Using tractor driven tillers (was Re:[AT]AllisChalmersB-1lawntractor

[Mike Sloane]

Cecil E Monson wrote:


> 
> 
>     Gil, the shear pins on my post hole digger are completely inside
> the top housing and cannot be caught on anything. That entire assembly is
> dangerous below the housing when it is turning and I won't let anyone
> near it. It is easy for one man to operate and there is no need for a
> helper to put his hands near it anyhow.
> 

> There is no way I can work on something like this that could slip into
> gear on it's own without shutting down. It is just not worth it."  My
> father sure did a good job of teaching us about safety over 60 years
> ago if it stuck that well.
When I sold tractors and equipment, we told customers that post hole 
diggers were among the most dangerous tools they could own (right after 
chain saws and among sickle bar mowers, brush cutters, cut-off saws and 
rotary mowers, I suppose). Our instructions to buyers were to have only 
the operator anywhere near the machine, and they are to be in the seat, 
not on the ground. It is hard to believe the stories we see in the 
papers concerning the misuse of these potential killers. I have read of 
people hanging off the boom to provide more ground pressure or holding 
the auger with a piece of rope to position it for a hole! We also 
instructed them to shut down the engine before getting anywhere near the 
powered implement. Also, the tractors we sold would not start in gear 
nor with the PTO engaged, which is a good idea. And, unless you set the 
service brake and put the engine in neutral, the engine would quit when 
you left the seat.

I work alone by choice, and if anyone comes near a tractor while I am 
working with it, I just shut it down until they leave. :-) My boss at 
the dealership was missing a thumb from trying to clear a corn picker 
clog while the engine was running...

On my early Farmall tractors (Cub, H/M, 240, etc.), it would be all but 
impossible for the PTO to engage while off the tractor and the engine 
running, but with the newer "live" PTO's (340, 560, etc.), it would be 
very easy, especially if the PTO clutch is a little out of adjustment. 
When I have a powered implement connected, I kill the engine when I get 
off the tractor - the few seconds saved just isn't worth the chance that 
you take.

Mike

> 
> Cecil

-- 
Mike Sloane
Allamuchy NJ
Email: (msloane at att.net)
Website: <http://www.geocities.com/mikesloane>
Tractor images: <www.fotki.com/mikesloane>
Work: none - retired

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-Dwight D. Eisenhower, U.S. general and 34th president (1890-1969)