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john d.
12-21-1998 12:07:01
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Re: Mounted corn picker in reply to JD, 12-21-1998 06:56:51
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So.... a cornpicker intrigues you you, huh? It can be an absolutely fascinating piece of machinery. What you've spotted (assuming it's IH equipment) is likely mounted on an M or Super M, and may have been made sometime between the late 30's and early 60's. A few of these things were mounted on other tractors, such as an H, F20, or F30, but the M was most common. Here in Indiana, the most common was the 2ME picker, and it was a BEAST. When maintained and adjusted properly, it would swallow 130+ bushel-per-acre corn in second gear on an M all day long If the corn was standing well, you could sometimes run in third gear. It was extremely heavy, and for that reason seldom was installed on an H, plus the H would have been a little under-powered. Mounting one of these things took 2 men and a dog half a day. Safety was a matter of no small concern. They came with shields over most of the really hazardous places, but lots of farmers didn't have the patience or good sense to keep them in place. These things removed a lot of hands, arms, and feet of operators who committed the unpardonable sin of trying to unjam the machine while it was running. One of the common places to get caught was the snapping rolls down in front, but I know of three who lost fingers, or hands trying to pull stalks out the back of the side elevators while still sitting on the seat! Another big safety factor was fire. The fuel system MUST NOT LEAK ANYWHERE, and chaff must not be allowed to accumulate near hot surfaces. We had a late 50's model that I think was a #200, or something of that sort. It was lighter and easier to mount than a 2ME, but didn't handle wet fodder nearly as well. The main portion of these pickers ran off the belt pulley drive with a gear and roller chain setup. The rear elevator to the wagon ran off the PTO shaft. Hydraulic power lifted the snouts in front. Live-power was not a part of these setups. My dad and I took on some additional acreage about 4 miles from home when I was in the 7th grade. Starting that year, I ran the picker while he hauled the corn home and unloaded it. Dangerous work for a kid, but my head was on pretty straight concerning safety around machinery. We put a high-speed sprocket on the rear elevator, which threw corn all the way to the back of the wagons, which had 4' sides. This thing was absolutely the most fun to operate of any farm machine I've ever run. When everything was running correctly, it almost felt like the assembly was alive! I think I'd work a day for free to run a good one again! If you get this thing, and start dis-assembly with an eye to restoration, Take lots of pictures of how things fit together before removing them!
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