Dad had an old Homelite back in the '60's that was outrageously heavy. It would start when cold, but after you shut it off hot, it wouldn't start for about an hour. Which was a blessing, because after running it for awhile, your arms were wanting to fall off. So you ran it until you couldn't stand it any longer, then shut it off and went and did something else. By the time it had cooled off enough to start, you were ready for another round.
I think it was a factory optional feature.
It also had a manual oiler- I was tempted to "forget" to press the button, and fry the chain and bar- but I knew my life wouldn't be worth a plugged nickel if I did, which kept me on the straight and narrow.
I came home from Washington State U for Christmas vacation, I think in 1967- Dad was flat on his back with pneumonia, couldn't hardly breathe without going into a coughing spasm. He said, "I know you've got things you want to do with your friends, but your mom and I are kind of in a bad way here. The woodshed is about empty, and the cattle have broken up the feeder and are wandering all over the barn, getting into the hay and wallowing it down. I pulled a bunch of ash logs into the barn before I got sick, and really need you to cut and split a bunch of wood, and repair the feeder. Run the saw until your can't hold it up, then work on the feeder until the saw cools off. I'm sorry about putting all this on you, but its about the only choice we've got." So I set to it, and by the time I went back to school, the woodshed was full again, and the cattle were staying where they were supposed to. And I felt better about myself than if I'd spent the vacation doing nothing with my feckless friends.
I'm sure many of you have similar stories, and I'm certainly not trying to imply that I was some kind of hero. I just did what had to be done (and come to think of it, that's kind of what farming is all about). I think the big problem these days is the kids seldom have "character building opportunities" such as those.
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Today's Featured Article - A Lifetime of Farm Machinery - by Joe Michaels. I am a mechanical engineer by profession, specializing in powerplant work. I worked as a machinist and engine erector, with time spent overseas. I have always had a love for machinery, and an appreciation for farming and farm machinery. I was born and raised in Brooklyn, New York. Not a place one would associate with farms or farm machinery. I credit my parents for instilling a lot of good values, a respect for learning, a knowledge of various skills and a little knowledge of farming in me, amo
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