Early automatic baler history

Evan350

Member
So far haven't found a list that anyone's compiled of the introduction dates of the earliest automatic-tying square balers. I know these are among the earliest, but when exactly did they hit the market relative to the others? NH 76, NH 77, NH 65, MM Bale-O-Matic, MH 701, JD 114, JD 116W, IH 50T. What was the first baler to pack the hay from the side instead of the top of the bale chamber?
 
JD 14T started production in 1954. There may have been some pre-production ones a little earlier.

The JD 116w started in 1946 and the 114w in 1950. They were fed in the side, but not the "normal" side
 

NH made the 76 which had canvas curtins to take the hay up instead of spring fingers on chains, which the later 77 used. There were 77s and Super 77s. I had a Super. It had the plunger riding on rollers instead of wooden slides and also made large, well shaped bales from any sized windrow. The 77s dated from the early 1950s. Don't know about the 76s.

The NH 66 and Super 66 were sold about the same time as the 77s. I'm reasonably sure they were the first side fed NH balers. These balers use an auger cross feed.

I think the IHC 45 baler dates from about the same time. It also used an auger cross feed, but the one a neighbor had(powered by a Cub engine) did not tie well. The NH balers tied well from the beginning.

Case had a pickup baler with the spring pickup teeth in the early 1950s which fed the hay into the chamber from the side, maybe with an auger. Early ones did not have automatic tieing, but had a seat on each side of the bale case where two men wire tied each bale like on the older hand fed balers. Very soon Case put on knotters on that basic baler. Must have been a dusty job wire tieing. My guess is that the hand operated baler dated from the 1940s.

John Deere in the early 1950s had a baler that fed directly into the bale chamber and had the bale cas extending to one side. They had both twine and wire tie. Don't know the model numbers.

I think the work on the NH 76 balers started before World War II, but I may be wrong.

KEH
 
Here are production dates I have so far. Can you add to it?

1938-1940 Arthur Young baler
1940-1943 New Holland 73
1944-1945 New Holland 75
1944-1952 IH McCormick 50-T
1946-1948 New Holland 76
1946-???? John Deere 116w
1950-???? John Deere 114w
1953-1959 IH McCormick 55
1954-1957 IH McCormick 45
1954-???? John Deere 14T
 
Would that be the model 50-T?
post-240-1193403238.jpg
 
What model @ was the Jophn Deere side shooter?
I have a Case 140 W bailer that was made around 55. I know that they had at one other older bailer that worked in the normal way. Mine has an auger and below it a canvas running along the table.
 
The John Deere sindwinder balers were only wire tie with the first version 116W in 46 and the second version started about 1950 along with the smaller 114W and the 116W lasted to 56, not sure if the 114W lased that long. The 14T came out as a 55 model and knocked the sales of the wire tie to nothing and the next year Deere had quit the sidewinder wire baler and brought out a wire tie version of the 14 as 14W. The 14W was not actually sold around here because nobody wanted a wire baler. The New Holland 66 came out about 53 and when it came out sales of every other model baler about dissapeared around here, A few 14T were sold but by then here you could not give a wire tie baler away any more. Have both versions of the 116W as collectors.
 
I well remember them, as I had one do my bailing once, and saw a couple other elsewhere around NE Kansas. There, I had heard them called side shooters. Could be elsewhere they were called side winders a mile away. I don't know.
 
(quoted from post at 09:17:10 06/28/14) The 14T came out as a 55 model and knocked the sales of the wire tie to nothing and the next year Deere had quit the sidewinder wire baler and brought out a wire tie version of the 14 as 14W. The 14W was not actually sold around here because nobody wanted a wire baler.

Leroy
I beg to differ as there was never a JD 14W sq baler. Yes there was a 214W & 214 WS. Here's the parts catalog # for 14T 426 - 14T Automatic Baler
 
OK, topo new for me. I thought they had a 14W before the 214 series but guess not. What year did the 214 start? Was it a bigger capacity than the 14?
 
214W and T started in 1957. Ended about 1963. The W version had the 116W type twisters and later the "modern" twister style.
 
The New Holland 77 was first (even though kinda a big albatross) but more importantly the NH 66 were the balers that revolutionized the baler market. I believe the the NH 66 was introduced in 1952. There is a wonderful article on this site if you care to search for it that will have lots of the answers you are looking for.

It took other manufactures several years to catch up to anything like the NH66. I believed John Deere introduced the 14T in like in 1956.

Sure there were balers prior to NH 66 and 14T but they were not really modern in any sense of the word. Do you see anyone still using them today? Many NH 66's and 14T's still in use even today.

The NH 65 that you list did not come until 1960 so it is much later than a NH 66.
 
Ford Dearborn Model 14-49 in production prior to 1953. Manufactured by Long Mfg, Tarboro, NC. I have documentation that Long Engineers were conducting regular training at Ford Tractor Dealerships in the 1947-48 era but do not have the model numbers.

Massey Harris #1, 1945. Was sold in G.B. as the 701.

Cockhutt #375, reportedly manufactured in France. Sold in US in late "40s. Very unusual design.

Ann Arbor Automatic Pickup Hay Baler - Mid "30s, but it was wire hand tie. Oliver bought out Ann Arbor in "45-46 era and started putting the Oliver name on the Ann Arbor balers. First Oliver Auto Twine Tie Baler was the #50 launched in 1954.
 

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