Before auto tie balers

[37chief]

Some of you older guys like me probably remember hay balers that were auto tied wire only before string. Then before that, stationery bailers ,where 3 wire. The farm with the hay baler would go to different farms and bale the hay. When they came to Dad's farm I helped by poking wire through a bale divider by hand to a guy on the other side as the bale was coming out, and he would tie it. I was too young to do much more, like pitching hay into the plunger (chinaman) as it was called, or stacking 115 pound + wire bales, as they came out. The baler used belonged to a neighbor, and is now at the Antique Gas, and Steam Engine Museum, Vista California. Stan

 

[joeysmith]

Bunch of the wires in my grandfather's hay loft still

 

[showcrop]

Our club has a belt powered stationary baler that is operated at our local fair in late Sept-early Oct. each year. there are wood slabs that are inserted every so many inches-feet-flakes whatever that facilitate pushing the wire through. This is at Deerfield fair, just outside of Manchester NH. Oct. 1-4, 8:00 AM-10:00 PM. Our club has easily the largest display on the grounds at around 2/3 of an acre. The fair used to be much more agricultural than it is now, but it is still cool to show off our old tractors and farm equipment.

 

[BobTx]

My first paying job was poking wires. It was the summer after the 5th grade. Boy, was I proud. BobTx

 

[oliverkid]

So what was standard operating procedure on those old manual tie balers when you had a knotter that kept miss tying?

 

[used red MN]

So what was standard operating procedure on those old manual tie balers when you had a knotter that kept miss tying?

The knotter was probably turned into the (chinaman) refer to the middle of Chief’s OP.

 

[560Dennis]

So what was standard operating procedure on those old manual tie balers when you had a knotter that kept miss tying?

Depends on the baler design, for me on the ihc 50 T it was the twine box .

You will not do that very long getting on and of the tractor .

You will fix the issue right with the knotter what ever it is , whatever baler it is.

 

[ss55]

Some of you older guys like me probably remember hay balers that were auto tied wire only before string. Then before that, stationery bailers ,where 3 wire. The farm with the hay baler would go to different farms and bale the hay. When they came to Dad's farm I helped by poking wire through a bale divider by hand to a guy on the other side as the bale was coming out, and he would tie it. I was too young to do much more, like pitching hay into the plunger (chinaman) as it was called, or stacking 115 pound + wire bales, as they came out. The baler used belonged to a neighbor, and is now at the Antique Gas, and Steam Engine Museum, Vista California. Stan

Hand tie balers were not very popular in western Iowa, nor were wire tie balers. Most area farms stayed with loose hay until twine auto tie balers became popular in the 1950s. Large round balers became popular in the 1970s.

 

[da.bees]

After hay was cut with sickle mower and dried it was put into piles with rake like you see many of today as yard art. In our case an H Farmall moved piles to baler with a fel equipped with what might be described as a pallet fork with several tines and basket. I can still hear the man on baler shouting "block it" signaling someone to insert wood panel separating bales. Shocking or loose stacking was unacceptable because it would shortly ruin. I can't feature building a barn large enough to store loose hay rather than hire it baled in Texas. I think the reason some areas can store hay outdoors is because first snow freezes as a cover preventing moisture entering hay. Some store sorghum in rounds outside but a large % will ruin in Easter half of Texas.

 

[Loosehandle]

So what was standard operating procedure on those old manual tie balers when you had a knotter that kept miss tying?

That knotter didn't get any beer.

 

[TomA in CA]

So what was standard operating procedure on those old manual tie balers when you had a knotter that kept miss tying?

You could try putting him on the other side and make him a poker.

 

[ss55]

After hay was cut with sickle mower and dried it was put into piles with rake like you see many of today as yard art. In our case an H Farmall moved piles to baler with a fel equipped with what might be described as a pallet fork with several tines and basket. I can still hear the man on baler shouting "block it" signaling someone to insert wood panel separating bales. Shocking or loose stacking was unacceptable because it would shortly ruin. I can't feature building a barn large enough to store loose hay rather than hire it baled in Texas. I think the reason some areas can store hay outdoors is because first snow freezes as a cover preventing moisture entering hay. Some store sorghum in rounds outside but a large % will ruin in Easter half of Texas.

https://www.amazon.com/Haymakers-Chronicle-Five-Families-Minnesota/dp/0873513959/ref=sr_1_1?crid=2WZ146I3ACUJT&dib=eyJ2IjoiMSJ9.zCgGcOI5121lNpBikC7niLuJwaI5z7Omx-rxu88t-5QwO8U1eU7WaRm_USp-o_EIq5ghgCqyOOTJcXwSdEAuP7409DLBLLnD9aPJ-eCJ6YvKx1igKRlLzSTmVD2JFqkol2eRKUobV1IEVF5pminHkXWWZm14yXDB-PCQe_HhQIoJYfmOj4c2ZccJ8HGRgnkGfF1qLJCj7ynFdRHStAX78XPAyKdw61BZ45tyhIXcWjg.Gqr2mZA-NWukXWypjsPGOA9cJXXKUi2K895hWzETylg&dib_tag=se&keywords=the+haymakers&qid=1787487164&sprefix=The+haymakers%2Caps%2C157&sr=8-1

There was a skill in building a loose haystack so that it would shed water like a thatched roof. In snow country hay stacks would stay in the field until the ground froze. In early winter the stacks were then pitched onto sleds or hay/stone boats to haul to the barnyard before deep snow accumulated. In later years grapple forks were used to lift loose hay into haylofts as soon as the hay was dry.

The 80,160, 240 acre farms in the Midwest were likely smaller than the ranches and plantations down south. Yields or tonnage per acre were not what they are today either.

 

[miner09]

When I was a kid neighbor had a MM baler. It picked up the hay but you had to hand tie bales. Had a long bench type seat on each side. Had wood blocks and wire on rack. Can’t remember if two men or four men rode and did the tying. Had a Wisconsin engine running baler. On the engine side of baler the axle had two wheel tires. One was larger on inside and a smaller wheel and tire on outside side. This was for wet ground. The job on back was really dusty. This was the only one I ever saw. Never seen one at all the tractor —antique shows I been to.

 

[used red MN]

Depends on the baler design, for me on the ihc 50 T it was the twine box .

You will not do that very long getting on and of the tractor .

You will fix the issue right with the knotter what ever it is , whatever baler it is.

You missed this part of his reply!

those old manual tie balers

 

[mrslesq]

After hay was cut with sickle mower and dried it was put into piles with rake like you see many of today as yard art. In our case an H Farmall moved piles to baler with a fel equipped with what might be described as a pallet fork with several tines and basket. I can still hear the man on baler shouting "block it" signaling someone to insert wood panel separating bales. Shocking or loose stacking was unacceptable because it would shortly ruin. I can't feature building a barn large enough to store loose hay rather than hire it baled in Texas. I think the reason some areas can store hay outdoors is because first snow freezes as a cover preventing moisture entering hay. Some store sorghum in rounds outside but a large % will ruin in Easter half of Texas.

My Dad remembered an old "block" baler. He said you almost needed a full time carpenter to build blocks if the block inserter was not quick enough. They went to a JD 116W baler and did a lot of custom baling the first few years. They also went to a heavier wire after the first year because a lot of bales broke when dropped to the bottom of the hay mow from the carrier in the peak of the barn. I still have the JD116W baler down in my machine shed. "It ran when parked" but the V4 Wisconsin is froze.