5-11-01: Pat came over and we got the box almost all done. All I
need to do is add the drawbar connection to the tongue and it is all done.
Pat's rear fuel tank gauge on his Ford diesel F250 pickup is acting up, so
we drained the rear tank and tried to take the tank down, but it has very rusted
metric bolts, so Pat will try it at his place with his tools later this weekend.
5-14-01: Dan and I drove over to a friend's house to pick up a John
Deere #52 plow. We brought it home on his snowmobile trailer and I
will put it in the garage tomorrow after work. This is a 1935 vintage 2 X
12 plow, on steel, complete and original with no welds or jury-rigged repairs.
5-16-01: Dean Van Preusem, of Snohomish, Washington, sent me a scanned
copy of the #52 plow setup and operating manual. Thanks Dean! It
says that my plow is defiantly a #52, based on the beam part numbers, which is
about the only way to really identify these old plows. This one has the
"open" style clutch assembly.
5-19-01: I started looking the plow over today, comparing it to the
pictures in the manual, and it is in pretty good shape. The few things that need
a little work are just small details, such as replacing hex head bolts and nuts
with square ones, and getting a few small parts such as the correct pin that
aligns the hitch assembly. A good cleaning, a coat of paint, getting the
rust off of the plow shares and moldboards, and it will be ready to go.
The right side wheel (the furrow wheel) is pretty loose on the axle, and the
bushing is worn. I will replace it when I get a chance. I took the
plow out into the back yard and plowed the garden to see if the lift clutch
works OK. It does. I plowed a 20 foot by 20 foot garden in about 10
minutes. I had to back the plow up to the fence, plow for 20 feet, lift it
up, then back up to the fence again. Lots of fun, but a lot of work
backing a plow!.
June, 2001
6-9-01: We are getting ready for the Blackberry Farm Father's Day
Picnic with the North Eastern Illinois Two Cylinder Club. It is a week
away, so we are looking forward to our first tractor event of the year.
6-16-01: I picked up Pat's pickup this afternoon, and loaded the
tractor on the trailer. We are ready to go.
6-17-01: We left for Blackberry Farm right after breakfast, heading up
I-355. We arrived in plenty of time, got set up, and had a great time.
We left about 4:00 pm, and got home before dark.
6-18-01: I emailed Greg Stephen in Franktown, Colorado about some parts for
the plow. Someone told me that he is making reproduction parts for the
trip rope where it clips to the tractor seat.
6/23/01: We went to the EDGE&TA antique tractor and engine show at
Sandwich today. We met Jim Huston and Fred Lestina of the Will County
Threshermen's Association, and Bob Jensen of the North Eastern Two Cylinder Club
while walking around. It is a small world, isn't it?
6-24-01: I made a list of the square head bolts and nuts that I need
to buy and started cleaning the plow. The rust is not too bad, and I want
to try several methods of removal. I removed the rust with a knotted cup
brush on the 4 1/2 inch grinder on the back plow, and put a coat of Naval Jelly
on the front plow to see which works best. I hosed the Naval Jelly off,
and it had done nothing to speak of in 15 minutes. I then coated both
plows with CLR to see what that would do. Not much. I then hit both
plows with the power wire brush, and it still doesn't look that great. I
will apply the rust converter, and let it go. It will scour when it hits
the dirt at our July plow day.
here
to
go to July, 2001.