Combine

Craig45 · Oct 12, 2015

Was talking to friend and he said his dad, born in 1910 would go around the country with a combine and work for different farmers at harvest time when he was 18 years old. That would be 1928, in Oklahoma. I didn't know combines we're in use at that time. Anybody know when the first combines became available? Thanks

onefarmer · Oct 12, 2015

Are you sure it wasn't a thrashing machine? That's what my g-grandfather did.

MN Scott · Oct 12, 2015

Pull type combines were in use in the late 1800's. Some of the early ones were horse drawn.

LAA · Oct 12, 2015

Combines were invented in the US in the 1830's. A man I bought some land from in 1993 was 101 years old and was born in North Dakota, he was on a harvest crew right after WWI and that is how he wound up in Louisiana, he showed me pictures of a steam powered self propelled combine that his father and Uncles bought in 1913 and they used the machine well into the 1920's, it was built by Holt manufacturing which later became Caterpillar.

blue water massey · Oct 12, 2015

Wikipedia has a brief history of the combine
combine history

BushogPapa · Oct 12, 2015

You can find pictures of the big old machines pulled by at least 30 Horses, with the Driver up high on a perch out in front of the Harvester..

Must have been Ground-Driven and had a respectable grain table width..

A Great Uncle of mine traveled at harvest time and told many stories about the working Edicate of the men working..!!

He told one about Plowing with a team of horses in Kansas...
The land owner told him to go "Out" until Dinnertime, eat Dinner and turn around and come back...!!!!!

Ron..

tim s · Oct 12, 2015

When I was young My Dad and I would do custom harvest in our area with 2 John Deere 60's and 2 Model 25 pull type combines for $7 per acre...

INCase · Oct 12, 2015

couldn't imagine running a steam powered combine. would think you'd catch it and the field on fire

LAA · Oct 12, 2015

The old fella told me how many men it took to operate the combine and the sacking crew but I don't remember what he said, it was several. I found this about the Holt combines. -- In 1890, Holt built his first experimental steam traction engine, nicknamed "Old Betsy". Built on a 24-foot-long (7.3 m) frame, it developed 60 horsepower (45 kW) from a single cylinder (11-inch diameter (280 mm), 12-inch stroke (300 mm)). The firebox could burn wood, coal, or oil as fuel. Carrying 675 US gallons (2,560 l; 562 imp gal) of water, the traction engine weighed 48,000 pounds (22,000 kg) and rode on huge metal wheels. Holt's tractors were popular despite their weight and awkward size because they could harvest large fields for one-sixth the cost of a horse-drawn combine.

Brendon-KS · Oct 13, 2015

The first Gleaner combines were built around a Fordson tractor so that would have been in the 20's.

Combine

Craig45

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onefarmer

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MN Scott

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LAA

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blue water massey

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BushogPapa

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tim s

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INCase

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LAA

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Brendon-KS

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