Cultivating With The Fordson

By Staff
Published on May 1, 1966
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This rig was sold on the sale along with a little 21/2 HP Sandowthat had belonged to my Grandfather. Both have probably long sincebeen junked.
This rig was sold on the sale along with a little 21/2 HP Sandowthat had belonged to my Grandfather. Both have probably long sincebeen junked.
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Here is a picture of my Father cultivating with the Fordson. This probably was taken about 1945 or 1946.
Here is a picture of my Father cultivating with the Fordson. This probably was taken about 1945 or 1946.

I am writing about the
Fordson cultivator attachment. Dad bought one, used, in ’41 and
we used the critter until he quit farming in the late
’40’s. This was a ’29 Fordson with the Moline
cultivator attachment. It also had a Wico HI tension magneto, which
made for much easier starting. The tractor had no differential or
wheel brakes which made turning a beast of a job, especially on a
hillside, on rough clay ground. You would come skidding around,
front wheel plowing up a furrow, then it digs in -clunk! Down with
the clutch, hop off, run around and look. Yup, the front wheel has
snapped that curving fork and is lying on its side under the oil
pan. Oh well, at least it keeps the crank from digging in and
bending and allows room to put the jack under and lift her up.

I’ll say that mounting takes a lot of
work since you had to take off the front wheels complete with axle and wishbone, and then bolt one that heavy casting with the single
small wheel, slide the back wheels to the end of the axel and bolt
the cultivator on piece by piece. Turning at the ends was work – 3
levers to throw to lift separator front and rear gangs. The Graham
Bradly cultivator was about the same design, only single lever
lift, both did good work and very easy to follow crooked rows. It
worked close and if set right, went in and did clean work. There
were fenders with this cultivator but we did not use them for the
reason that part of the cultivator attached to the wheel hub bolts
resulted in the fact that the wheels would work loose on splines
and tend to slide in or out. Did you ever loose a wheel when
cultivating? Some fun getting the tractor up and everything back in
place.

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