[AT] Demolition

[Indiana Robinson]

On Fri, Apr 9, 2010 at 12:42 PM, charliehill <charliehill at embarqmail.com> wrote:
> That's exactly the problem George.  First you have to find one that is in
> usable shape that you can buy.  Then you have to figure out how to move it.
> If you buy it for $200 and have to load it on a for hire low boy you can
> easily spend more on transport than you paid for it, even if it's just in
> the next county.  It needs to be close enough to drive home.   Many of the
> ones that end up in the derbies I'm sure appear to be in good shape but
> could have one bad part that cost 3 or 4 times the value of the machine to
> replace.  I understand that but it still makes it hard to watch the derbies
> when you wish you had one.
>
> With all that said,  I'm a firm believer in property rights and if a guy
> owned a brand new one and wanted to drive it off a cliff it's none of my
> business.  It's his to do with as he wants and I hope it stays that way.
> I've got an old gas pump over on the farm.  It's mine and I want it to sit
> right where it is, right where it was when we stopped farming.  I don't want
> to sell it,   I don't particularly want to restore it.   I just want it to
> sit there where it's been for 50 years.
> I got several folks that are mad at me because I won't let them have it, buy
> it or restore it for me but it's mine and I get to make the rules.  That's
> the way it should be.  Still I understand why the other guys are mad at me
> when they want one and can't find one.
>
> Charlie
=======================================



I also used to have a cow about the demo-derby combine destruction
back when I was always watching for a good one and they were always
priced over my head. But as you said it is their's and it is there
choice. By the same token I would not enjoy watching one. I just don't
"admire" destruction and waste. That is just me... I would sit and
watch someone build something all day especially if it involved
recycling and reusing or saving some piece of history. It just kills
me to watch a show of a house rebuild and "everything" old just goes
in a dumpster without thought. I have no problem giving stuff away but
I hate wasted resources.
BTW, the pretty good Gleaner F that I used for a number of years
before I retired along with a good 4 row wide corn head and a good 15'
grain head with a good hydraulic float control apparently was
considered pretty worthless around here and a Craigslists ad brought
zero response at $1200. Nor did it get a response at $800. It had wide
23" drive tires and the same 6 cylinder gas engine as a D-19. One day
my scrapper friend caught me in the right mood and he gave me around
$400 for it and when he left he as we had arranged, left me with all 4
tires and wheels and the engine.
I was not getting around well at all at the time and it became just
one less thing to worry about. Of course my old Deere 4020 (which will
probably go on Graigslist next week) is another matter. While not the
ultra most highly desirable model that sells for $10,000 to $15,000
and up, it should still sell pretty well. 4020's are a little like 57
Chevies around here. :-)
Some years ago you could buy pull-type combines all day long for under
$20. My father once bought 2 very nice Case Model A combines for $5
for the pair. Today those old pull-type combines are selling quite
high if good.
Funny thing about combines, in spite of a lot of fancy terminology and
sales hype they are still just a threshing machine with a cutter on
the front mounted on a self propelling device... Turning the cylinder
around at a right angle is really a pretty small design change.
If I needed to harvest a small quantity of some small seed I would
probably go hunting an old Allis pull type as a first choice. One of
those that had the straw walkers cross-wise and had the punched sheet
metal screens. A seeds-man neighbor used to use one of those for
clover seed etc.
If the quantities were small enough I might set the old MM PTO corn
sheller up in a barn and run its output into a fanning-mill and bring
the crop to it. :-)
I have a couple of those rotary grain cleaners that I need to look at
and decide if I want to keep them for anything like cleaning hulled
English walnuts or sifting mulch. Maybe I could use one for stirring
and sifting compost. :-)
-
I'm really enjoying feeling good these days. I can still only work
about an hour at a time but at least I feel good while I am doing it.
:-)  So far what I get done in a week is about what I used to do in a
3 hour stretch of working but that is improving daily. Weather dot com
shows us facing 9 nice days starting Monday... Suits me.
-
My 40 something little skinny neighbor (really great guy) who had a
couple of heart attacks a few weeks ago is now out walking daily and
"may" be allowed to "putter" in his shop next week. They "relined"
some of his plumbing (stent) but since they shoved it in from out at
the curb ;-) their concern now is risk of hernia if he lifts too much.

How come I know so many little skinny guys that have had heart
attacks? Are they doing that just to make us fat guys nervous?


-- 
Have you hugged your horses today?

Francis Robinson
aka "farmer"
Central Indiana USA
robinson46176 at gmail.com