First restoration project a winner
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'A new planter was then designed that used one person to run it. A 'checking wire' was developed with knots in it, and it would be stretched across the field. When the planter would go across the knots, it would 'trip' the mechanical parts to let a seed fall to the ground. The knots did not always trip the release of the seed, so a hand planter still would be used to go out into the field to fill any missed spots.'
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Back then, Parke said, it was more important for a farmer to have straight rows than to have evenly planted ones. 'It was a matter of pride,' he said, 'and this pride goes for a long time. Even today, a crooked row of corn is noticed by all.'
From 1880 to 1890, the corn planter was improved by many manufacturers and ultimately took a form that endured for some 50 years. Many of the planters of that time even used the same wheels and frame setup, so it was hard to tell many of them apart.
Applying elbow grease
Once the research phase was finished, Parke began the actual restoration work on his planter. 'Because of the age of it, I was afraid of breaking pieces when I took them apart,' Parke said. 'My dad helped me take some pieces off because the bolts would snap easily, and other items were just hard to remove. When we purchased the planter, it had one handle that had been remade but did not fit in the slot, and one of the cross-pieces in the back had weathered badly, so we had both remade.'
Filling nail holes that weren't needed and replacing bolts that weren't from that era was next. 'Most bolts today are in a hexagon shape, so it was hard to find square-headed bolts, but my grandpa had some he'd bought at farm sales,' Parke said.
Next, he started to strip the wood down, sand some areas and repair broken parts. While striping the wood, he could see an orange color in the grain and some green in other areas, like the wheels. With help from his parents, he traced the pin striping to make patterns. It was orange on the spokes and black on the boxes and side rails of the frame. Later, they found out that the original colors were similar to an Allis-Chalmers orange with dark green.
The hand painting on the wheels and lids was very fine. 'I don't understand how they did that back then,' Parke said. 'We used pin-striping tape to edge it all on the wheel spokes, and then painted in between the stripes.'