You think the scrappers decimated the old tractor market, wait'll you see what they did with the machine remnants of the industrial revolution.
Virtually every mill, machine shop, and factory were run with flat belts. Some of that got motorized, but most of it just died in place, the shops left to rot, the stuff was too heavy to make it worth the effort to move it - until finally scrappers came in and melted it all down.
You can still make some lucky finds out there, but it'll make you sick to think of the mountains of machinery you could've had for free if you just willing to move it for somebody, even just 20 years ago.
I had a friend who used to clean out old factory buildings. Sometimes they'd just open up a wall and push the stuff out with a fork lift, fourth or fifth floor, didn't matter. Milling machines, lathes, you name it. Stuff you'd give your right arm for. Didn't matter. Old machines don't make money - apartments in old factories make money.
But, another guy I know found an old abandoned machine shop. The stuff is still out there if you look long enough and have some luck. He bought the whole shop - and is now doing exactly what you want to do. He moved all the equipment to his own place, and set up a whole pulley system. He runs it with something a little more modern, but no reason an old tractor wouldn't work.
I'm jealous of him of course. But, keep in mind there is some danger involved with that old equipment. It's not all sunshine and roses. Not a bad idea to always have somebody with you when you're working - just in case. Back when it was in use, broken employees were very easy to replace, you may not be.
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Today's Featured Article - A Cautionary Tale - by Ian Minshull. In the early 1950s my father bought an Allis Chalmers B and I used it for all the row crop work with the mangolds and potatoes, rolling and the haymaking on our farm. The farm and the Allis were sold and I have spent a lifetime working on farms throughout the country. I promised myself that one day I would own an Allis. That time event
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