There were lots of fun things to see at the 36th annual Meriden Antique Engine and Threshers Association Show in Meriden, Kan. In this video, a McCormick-Deering WD9 provides the belt power to run a sawmill.

While the following videos of vintage hay presses are not the exact same as Dwight Yaeger's Kansas City Lightning Hay Press, they at least give an idea of how hay presses worked.

 
A mid-1910s McCormick-Deering hay press, powered by a 1915 6 hp Stover/Sandwich (double tagged), working at the Antique Tractor & Gas Engine show at Petersburg, Neb.

 
An International Harvester Hay Press No. 15 powered by a 1951 Farmall Cub.

 
An International Harvester Power Press powered by a Farmall M.

It’s grizzlies that worry him, not snakes, and he’s armed with a Winchester, not a bullwhip – but otherwise the persona is unmistakable: Jordan Meeker is the Indiana Jones of the antique gas engine fraternity. Trekking through British Columbia’s Slocan Valley and West Kootenay region, Jordan is an engine archaeologist constantly on the prowl for old iron remnants of the Silvery Slocan, the silver and lead mining era in the late 1890s.

Jordan’s interests are not limited to gas engines, though. He’s salvaged and restored countless items – tools, equipment and household pieces – from abandoned mining camps. Check out videos of him running antique rock drills below.

You can view more videos of Jordan's mining camp finds on his YouTube channel, 4mileengines.

Although balers with their own pick-up assembly were available as early as the 1930s, the real key to success was the automatic tie baler that allowed one man to pick up and bale hay in the field without additional help.

The key, of course, was the automatic knotter. Ironically, automatic knotters on modern balers work so quickly that even some farmers don’t fully understand how they work. The following video explanation was sent in by Dave Braun, Sheboygan, Wis.

External combusion engine? In 1816, it was state of the art. Cheap, efficient and safe, Robert Stirling's hot air engine was used in various ways (think pumping water and powering small toys), but none was more intriguing than powering hot air fans. The fans run quietly and work just about anywhere, so when first introduced they provided relief for everyone from missionaries in hot climates to those suffering during the 1918 Influenza Epidemic.

If you're not convinced these fans are still cool by today's standards, the following video of a Jost hot air fan powered by a Stirling hot air engine should do the trick.

This Ky-Ko hot air fan is essentially silent, and is powered by lamp oil.

For more on hot air fans and Stirling hot air engines, read Renae Vander Schaaf's feature on Wesley Bosch's hot air fan collection from the January 2012 issue of Farm Collector.

The Wood Bros. Humming Bird thresher is different. It features a progressive design – chain-and-paddle return elevator system, Farmers Friend straw blower (which automatically swings the blowing spout, allowing for larger piles of straw) – and it always draws a crowd.

Bill Vossler wrote about the circa 1910 Wood Bros. Humming Bird thresher that Orville Anderson purchased and restored in 1987 in the January 2012 issue of Farm Collector. The video below of a similar Wood Bros Humming Bird threshing oats at the 2011 Rock River Thresheree is owned by Richard Kuhlow. While not the exact thresher featured in Farm Collector, it gives an interesting glimpse at a thresher that did things a bit differently.

For more on Wood Bros. Humming Bird threshers, read Bill Vossler's feature from the January 2012 issue of Farm Collector.

Don Brown showed off his Allis-Chalmers Roto-Baler in the March 2011 issue of Farm Collector. The Roto-Baler baled hay differently: using a series of belts, the baler rolled the hay into round bales that shed water and stayed usable for longer. And the bales were wrapped with twine instead of being tied, making them easier for livestock to break apart.

We found this video of a Roto-Baler at work – and it is mesmerizing.

Read more about the Allis Chalmers Model 10 Roto-Baler from Farm Collector:
• Allis-Chalmers Roto-Baler Launched New Approach
• Putting a Spin on Round Bales