THE INHERENT DANGERS OF OUR PASTIME

I should point out, my dad in his senior years took the time to show young folks, safe operation of tractors and equipment. I can think of roughly two dozen of his students, that have gone on to operate farm equipment, forestry equipment, heavy equipment and trucks. I can remember one young lad in particular, dad had him raking hay by the time he was 6-8 years old, probably enough for 2,000 plus bales per day. This kid stayed with me on the farm until he was 23, then got a hankering to go long haul trucking. He's pushing 50 now, has trucked every province in Canada, every US state on the mainland and some Mexico. I haven't talked with him for about 5 years, however at that time he has yet to have an accident. I suspect that is unchanged as I talked with a guy who drives for same company just last month, they don't hire or keep drivers with an accident history.

I have seen this all around me in my lifetime, far too many farm operations don't put enough emphasis on safety and training. Farmers are also famous for hiring cheap help, most of them would be considered enemployable around other comparable equipment. Farmers are also quite famous for operating equipment with items broken. During my lifetime in the farming community, I've seen many accidents in the seat of a tractor, just looking for a place to happen.

I hired one young lad, his dad told me he was a good operator. I talked with him a few min. before sending him down the drive with Farmall 300 and rake. In less than 5 min., I caught up with him, told him to park the tractor and go home. I didn't need an accident looking for a place to happen. You can call this cold and uncaring or whatever you wish, that is the way it has to be in my books.

My dad and many of his relatives farmed. Three of dad's first cousins and one of my second cousins were killed in tractor accidents, one just last year a few days after retiring and prior to receiving his first social security check.

My dad was in a tractor accident in 1970. He had his back broken and nealy died, and although he farmed for several more years, he had to retire early and has much pain to this day.

But for all the danger, something just gets in ones blood that draws them to these old machines. That is how I am. The best we can do is to remain always vigilant and respectful of the machines we love, because to do otherwise can be deadly.

Leo

An uncle, always in a hurry, tried to "clean out" a cornpicker while it was running. Several fingers of the right hand were taken off instantly.

A friend overturned a W-6 on a hillside. Somehow, he got out of it, but I expect most people don't survive a rollover. Hillsides deserve our extreme respect.

The PTO certainly ranks at the top of the danger list.

I remember decals on our H's that warned against driving in fifth without locking the brakes together. Hitting one brake while barreling down the road is asking for the tractor to slew sideways, and under certain conditions, that could cause a rollover.

Another warning was against making sharp turns at high speed. The old tricycle-style tractors are probably the most likely to roll, but I think any tractor deserves the utmost respect. It is a lot heavier than any of us.

Cranking used to break a lot of arms, more than anything because people thought they would get a better spark by "spinning" the crank. I doubt if this is true. The impulse coupling provides the spark by spinning the mag after it trips. The real problem with starting is with engines that are not tuned up (good points, plugs, maybe condenser), or with a hot engine, maybe some vapor lock. We didn't know about vapor lock way back then, but I often think of our Case baler with a Wisconsin VE-4 on it. It had a tiny crank and was a nasty little devil to start when it was hot. Now, I suspect it was nothing more than the heat of running that vaporized some of the fuel in the carb or fuel line. A wet rag might have might the thing a lot easier to start, but, as I say, we didn't know about the problem then.

Another danger, especially with an old mag that hasn't been brought up to snuff. The impulse coupling doesn't always engage. If you are cranking without an impulse, the engine will probably fire BEF0RE TDC and the crank will be thrown backward. IF you have the foresight to be pulling up only, and keeping your thumb out of the way, the crank will probably slip out of your hand. If you are lucky, the crank won't fly off and hit you in the teeth.

I got in the habit of listening to the impulse coupling before I pulled up the crank. On the IHC F-4 mags that I used so much, there was a little clanking noise that meant the impulse pawl had dropped in the notch. Then it was safe to pull up. Of course, if the impulse is manually-operated, as on the E-4A and probably other mags of the 20s and early 30s, it is entirely up to the operator to remember to set the pawl. Even here, there is a possible problem. If the engine fires a couple of times, but does not start, the pawl will be thrown out of engagement and have to be reset.

I always hope that people younger than I am who get into this hobby are aware of the real dangers surrounding tractors, especially the older ones with hand-starting, no rollover protection, belt pulleys, exposed PTOs, and so on.

I will never forget that man as long as I live. He is the one who really sparked my love of farming and is very sorely missed. I take comfort in knowing he"s in a better place where he no longer knows pain as I am sure your friend is too.

Down here in Maine, we have a lot of two of the most dangerous types of work -- timber and fishing -- and the hazards are much the same as our pastime, especially in the woods. Poorly rigged hauls, cable and chain failures, rollovers, inexperience and complacency all contribute. Leaving the obvious peril of drowning aside, and fishing has many of the same hazards with the winches and lines and, down below, motors and turning shafts.

Another thing those endeavors have in commmon with what we do is that folks are many times working alone or, at best, in pairs but separated.

You did well, I think, to point out the need for care in the shop, as well. I know I've had tractors do unexpected things at the moment my carefully-planned split took place. The most important part of any such plan I ever laid out was that I was out of the way of anything that might fall, and that detail paid off handsomely in one case. If anyone were to ask my advice about how to go about such a project, I'd also emphasize a sound rigging of adequate capacity for the job and having help. And that's just in the shop.

Operation is a whole other kettle of fish. It doesn't really apply to the farm tractors, but I'd suggest folks remember that there is a reason the lawn tractors have a cutoff on the PTO when the machine is thrown in reverse -- it's a safeguard against 1)ignorance of the danger, and 2) complacency. Yeah, they're a pain in the neck, but who hasn't started backing just that split second before getting fully turned around to check behind? Many accidents can be laid to just one slip as simple as that.

And we should always remember what we're working on. A lot of the non-tractor folks at tractor shows are amazed that a lot of the old-timers are just 20, 30, 40 hp machines, and wonder how they can do the work that they do. We who restore, tinker on, and operate the great old machines should never forget that their power to destroy, maim or kill is just as impressive.

It's not a long post, more likel a short tribute to what sounds like a hard working man who will be missed by family and friends. There but for the grace of God go we...