First, glad to hear you were not too seriously injured. Hand starting can be dangerous, but I agree with J R Sutton that it does not have to be. We have always crank started all our Farmall tractors, which are Farmall H and M and formerly an F12. The H and M have never been a problem because the spark is set at top dead centre and the motors never kick back. I also drive an old Riley and the starter motor sometimes won't work. It has an advance/retard lever on the dash and I use it for hand starting. If it is ignored the Riley motor WILL BITE! It kicked back once a few years ago when I was in a hurry and didn't pull the lever out far enough; the crank smacked me across the back of the hand - no breaks, but it hurt.
My Dad always taught me:
1. Do NOT wrap your thumb around the crank handle
2. Use quick up strokes to crank the motor where possible, so that the crank won't hit you in the face if the motor kicks back.
3. Use the advance / retard mechanism where fitted.
4. Keep the ignition timing, spark plugs and points gap set correctly.
Of course, electric start is a great convenience. I have fitted it to the H and it is a wonderful device when the motor is being tricky to start.
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Today's Featured Article - The Cletrac General GG and the BF Avery A - A Bit of History - by Mike Ballash. This article is a summary of what I have gathered up from various sources on the Gletrac General GG and the B. F. Avery model A tractors. I am quite sure that most of it is accurate. The General GG was made by the Cleveland Tractor Company (Cletrac) of Cleveland, Ohio. Originally the company was called the Cleveland Motor Plow Company which began in 1912, then the Cleveland Tractor Company (1917) and finally Cletrac.
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