I get a chance to see an antique restored John Deere No. 12A combine harvest soybeans. We get to see the manual labor that was involved in harvesting 70-80 years ago even with a mechanized harvester.
We ran a 12A with a power unit till the mid 70's. Gave up when the junk yard scrapped their collection. (can't blame them, we probably scavenged all the needed parts. Usually had to replace some wood parts on the straw walkers, and sew the canvas every now and then. Ours had a bagger, not a grain bin.
That's a very cool old combine. You're dad did an excellent job restoring the machine. It's not often (like in NEVER) that you get to see a pull-type combine being used in soybeans. In terms of the "canvas" which is also known as a draper, they ARE hard to get. I needed one about 20 years ago and was able to get it from the now defunct Central Tractor store. However, when I was looking, I was told that if you need a new one, either check with an Amish community, as some will be using equipment that still used canvases, or check with a sail maker.
Went to a farm sale down the road in 1992. The old boy last farmed in 1976 and this was the combine he used. He maintained and shedded everything, all his equipment was field reddy and looked like this 15 years after he last used it. His place and all his equipment were all maintained to a T. Tractors, implements, buldings, etc. He had a 64 Chevy 3/4 ton truck that looked like it was just off the showroom. He even had half a wood crib full of corn that was never shelled or gound out!
I remember using a “ John Deere 30” combine it was the next latest & greatest combine to the “12a” model. Combines have come a long way in 60-70 years.
We had a 12A when I was young. Dad started it with a belt pulley off our Alice Chalmers C. Once we got it going it did a good job. We used it for wheat and oats.
My Dad had a 12A like this one. The unloading auger set up is different, but otherwise looks the same. He harvested 30 acres of oats and 20 acres of soybeans with it for over 20 years. I helped for about 10 of those years. This was in western Iowa, not far from Sioux City.
Very nice! I’m old enough to remember just a few of them being used. He did a nice job restoring it, very nice! Couldn’t talk him into a green hat eh? I enjoyed watching this video.
My Dad owned 2 12A' s when I was growing up on our dairy farm. We then purchased a 30 with a 7 foot head. Then we could cut 3 30 inch rows of beans and what a difference. The 30 had a scour kleen and straw chopper pulled by our Oliver 88.
@@tiltedbarnfamilyfarm3832 Yes going from a 6ft. to 7ft. cut made a world of difference. I enjoyed the pull type combines and we had to work hard to do the field work and the milking. But I loved it. We got the 30 combine in 1961.I was 10 years old and the years seemed to fly by. Enjoy every minute we are given.
I want on a search to find the combine that my grandfather used to run. It was this model as far as I remember. This was in the early '70's! Dairy farmer in upstate NY.
My grandfather had a 12a. It was identical to that except it was PTO drive and didn't have the bagger option. The ones built with the LUC engine were so you could run it with an underpowered tractor such as a Ford 2/8/9N. I was always excited as a kid when grandpa would hook up the JD 60 to it and combine wheat and oats. Nice restoration job and a nice video. As an alumni of The Ohio State University, I can't say much for dad's outfit but I guess you cant have everything. Thank you and best regards from Indiana.
Thanks for the history on that. I love getting information on how and why things were made the way they were back then. We're a family divided. Three sons who root for Michigan State and then there's Dad... LOL
Haha, like I said, you can't have everything. Interesting thing about those combines, the canvas, or Draper on the pickup head was generally replaced with an augers in the late 50s/early 60s. But now starting about five years ago, the giant 40/50 foot heads on the new combines are all draper style. What's old is new again.
It's not a "bagger option", that is a Hartz "Scour-Clean", that is used to remove weed seeds from the crop being harvested. The white sack collected the weed/grass seeds for disposal.
My great uncle had a pull behind combine, I cant remember if it was an AC or a Case, pretty sure it was an AC , and it had a wisinson engine on it , it was very finicky , had a small V2 or 4 I think . I remember preppin it before combining oats in 1967 , had to put new knives and do an infeed belt repair with a splice. Combining with pull behinds sure was a character builder , one hot and dusty job . Id give anything to go back to those days. We didnt get much done but we had a lot of fun . We had 4 farms with about 425 acres , which at the time was a good sized farm . Its a baby by stdays standards. A good friend of mine has a 2500 acre dairy farm here now , about 15 years ago he put in a 4 million $ milk carousel . He has a phenominal operation . Thanks for showing the JD pull behind video , ver nice job / history . Merry Christmas to you and you family
Thanks for sharing your memories! Things were tougher back in the day but they made great stories to share and memories to hold onto. Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year to you and your family.
The A suffix shows a left hand platform like the AC All Crop and Cockshutt # 6 and 7. Before live PTO engine drive allowed one to stop moving forward before you plugged up
I spent a lot of Hrs. on a 12A with a bagger. The seat was over the little LUC engine we also had the scour clean. The old man bought it new in 1949 for 17 hundred dollars Ryan's delivered it with a new JD A he also bought the tractor right then and there. How I hated that 12A sat on that darn thing many Hrs. in the hot sun tending the bagger then after we stopped to go milk we had to go pick up all the bags we dropped and haul them to the barn . I hated it then but now in my 80's I sure enjoyed your video. Watched it more than a few times. Thanks >>> Jack.
Thanks for watching Jack! I love hearing about guys that farmed with the older equipment when it was "high tech" for that time period. The description you gave painted a picture so vivid in my mind. Thanks for sharing!!!
Thank you for the come back. I so would like to visit with you about the times we lived. They were the best years. .Too old to travel now but would now love a ride around or two on your 12 A JD combine and gab about other things that we would be able to understand Again Thanks.@@tiltedbarnfamilyfarm3832
No kidding!!!! My grandpa who's been gone a few years now was missing all his fingers on one of his hands. He lost them in a farm accident. He was lucky to be alive.
We had a pto driven 25 when I was growing up. In my early teens we upgraded to a 55 self propelled. The 55 is then one I learned on and I'm sorry I can't say I ever got to run the pull type.
@@tiltedbarnfamilyfarm3832 l'm not sure but l think it is. AC designed it but did not feel there was any advantage over All Crop 60 they were already producing so JD took it and manufactured it.
Nice combine love to have it I have a 1941 john deere li and a 1945 john deere la I believe that luc engine on the combine is same as my li la engine s
Nope that engine will not go in a JD LA or a li. The and engine and parts are the same but the block and bell housing are all one and cast differently and can't be changed. Check it out. I tried it and it wont work.
