M- M machine at auction

David from Kansas

Well-known Member
Yesterday at a huge auction of vintage implements, tractors, etc. was this M-M machine unknown to a friend and I that was in the trees. Tag said Model E, if I remember correctly. Very unusual looking, with several elevators and a huge discharge pipe which came off a large blower that resembled a threshing machine. After a little research on the net, my friend came up with a picture of what was called a "Corn Sheller". It was a towed machine with an engine mounted on the front.
Any body familiar with this?
a156901.jpg
 
I haven't yet seen one with an engine mounted on it like that one, but the model E MM sheller was fairly common in my area of western MN and eastern SD in the 1950s. We still shell a little ear corn with our model E, which is PTO powered. You made an interesting find!

Lon
 
I didn't watch it sell but I'm sure it went to the scrappers, like about 80% of the stuff that sold. Lots of plows, dump rakes, disk plows, horse drawn plows, cultivators, weeders, etc., several threshing machines, pull type combines, tractors, etc. Lots of the stuff was pulled out of the trees, some they just left, like the M-M corn sheller. Interesting auction. The only thing I bought was a two bottom JD disk plow in good shape and a pair of JD M tractor wheel weights. It wasn't easy to just watch JD model 44 plows one after the other sell for $20-$30 dollars to the scrapper.
 
Very popular high capacity sheller. The largest grain elevator around had one mounted in the unloading pit to shell all cob corn that came in. Think something like a thousand bushels per hour. and a Good one I would hate to guess on price but would say at auction would bring over a thousand dollars. Most home shellers were at a hundred bushels per rate in no trash corn.
 
At the Albert City threshing show a couple years ago there was an engine powered MM sheller in action shelling corn. Only one I have seen in my life.
 
I have a 1200 sheller mounted on a truck that has it's own engine (MM 283 with hand clutch). I really like the idea as you don't have as much trouble keeping it cool as the radiator is larger and easier to keep clean. Also, it is easier to shut off the sheller if needed due to easy access to the clutch lever. Easier on the truck engine too.
 
I'm sure sorry to see this news about this sale. I don't know if Charlie passed on or if it's just time for a sale. But Charlie Sharpe was a good friend in the hobby when we were all younger. Back in the early 1980's Charlie out bid me on a 17-30 Type A Minneapolis at Perryton Texas. About 8 years later Charlie called me and said "I let the engine stick on this tractor, I want to sell it to you". So I bought it from Charlie. In the later years we would always visit at the Car swap meet in Wichita. But hadn't seen him in the past couple of years.

Guess it probably is best I didn't know about the auction as my place already is full.
 
I was at that sale rescued a 4 bottom case plow and a small case one way. Lots of stuff and sad to see most of it get scraped by that #7 bidder.
 
MM Shellers are popular in this territory. I have two an MM D and B2.
This looks like a custom made job. The self contained units I have seen have the motor mounted in the center on the right side and drives on the main shaft where the belt pulley would be. This is a rare set up. Shellers around here bring about $500.
 
The last I heard is that Charlie is at an assisted living place in Lyons....This was kind of a clean up sale.....
There had been 1-2 other sales and the good stuff was already gone..
 

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