A photo list of Postshtf farming equipment. I have posted what I have and what I have found on the web as I get or find more I will add them. The first ones I have the others I do not but hope to get some day.
WOW!!! that thing rocks. I want one too. Convert it to diesel, or bio mass would be sweet. Where'd you get that and the implements?
Long story short. Neighbors - died - old age Daughter - inherits house Daughter - does not move in and lets house set empty Daughter - will not sell any thing Daughter - takes out loans on house and land Daughter - Paying taxes on house and land, paying to have it mowed, paying to keep gas and lights on Daughter - in nursing home dieing Daughter - can not make payments Bank - repossesses house and land Daughter’s kids - come get what they want and tells neighbors they can have any thing left I - take tractor and implements Bank - comes next day locks house I - call bank and offer to buy house Bank - says no thank you we will just add to the list what is one more house. I - spend $60.00 fixing tractor. If daughter would have sold everything she could have died with some money in Search the web for Sears ST12 or SS16 tractor and you may find one for sale.
It's a shame, but I've seen a senario very similiar to that play out as well. The real things of value that get lost in the process are the truly precious ones, like the memories of the family that lived there. This is the only reason that I can think that people will hold on to a piece of proprty like this and let it fall into decay. Like they are preserving something. Why not just let another family buy it and start making their own happy memories? Anyway, I'll never be able to answer this, I'm not in their shoes. It still makes me sick to see distant relatives pick through their (distant) families stuff like a bunch of vultures. I thought I would see it firsthand when my Grandfather died. He got the best of them; he left nothing! Nothing that my worthless cousins could take, just (I'm sure) the satisfaction that he raised his children, and they subsequently raised their children (except for a few) in the eyes of the lord! I admire him for that. BTW, I still have a small momento to remember my grandfather with. I bought his 1911 from my uncle, who gave it to his father as a birthday present. I shoot it at the IDPA matches sometimes.
Off topic, sorry. A buddy of mine has a little Ford tractor very similiar in size to your Sears. He has the front end loader, and has to put a severe amount of weight on the back to keep it from lifting the rear end when scooping and lifting. It looks like yours has a cinderblock door or window lentle on it. Although they weigh a lot, I hope it is enough!
That is not my tractor that is just a photo of a loader I pulled from the web. The web photos start with the red tractor with the black plow. I was making a photo list of the attachments that can be had. Hopefully others will join in and list what they find for postSHTF farming.
My post (and pre) SHTF implements are pretty old-fashioned: The base unit and all the accessories: Chopper/weeder/furrows Thatcher/leveler My Scoop My tiller My mower Not pictured: Strong back.
LOL exactly Tracy. and lots of kids. However if it ran on biomass you may be able to get away with it. Which is what interests me.
We have one of these old Sears tractors. It is a a sturdy machine that doesn't give up. We lost the key a while back and need to do something. We wonder if it would be easier to put in a new ignition switch or learn to hot wire it. Like I said this is a great tractor, we got it for $100 years back.
I have seen these tillers. Are you happy with the performance, is it worth it? Does it get the job done?
I'm sure that the one that I had wasn't top of the line, but the handle busted off of it fairly quickly. Admittedly, the ground I was working wasn't ideal - clay, rocks, etc. A higher quality one, used in tillable soil might do fine.
ma fathed has one and uses it in his small garden ...says its fine for what he does I have 2 or 3 i pick up at flea markets for a buck or 2 !!
should be no problem to just put a toggkle swith in it ... but honestly i would shove a screw driver or another small key in it ... or call sears and tell them what u have and they may have one .... just try shoving different things in and turning it ... what the worst that could happen .... I have had luck doing that!!!!
Picked up this book awhile back call 500 more things to make for farm and home. It was compiled by Glen Charles Cook and published in 1944 there are two volumes, i have volume two. I have seen both volumes on AbeBooks - Used Books, Rare Books, New Books & Textbooks with prices ranging from 10.00 to over 70.00 dollars. It is a cornucopia of great ideas.
Just get a new ignition from NAPA or a good parts store. Doesn't have to be the OEM part. The aftermarkets are cheap and easy to install.
We have a pitchfork, a hoe, and multiple shovels and rakes. Oh and a post hole digger which can also be used for gardening.
i seen on youtube an interesting tool made .. take one side of a posthole digger and use it as a shovel its pretty handy ... {if you are like me and for some reason only have one side laying around } y i dont know ? but im not a horder!!!!
I have a small diesel compact tractor. Have a 4 foot tiller, loader, backhoe and several other implements (still looking for a 3 point hitch log splitter). It can till about an acre an hour and burn only about a gallon of fuel to accomplish that. I am storing winter blend diesel sealed in 55 gal drums which will keep for decades. Post SHTF force multipliers are going to be vital for security or farming/gardening. I think a small compact or subcompact diesel is a good option. I can farm, log, lift, load and even bury for several years with just a couple hundred gallons of stored fuel. And if I need more fuel, lots of other options and sources including the electric transformers down the road if things got really desperate. Of course you need to have some land to go with it and that ain't cheap. Shovels, hoes, rakes etc are good to have but planning on using only those to try and garden enough to live on is not going to have a high probability of success IMHO, especially when your efforts will be diluted by the thieves of both 2 and 4 legged varieties. AT
Don't count on that. Transformers are oil cooled, yes, but the oil is mandated to be fire retardant. Might not burn unless the transformers are old and haven't been updated since the 60s.
