the more I feel the need. I need to get out there and work the machines. This year, with the restrictions we have in place, it is harder to feel like it is really spring. It is impossible to plan any activity so we are left with at feeling of insecurity. This is why I have not cancelled the plow day in Litchfield, NH yet. I feel that I just need to get out there and do some dirt! I suspect that you feel much the same. The plow day will be different given the restrictions, but I still feel that it is the right decision to go ahead and have the event. Enjoy life as much as you can.
As I mentioned in my earlier post. I thought it was a good idea to chase the threads in the Farmall 200 manifold. I ordered a 1 1/2 inch tap and cleaned up the threads. The results are not as dramatic as I had hoped but I was happy that I did it. As you can see, there are not a lot of threads in the manifold and the new pipe does not extend all that far beyond the hood, but it will work just fine. I can use the tap on other tractors as some point.    For as long as I have owned my Farmall 200, the muffler has not fit tightly on the exhaust pipe. The problem is that the exhaust pipe is too small, it has rusted away over the years and decreased the size enough that the muffler can't be tightened enough to fit. This is a common problem with IH tractors and I am sure a lot of you have faced the same issue. In some ways it was handy, when I had to remove the muffler for one reason or another all I needed were gloves, but I wanted to fix it. As I looked at the pipe, it looked to be rusted solidly in place and I had my doubts that I could remove it. I bought a replacement pipe years ago, but I was hesitant to work on it. I knew that the plan B would be to buy a replacement manifold which is a scary proposition too. I finally decided that it was time to try. I took my offset grinder and cut the old pipe off and notched the remaining pipe. Then I used a punch and chisel to knock out the section that I had notched. To my surprise, the remaining pipe then turned out by using a pipe wrench on it. Eventually, I was able to turn it with my fingers.  It took only a few minutes to remove the old pipe. I was shocked. Looking at the threads in the manifold they were in very good shape.  So, I screwed in the replacement pipe and tightened it down as much as I could using a pipe wrench. As you can see, the muffler now fits tight and no longer sits on the hood. I did buy a 1 1/2 inch tap on ebay and my plan is to remove the pipe and clean up the manifold threads so that the pipe will screw in further.  |
Archives
May 2024
Categories |
RSS Feed