LIFTING FINGERS

made a separator called the Dixie and another the Globe. These had
lifting fingers and in the middle 90’s they brought out the
Columbia without lifting fingers. I had one of these. Rumley may
have had a patent on their lifting finger rack and inclined canvas
apron back of cylinder at one time but a patent only runs 17 years.
It can under certain conditions be renewed for another period of 17
years, but why did Rumley change after the turn of the century? Why
did they take out this apron and put in a revolving rake, and again
in 1928 or 1929 build an altogether different style? Straight deck
and level racks lengthwise, discarding the revolving rake, used
only three sets of lifting, fingers and drove the separator with a
roller chain from the cylinder to the crankshaft. It does not seem
likely that Nichols & Shepard would copy Rumley’s discarded
separating mechanism. I’m not knocking on Rumley but I
don’t consider the all lifting fingers rack the best. I’ve
had a 36×60 Rumley Ideal, I still have and use a 28×44 Advance
Rumley steel ball bearing machine, a 1927 model with all lifting
finger rack. Russell & Port Huron and of course many others
used some lifting fingers. I’ve had three makes besides 12
other separators and the only machine in my 51 years of threshing I
ever had where the farmers would praise the work of separating the
grain from the straw was a Russell. I have owned an N & S
separator and they are good. A brother of mine had one also.

I have catalogs from N & S up to the last and also the
latest repair books and there is no mention of an Excello separator
in any of them. T would like to have someone send me a cut or
picture of them.

Yesterday I had the 16 hp. Russell steamed up and son Tom had
his Case 60, so you can bet we had visitors as we always do when we
get the steam up. Also have an upright traction engine which I
built. Tom has a 65 Case and a 16 N & S. We used Tom’s N
& S and my thresher to do a job this season.