Gunpowder

NEsota · Dec 5, 2008

The worlds first internal combustion engine was fueled by gunpowder. That is how this post is tractor related. Here is a gift idea for a book that contains a lot of information including World History; Gunpowder: Alchemy, Bombards, and Pyrotechnics : The History of the Explosive That Changed the World by Jack Kelly (Paperback - April 26, 2005)

Ultradog MN · Dec 5, 2008

Gunpowder may not be entirely related to tractors but it is related farming.
Follow the link to an old pamphlet Called "Farming with Dynamite".
Click the blue arrows at the top right of the page to read through the whole thing.
Here

Paul in MN · Dec 5, 2008

There are 2 tractors I know of that are started with shotgun shells...without the shot load. The Field Marshal (German?) was one. I have seen another at Rollag, but can't remember its name now. As I recall, the Field Marshall was a 2 cylinder diesel with a big flywheel. The flywheel had to set at a particular position and the shell placed in a hole in the cylinder head, and then fired.

IIRC there were some WW2 military aircraft engines which were started with shotgun shells too. Some of the big radial engines.

Paul in MN

Sidekick · Dec 6, 2008

Wow! Dynamite, The original no-till. Who knew?

Chris in SK · Dec 6, 2008

Field Marshall was a British tractor, big single cylinder diesel. Lantz (spelling?) built a similar type of tractor. I think they may have been German.
Chris

Paul in MN · Dec 6, 2008

Thanks Chris, I thought the memory was a bit shakey. Weren't some of those tractors imported for use in Canada? It seems the guys at Rollag talked about that. It was fun to see one of them started, it took a couple of tries as I recall. Was the starting shell generic like a 12 gauge? Or was it specific to the tractor?

Paul in MN

Gunpowder

NEsota

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Ultradog MN

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Paul in MN

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Sidekick

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Chris in SK

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Paul in MN

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