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Show IPLElElsfjELFo By A. H. Pov.ell Assistant Prcfisror of Farm Mechan- ' ics, Utah Agricultural College j Note This is the first of a series i of three or four artieles on the cara of farm machinery. We are now drawing toward tlia end of the farmer's busy season and he, already weary from the hmg days of constant toil, is gathering up the remnants of the last crops to be har-ested har-ested and looking forward to the season sea-son of the year when he will have leag work and more hours of leisure. We do not wish to impose mora work upon the already overworked farmer, but we suggest that he put forth every effort to lighten his load next spring and reduce his expenses on equipment by caring for it and giv-ing giv-ing it the proper attention in the fall. First the plows. They should ba brought into the yard and carefully looked over to determine if any new ports are needed, and if so, a llet of these should be made and the parts ordered at the earliest possible data so as to have the implement in proper prop-er working order before it is needed. The plow should be carefully checked to see that the proper horizontal and vertical suction is maintained, as this effects to a great extent the successful success-ful operation of the plow and the pow-r pow-r required to draw it. All the points which are made of steel and not worn out should be sharpened. When all the braces and bolts should ba tightened, tight-ened, the moul-board should be thoroughly thor-oughly cleaned and polished, then coated with a very heavy oil or grease. Each bolt on the plow should receive a few drops of light oil thereby making mak-ing it possible to either tighten or remove re-move it without twisting it off. Tha pknv should then he stored away in a suitable shed for the winter, and all ths other implements treated in like manner. It Is very necessary that every farmer farm-er provide himself with a small shop that can be heated in cold weather and equip It with tha simple tools with which nil of his repair work may fe done. All the implements should be Inspected and repaired with special speci-al attention given to all wearing parts, from the wheels on the plow or hay nilto to the pitman bearing on tha mower, and the cams and sprockets an the binder and seeding machines. All of these parts should be removed and carefully washed and cleaned with kerosene. All bearings subjected to loads, such as the socket bearings on the disc plow, the plow wheels, and all wheels that carry or guide the im-plsKiont, im-plsKiont, after careful cleaning should be filled with clean cup grease and replaced. Means should be provided for the addition of new grease at the center of the hub, so that when more grease is forced in the old greasa will work out, carrying with it all foreign for-eign materials, such as sand and dust, out and away from the hearings. Other small hearings that are lubricated with oil 3hould be given a very liberal quantity of oil after careful cleaning. By carefully observing these poinU the life of the machinery will he prolonged pro-longed and much less power will ba required in their operation. Speclr.l attention should be given to all gearing, gear-ing, commonly called cog wheels, to see that they engage deep enough. If they are permitted to run wdthout be-properly be-properly engaged the life of these wheels will be very short. The question may arise as to why all this taking apart and cleaning, so in order to answer that question we first call to your attention the fact that when you sharpen an ax on the grind stone, you use water on tha stone to speed up the grinding, and when you sharpen a knife on an oil stone, you use oil to speed up the cutting. cut-ting. These grinding stones, also the artificial grinding wheels, ate nothing noth-ing more than a large number of fine grains of hard materials cemented together, to-gether, and each grain as it protrudes from the mass presents a sharp cutting cut-ting edge, and this cutting edge will cut most rapidly when lubricated with oil or water, depending upon the character char-acter of the stone and the kind of material to he cut. Since all sands and 4usts, regardless of their fineness, constitute a grinding material, witli :l.o addition of oil It will cut ami giind almost as effectively as a pro-;a:o(l pro-;a:o(l grinding compound. s:nce It is impossible to keep all llio bearings of form machinery free from sand anil dirt and .'it the same time all of these bearings must be lubricated to reduce friction and consumption con-sumption of power to operate theui, it Is obvious that in all of these bearings there is brought about an ideal condition con-dition for grinding and wearing. From tills -you may decided that it is better to operate machinery without with-out the use of oil, which of course is true in some cases. For an example, exposed sprockets and drive chains, also exposed gearings that cannot he protected from the sand and dust that may he carried by the wind, should not be lubricated, as a lubricant in tltis cuse merely tends to collect the sand anil dust and assist in rapidly cutting and wearing these parts. However, How-ever, the best designed equipment have all su h part1 carefully housed in which permits of their lubrication and excludes all of the B;ind and dirt thHt la so injurious to all types of farm Bttchlnery. |
