[AT] Some ads(JD hand clutch)

Tue Jul 19 08:04:14 PDT 2005

Had to put my two cents worth in on this one. My first experience with hand 
clutch tractors was using a neighbour's DC4 Case. It seemed pretty strange 
after being used to foot clutches but I soon got used to it. As Dean says, a 
third hand would have been helpful when using this DC4 with a dozer blade 
pushing snow.
My Uncle would have known that well I think as he spent years clearing his 
half mile driveway with his little JD AR tractor and a 7 foot dozer blade. 
Hours of back and forth snow pushing trying to widen the path as sometimes 
the snow was too deep to just angle the blade and wing the snow out that 
way. It took a mighty strong arm on the clutch too as he had it adjusted way 
too tight.
I was thinking about that last January while I was opening the same driveway 
with a tractor with nearly triple the horsepower and weight inside a warm 
cab. It still took me the best part of a morning's work to make a trail wide 
enough for the grain semi to get in and turned around. How he ever did it 
with the little JD is hard to imagine.
The AR has it easy in semi-retirement now. I had it out of the shed the 
other day to clean up and re-paint the rear rims covering up the calcium 
chloride damage. Nothing fancy, but a definite improvement. Picture in my 
old farm machinery album at
http://community.webshots.com/user/rusty6100

Ralph in Sask.
http://lgoff.sasktelwebsite.net/

----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Dean VP" <deanvp at att.net>
To: "'Antique tractor email discussion group'" 
<at at lists.antique-tractor.com>
Sent: Tuesday, July 19, 2005 12:06 AM
Subject: RE: [AT] Some ads from the 7/16 Lancaster Farming

> Brett:
>
> As a John Deere Collector I'm not sure I could go that far either.  But in
> some things they did take a leadership position. I recall as a youngster
> that the hand clutch wasn't totally user friendly either. But probably
> easier than reaching a foot pedal. More than a few hand clutch levers got
> cut and a longer piece welded in to offer a little more leverage for the
> smaller folks.
>
> However, there were times on a John Deere when three hands would have been
> very helpful. To me the biggest advantage of the hand clutch was the 
> ability
> to feather the clutch for that delicate and very small nudge that was
> required in either forward or reverse and still have a foot left over for
> the brake. And the unique ability to also use the clutch as a brake at
> times.
>
> Even though JD didn't encourage the user to use the clutch that way there
> were certain situations where that really came in handy. And something 
> that
> just became ingrained to be used that way. That function stuck with me 
> even
> after not using a two cylinder tractor for almost 40 years. And almost got
> me into trouble.
>
> When I was able to get my stuck and parts JD 60 running the first time I 
> was
> so pleased with my self I decided to drive it into the barn and park it,
> rather than push it in as I had done before I got it running. I pulled in
> rather slowly and got to where I wanted to stop and pulled back on the
> clutch to disengage it and then somewhat automatically pulled a little
> harder to stop the slowly rolling tractor. A habit from 40 years previous.
> Well, the clutch was a bit out of whack and instead of slowing the belt
> pulley, which will slow/stop the tractor when in gear, as it was supposed
> to, it re-engaged the clutch and the tractor took off instead of stopping.
> By the time I figured out what was happening and got the brakes applied I
> almost went out the other side of the barn. With the door closed. Not
> pretty. After I cleaned out my underwear, I figured out what was wrong 
> with
> that defective clutch. A unique feature of the JD hand clutch but one that
> can come back to bite you. Old 40 year old habits are hard to break!  :-)
>
> Dean A. Van Peursem
> Snohomish, WA 98290
>
> I'm a walking storeroom of facts..... I've just lost the key to the
> storeroom door
>
>
> www.deerelegacy.com
>
> http://members.cox.net/classicweb/email.htm
>
>
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: at-bounces at lists.antique-tractor.com
> [mailto:at-bounces at lists.antique-tractor.com] On Behalf Of Brett Phillips
> Sent: Monday, July 18, 2005 7:00 PM
> To: Antique tractor email discussion group
> Subject: Re: [AT] Some ads from the 7/16 Lancaster Farming
>
> Ron:
> Several friends have remarked that John Deere had ergonomics figured out
> before the rest of the field could spell it.  I'm not sure if I would go
> that far, but the hand clutch was a real blessing to the small tractor
> driver.  Some day, I'd like to own another H.  My Allis 'C' will have to
> fill the gap until I win the lottery (that I never play).
>
> Brett Phillips
>
> ----- Original Message ----- 
> From: "Ronald L. Cook" <rlcook at pionet.net>
> To: "Antique tractor email discussion group" 
> <at at lists.antique-tractor.com>
> Sent: Monday, July 18, 2005 3:50 PM
> Subject: Re: [AT] Some ads from the 7/16 Lancaster Farming
>
>
>> Brett,
>> You could be me talking about my uncle's M Farmall.  9-10 years old but
>> small.  Same job.  Same problem.  I much preferred my Dad's 1941 JD A. 
>> <g>
>>
>> Ron Cook
>> Salix, Ia
>>
>> Brett Phillips wrote:
>>>
>>> Utility tractor, IH 300 gas, T-A fast-hitch and 3 pt, loader, weights,
>>> steers hard, call mornings, Northampton Co. $1600. 570-758-5810.
>>>
>>>
>>> !Ramble alert!
>>>
>>> My dad had a 300U from when I was 5 until I was about 10.  As I recall,
>>> there wasn't anything about that tractor that wasn't "hard" for a 7-8
>>> year
>>> old tractor driver.  At that time, I was dad's 'hired man', and I did
>>> most
>>> of the raking, and would get bored when he asked me to drive when we
>>> baled.
>>> He still says that I was better than my mother, since she would always
>>> try
>>> to turn left with the baler and wagon in tow.  If the baler started to
>>> act
>>> up, or the windrows were too big, my left leg would get tired pretty
>>> quickly
>>> from the stiff clutch.  I remember standing with my full weight on that
>>> infernal clutch pedal, and having to pull up on the steering wheel in
>>> order
>>> to get it fully depressed.  Dad knew this, and he never let me run the
>>> 300
>>> in tight quarters, because he knew I couldn't steer and press the clutch
>>> down at the same time.  For this reason, our JD H was my favorite, and
>>> the
>>> tractor that I raked with.  When the 300 left, I remember shedding a
>>> tear,
>>> but now I wonder why...  I have little desire to own one today.  There
>>> are
>>> plenty of others that I would like better.
>>>
>>> Brett Phillips
>>> Strasburg, VA
>>
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