Confessions of a Tiller Tinker

Enlarge Image Image Gallery 1947 Graham-Paige Model B1-6

Its enormous size and large, two-stroke engine surprised me when I set eyes on the machine. The price was right and it ran well, so I bought my first Rototiller: a 1947 Graham-Paige Model B1-6, better known as a Frazer Rototiller.

After a few minor repairs - including new tines - I tilled my garden. The machine's sound, especially when tilling deeply with a wide-open throttle, is unique. The engine doesn't have a governor, so the operator must be careful not to give it too much gas. Yet, after that summer, I decided it needed maintenance if I wanted to keep the tiller in service.

They are the forerunners to the present-day Troy-Bilt Rototiller. Rototiller Inc. started manufacturing the Roto-Ette Model T in 1949 after an engineer convinced the company's founder, C.W. Kelsey, that his one-wheel Home Gardener was too expensive for the average gardener. On the other hand, built in 1952, the Model 2 was slightly more affordable. I salvaged the best parts from both tillers and reassembled the Model 2. It didn't have its original Briggs & Stratton engine, so I purchased one and will eventually install it in the Model 2. Still, the tiller is easy to operate and especially useful to till flowerbeds.

I didn't consider myself a collector, even after tinkering with those three tillers. I just liked old, worn-out equipment that I could fix and actually use. That changed after I attended the 1999 Grease, Steam and Rust Show in McConnellsburg, Pa. As I walked through the gate, I saw something unbelievable. There before me sat an entire display of Rototillers!

Five handsome Rototillers sat on a trailer, each with detailed information about the garden machines. I'd never seen anyone display the large, yellow tillers anywhere, and I was so excited that I searched for the owner. The unique display belonged to Bob Antram from Somerset, Pa. We talked for more than an hour about Rototiller history, and in the process he shared a wealth of information and renewed my interest in restoring my first Rototiller.

I decided to narrow my 'old iron' hobby to Rototiller equipment from that moment on. I sold my other old garden tractors within a few months and made room for more Rototillers.

I was enthusiastic about my newfound Rototiller passion, but I didn't know how expensive those collectibles could be. I paid $100 for my fourth acquisition, a 1944 Model B1-3 Rototiller, the last model made by Kelsey's Rototiller Inc. That was the most money I'd ever spent for something basically useless. The tiller was completely rusted from starter pulley to handlebars, but I was convinced that a paint job would allow me to show the tiller at the very least.