Antiques Collector Restores Osborne No. 8 Reaper

By Bill Vossler
Published on November 2, 2012
1 / 8
David Petersburg's Osborne No. 8 reaper.
David Petersburg's Osborne No. 8 reaper.
2 / 8
The reaper's sharp teeth cut the stalks while the wooden rakes move the grain.
The reaper's sharp teeth cut the stalks while the wooden rakes move the grain.
3 / 8
David and Carmen Petersburg.
David and Carmen Petersburg.
4 / 8
A foot lever at bottom activates the finger cam, which sets the rake to either move grain off the table or allow it to accumulate there.
A foot lever at bottom activates the finger cam, which sets the rake to either move grain off the table or allow it to accumulate there.
5 / 8
The reaper's wheels and toolbox are original to the piece.
The reaper's wheels and toolbox are original to the piece.
6 / 8
The light yellow bull wheel (or drive wheel) is visible inside the reaper's wheel. The lever in front of the bull wheel was used to adjust the pitch of the sickle bar to the ground.
The light yellow bull wheel (or drive wheel) is visible inside the reaper's wheel. The lever in front of the bull wheel was used to adjust the pitch of the sickle bar to the ground.
7 / 8
Only one of the reaper's rakes was in serviceable condition. It was used as a pattern for creating replacements.
Only one of the reaper's rakes was in serviceable condition. It was used as a pattern for creating replacements.
8 / 8
Singletrees (the shorter pieces) attached to the long evener balanced the draft pull from two horses. These pieces are original and required no repair.
Singletrees (the shorter pieces) attached to the long evener balanced the draft pull from two horses. These pieces are original and required no repair.

When David Petersburg attended an estate sale in the mid-1990s, he had no idea what he might end up carting home. Certainly he did not expect to come home with an Osborne No. 8 reaper dating to the early 1900s. “I work at finding horse-related equipment and I like 19th century stuff, primitives you might call them,” he says, “primarily because everybody else had a cultivator and plow, and that didn’t interest me.”

The Petersburgs owned draft horses for a number of years. During that time, they were often invited to bring their horses to a threshing show at Claremont, Minn., to give rides to show-goers. There, they became good friends with their German neighbors with whom they shared a common interest. “They were into tractors and a variety of antiques,” he says, “and my interest in old iron kind of perpetuated from there.”

Damaged Osborne No. 8 reaper not a looker

When the Osborne No. 8 reaper came up for sale, David wasn’t certain what it was and neither was anyone else at the auction. Looking suspiciously like a pile of junk, it wasn’t generating much buyer interest. “It was in such bad condition that nobody wanted to bid on it,” he says. “But I had the same reaction I have whenever I’m going after a piece of equipment. I’m like a little kid that can hardly contain himself. I guess that’s part of the passion of collecting old equipment like this. It’s very exciting for me.”

After pulling the machine out of the shed where it had been stored, David says he could see damage caused by the building falling in on it. “Also, there were wear marks inside the apron and up against the divider boards, and the only way that could have happened was if it had been pulled too fast when it was in gear, or else when it was running somebody wasn’t paying attention when they were cutting grain. The freewheeling was out of adjustment, bolts were loose and there was some damage to the bed and so on.”

Sizing up a basket case

Online Store Logo
Need Help? Call 1-866-624-9388