Michael Price
Member
I always wondered what a farmal B was supposed to be used for. Those things are so wide I couldnt see much use for it except maybe cultivating.
- Thread starter Michael Price
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Anonymous-0
Well-known Member
Ours worked really well with a JD #5 mower. Raked hay with it and used it to haul & cut firewood. Also have a posthole digger. Very forgiving tractor to train a newbie. Not the world's greatest plow tractor but would do more than a team of horses. Grandpa's first tractor was a Farmall B. I might be a little biased. They did ride rough.
Hoss In ME
Member
Most tractors were used for farming. Hoss
teddy52food
Well-known Member
When I was small, my dad bought a B (which I still have) and sold the team of horses. He did all the farm work with it. My first real job was driving the B with dad on the binder cutting oats. It pulled a 2 12 plow a small disk , spring tooth and harrow. It cut raked and baled hay. I put on many hours cultivating corn before there was any weed spray used. It hauled many loads of bundles to the threshing machine around the neighborhood. Now I have a buzz saw on it and my kids use it to cut and haul wood. I wish there was an hour meter on it to see how many hours it has been used and how long it will go yet.
ScottyHOMeY
Well-known Member
Actually, its use with the available cultivators was limited by its width to wider rows, which led to the BN (8" narrower overall) and its ability to cultivate in narrower rows.
But, still, it had and retains its virtues. There were 5 of them for every BN made. It's a handy size tractor. The narrow front makes it more nimble than the A in tight spaces and corners. The economy of the 113 over bigger motors made it as handy as the A for lighter "chore" work like shuttling wagons to and from the fields. For the size of things in use at the time, it could be a really handy tractor for belt work or any number of uses.
We had a thread a while back about As versus Bs, where I noted that my neighbor has a derelict A that we're about to start to work on (next weekend we pull the motor, or so he says!). The rears on it are set out so wide that a quick glance at it from the rear would make you think it was a B or BN. He's set out almost to the extreme width of an A, 8" or 12" wider than my BN.
Where are your wheels and rims set? If they're out, I'm thinkin' your B won't look or be so wide if you dish your wheels in, and mount the rims to pull the tires in. With 9x24s (modern size) you can dish the wheels in, mount the rims with the lugs to the inside of the wheels with the offset to the outside for something that doesn't look as wide.
But, still, it had and retains its virtues. There were 5 of them for every BN made. It's a handy size tractor. The narrow front makes it more nimble than the A in tight spaces and corners. The economy of the 113 over bigger motors made it as handy as the A for lighter "chore" work like shuttling wagons to and from the fields. For the size of things in use at the time, it could be a really handy tractor for belt work or any number of uses.
We had a thread a while back about As versus Bs, where I noted that my neighbor has a derelict A that we're about to start to work on (next weekend we pull the motor, or so he says!). The rears on it are set out so wide that a quick glance at it from the rear would make you think it was a B or BN. He's set out almost to the extreme width of an A, 8" or 12" wider than my BN.
Where are your wheels and rims set? If they're out, I'm thinkin' your B won't look or be so wide if you dish your wheels in, and mount the rims to pull the tires in. With 9x24s (modern size) you can dish the wheels in, mount the rims with the lugs to the inside of the wheels with the offset to the outside for something that doesn't look as wide.
Anonymous-0
Well-known Member
This discussion has come up before and I didn't get in on it.
My B still has a job in the hay field, although at 75 I tend to use a tractor with power steering unless I'm checking fence or cows. The H lost out some time ago, when we went to disc mowers. The B will handle a 12 wheel rake and my 8 year old grandson is hauling three big round bales on a trailer under the eyes of his dad and me, I had to ride up the hills a few times until I was satisfied he could handle it. So far he won't run it full throttle, he says it goes to fast. I'm wondering when this will end, as my brothers and I and my sons seemed to always go as hard as the B would go.
When I was young any suggestion that it wasn't the greatest tractor ever would had me up in arms. Now though I will admit it was really a little too wide to plow good with but I sure have plowed a lot of acres with that tractor. Last summer I picked up a one bottom sixteen and sure have had fun plowing the garden with it. Two or three times already or any time the grandkids want to ride on a tractor.
My B still has a job in the hay field, although at 75 I tend to use a tractor with power steering unless I'm checking fence or cows. The H lost out some time ago, when we went to disc mowers. The B will handle a 12 wheel rake and my 8 year old grandson is hauling three big round bales on a trailer under the eyes of his dad and me, I had to ride up the hills a few times until I was satisfied he could handle it. So far he won't run it full throttle, he says it goes to fast. I'm wondering when this will end, as my brothers and I and my sons seemed to always go as hard as the B would go.
When I was young any suggestion that it wasn't the greatest tractor ever would had me up in arms. Now though I will admit it was really a little too wide to plow good with but I sure have plowed a lot of acres with that tractor. Last summer I picked up a one bottom sixteen and sure have had fun plowing the garden with it. Two or three times already or any time the grandkids want to ride on a tractor.
Michael Price
Member
I didnt think it could be used to plow since its so wide unless the plow was set off to the side. It would look goofy but as long as it works.
It would probably be a good tractor for farming on hills.
It would probably be a good tractor for farming on hills.
Back in the early 1950"s a lot of farmers used smaller tractors to pull converted horse drawn equipment.
A lot of the smaller tractors were used for elevator or auger work, stationary power unit, as larger tractors emerged.
I owned a B. Used it primarly to tow wagons and as a mower tractor on CRP. Fuel economy was fantastic.
A lot of the smaller tractors were used for elevator or auger work, stationary power unit, as larger tractors emerged.
I owned a B. Used it primarly to tow wagons and as a mower tractor on CRP. Fuel economy was fantastic.
Jimmy King
Well-known Member
My Uncle bought one new as did his and Dads cousin both used John Deere mowers on them and had 2 disc mounted plows for them pulled hay rake, drill, binder, dad and his cousin had a 50T IHC baler they pulled it with one or the other unless the field was too hilly then they used the H, pulled hay wagons, bundle wagons, etc.
Anonymous-0
Well-known Member
Got to remember that in those days the rows were 40 in but it would cultivate as narrow as 30. Also was great on a 4row planter three section of harrow 7ft single disc rotary hoe hauling loads of earcorn away from picker running elevators hauling water tanks pulling a 10ft windrower pulling up the hayforks. There were three in our area that was the only tractor on 80A sure beat a bunch of horses as a horse couldny grind feed or run a grain cart. People nowdays dont realize when farming was different as there weren such large farms in the cornbelt then.
Dick from Iowa
Member
Dad bought a B in 1946 - first new tractor the dealer had got in years. Came with a mounted two row check planter and cultivator. That litle beauty planted all his corn and beans for several years on 400 tillable acres. The H would join the B in the cultivation (3 or 4 trips through the corn in those days). The F 30 did the heavy tillage/ pulled combine/ carried corn picker. When the M came with 4 row planter/cultivator the B got a belly mower and a lot less hours per year. Dick
Anonymous-0
Well-known Member
Wagons to & from field.
When I was 7 or 8 my job was to run wagons with a B during oat combining. I was coming up out of the field as a car came down the road. I stopped, locked up the brakes and the wagon load of oats dragged me right back into the field. Ever since I have had a healthy respect for load to vehicle weight ratio.
Of course now days there would be charges of child endangerment. But, along as we survive we can learn from our mistakes. Every experience on the farm was worth it.
K-Mo
When I was 7 or 8 my job was to run wagons with a B during oat combining. I was coming up out of the field as a car came down the road. I stopped, locked up the brakes and the wagon load of oats dragged me right back into the field. Ever since I have had a healthy respect for load to vehicle weight ratio.
Of course now days there would be charges of child endangerment. But, along as we survive we can learn from our mistakes. Every experience on the farm was worth it.
K-Mo
They are the handiest little thing around. Of course I'm probably biased since it was the first tractor I drove, as my dad's first brand new tractor, and now I own 2 of them. Cultivated a lot of corn with the Lift all cultivator, raked hay, ran elevator pto, pulled wagons, chased cows, etc. In regard to plowing, I found a 2 way mounted plow for the B. While it looks like a pain to put on, I bet it would have been real handy plowing gardens and small irregular fields. Someday I hope to get it restored and mounted
Dave H (MI)
Well-known Member
OK, I'll rise to that one! I love that wide little tractor! Don't know what the old timers used them for but around here it: Moves equipment, spots wagons, delivers hay, rakes, puts the boat away, transports people, pulls hayrides, etc. With the buddy seat it provides for some sweet backroad rides on summer nights and fall/spring days with my kid. It taught me about engines and introduced me to my best forum friends. Best of all it moves tractor collecting into the next generation here as my (now 12 year old) daughter claimed it from the moment it arrived a couple years ago and, to this day, says it is her tractor. She must be right because my will explicitly states it as such! Probably the safest old tractor I own with it's wide stance and low center of gravity, it gives me little cause for concern when she starts it up...and it always starts eventually!
Anonymous-0
Well-known Member
We bought a 48 C , it had bigger tires and same layout as the B , we needed all the traction we could get cultivating, so a B would have more trouble cultivating. it had axels that could be set as wide as a B or narrower. It too was a general purpose tractor like a B. But as people said it replaced a horse so it was great.
fixerupper
Well-known Member
We've had one with a Woods belly mower for 34 years and it's quite a dependable little tractor.
When it's origional intended use is mentioned the first thing that comes to my mind is cultivating and planting in conditions that need a little more precision than a center-seated tractor can offer. Maybe vegetable growing? There are quite a few of them around here and this is solid corn-bean-livestock country, making me think the farmers around here thought of it as a small utility tractor. It's a handy little thing with a low center of gravity and it can really pull for it's horsepower rating, but the ride is a bit rough because of the small wheels. Jim
When it's origional intended use is mentioned the first thing that comes to my mind is cultivating and planting in conditions that need a little more precision than a center-seated tractor can offer. Maybe vegetable growing? There are quite a few of them around here and this is solid corn-bean-livestock country, making me think the farmers around here thought of it as a small utility tractor. It's a handy little thing with a low center of gravity and it can really pull for it's horsepower rating, but the ride is a bit rough because of the small wheels. Jim
Part of the reason that the B gives off the aura of "limited usefulness" is the offset operator's platform. Even though the B is a two-row tractor, you only have a good view of the right row.
If IH had built the B with a center-drive like the C, they probably wouldn't have ever built the C.
Ya hafta wonder what those IHC engineers were thinking of. First they come out with the Farmall, with the dropped axle and limited width adjustment. Then others, Oliver for instance, come out with adjustable axles and big wheels that gave much better traction than the relatively small wheels of the Farmall. Then IHC makes the F-12 with adjustable axles and big wheels (great traction and a better ride, even on steel). Meanwhile, IHC goes on and on with the F-20 and F-30 with the same style axles as the original Farmall. Finally, IHC replaces the F-12/F-14 with the A and B, which go right back to the original Farmall formula--small wheels and fixed axles. Hmmmmmmm, makes you wonder.
I had a fair amount of time on both an A and a B
"back when," and I have to admit that they are both delightful to drive. Nice seat, nice platform, nicely-placed controls, quiet with a muffler, easy to steer, useful ground speeds (they would pull a loaded steel-tired wagon over a gravel road at maybe 2/3 throttle in fourth gear; an H throttled back to that speed won't pull much of anything in fifth, and in fourth, it's roaring away full-throttle to get under 6 mph--that was always frustrating to me). Never cultivated with a B, but I'd think it a little strange to be able to see only one row well.
I had a fair amount of time on both an A and a B
"back when," and I have to admit that they are both delightful to drive. Nice seat, nice platform, nicely-placed controls, quiet with a muffler, easy to steer, useful ground speeds (they would pull a loaded steel-tired wagon over a gravel road at maybe 2/3 throttle in fourth gear; an H throttled back to that speed won't pull much of anything in fifth, and in fourth, it's roaring away full-throttle to get under 6 mph--that was always frustrating to me). Never cultivated with a B, but I'd think it a little strange to be able to see only one row well.
Wesley Stephens
Member
I had a great-uncle who lived in southeastern VA for a long time and he picked up a couple of B parts tractors over the years. Apparently the peanut farmers in that area used them. He also got a couple of C's and every one of them I saw from that area had the axles cut off. Peanuts are big here in SE NC but a lot of Virginia peanut equipment has made its way down here as the peanut acreage has expanded in our area.
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