Allis Chalmers 'vintage' round baler

This was long before the advent of video games or farm kids going to town for recreation during the summer but I still hated that baler because it kept me in the field day after day. First off, my folks dairy farmed with no hired help. The baler was designed for one-man operation with the rain shedding bales suited for leaving in the feld for a few days or even a few weeks before being picked up and hauled to the barn. Of course they got wet in the field. Often, I was assigned the task of "turning the bales" so the bottom area would dry before the bale was picked up. You can imagine the number of games I created running at the bales and kicking them into a roll, standing on them and shifting my weight to one side to make them roll, standing them on end, rolling them down the side hill. You name it, if a kid could do it to or with a round bale, I figured that out and did it.

Another unpleasant task involved poking the loose end of the twine into the bale. Allis, or somebody in the aftermarket world, actually made a bale hook type tool for this very purpose. I would spend hours walking the field from bale to bale poking twine and dreaming of growing up and being anything but a farmer, and hating that damned round baler.

Oh how I hated that Allis baler and begged for a square baler that could place the bales directly onto the wagaon. No more walking the fields for hours on end baking in the hot sun.

The plus side of round bales for a little tyke came during feeding. I was not strpong enough to lift a bale but I could roll them over to the hole in the floor of the haymow and drop them down into the barn and then roll them over to the feed manger.

So how do I get my hands on one. I see them sitting in the weeds and keep telling myself to stop and make an offer. Does anyone know how difficult it is to get belts for them. I seem to recall if you made one up from belt stock, it was almost impossible to match the length so that they baled evenly.

By the way, I like the idea of using one of these items as a parade vehicle. I wonder it there would be a way to install an engine in the baling vchanmber and turn it into a self propelled road unit. I know a guy who has a self propelled manure spreader.

I am also looking for an unstyled WC.

located in southwest Minnesota.

ted

Here's one.

I remember the wheels would fall off one routinely. The lugs would spin and bam off it came and it would scare the bejesus out of me. He had me plowing cotton when I was a little over 10.

I hauled a lot of hay as a teenager that was baled with the AC round baler for the neighbor. The bales were about 50-60 pounds apiece. I remember they were dangerous. The fellow had his arm jerked out of his socket at the shoulder when he got his arm in it. I remember the fellow walked about 1/2 mile to the house and asked my dad to take him to the hospital. He made it but barely.