Building hayrack questions

Restoring a JD 943 running gear and plan on making a smaller hay rack to pull behind the H. Couple questions

Wheel hubs, what color? Looks like they were originally yellow. Photos I see online show everyone paints them green. What would they have originally been?

Deck boards should run which way? I see photos of both directions online. I am not looking for strength, no loads will be on trailer. This is for shows and rides.

Thanks!
 
As I recall, wheels and hubs were all yellow. Deck
boards run length ways. Was easier to drag bales
back from the baler.
 
Yeah, it's easier to drag the bales the length of the rack if the boards run lengthwise. But, if you're baling straw or chaffy, too dry hay, it's also easier to fall on your keister!

Cost-wise, it'll run more for boards that go the length of the rack than shorter ones that go crossways.

Just my humble opinion, from a man who has baled literally thousands of bales, at $2/hr.
 
Hubs were yellow.
Old flats had floorboards running longways. Later flats on taller running gears ran floorboards sideways made of 2x6s with a space between them for trash to fall through. They had long 2x6s running longways on each side for strength. (One above and one below the ends of the floorboards with bolts running through.)
 
would a 943 gear (early 50s) be considered older or later? I like the look of the shorter cross deck but don't like the runners you need to have on the ends.
 
I personally like to run the boards across, it makes for a lower rack, easier to get on and off. I have used 2 x 10's. I also like to use angle iron on the edges or sides with two bolts in each cross board. It ties them all together and creates a nice strong deck. Paul
 
Here are some pictures of two wagons I built some years ago. The only problem was the deck was too slippery to stand on and load hay on the hills.
Paul
a169606.jpg

a169607.jpg
 
Older. They were lower profile than the later ones.
Beds I described on the other post would have had floorboards running longways for that era.
The other beds with cross floorboards were not slick at all. They were treated pine no slick finish. The long 2X6s on the sides helped to keep hay from sliding off. Those beds were 8'X20'. Too large for an H. Seems like the old beds were around 7' wide.
 
Wheels and hubs should be yellow. Run boards lengthwise. That way you can use 3/4" thick boards and with a good 2x4 cross ways every 16" you have cood support. Going crosswise you will have to use 1 1/2" thick lumber and have to fasten them all together with a 2x6 bolted on each edge to support that too long a space on the board sticking out over the side of the sill as the ends of the boards like to break off at the sill with a person standing on them (good leg breaker. Also as shown in the picture below they will take a down curve on the outside of the sills and you will have like standing on top of a ball. At the time those gears were made beds of both stules were made. And do not go over 7' wide with unless you need for some reason more a 6 1/2" wide bed would be ideal. And remember that gear is only a 3 ton rated gear.
 
Thanks again everyone for the help. I am putting the running gear as short as possible and shooting for a 6X10ish deck. Thought that may look a little smaller and fit the proportions of the H. It is really just for show and an occasional ride....all show no go. :) I will post photos when I get done. Getting tires today.
 
I was thinking a pair of 2X?? (depending on the height I need to get over tires) sandwiched on each side for the stringers. That should be about the same as a 4X8 or 4X10 for example. Then going with 4X4's across. (Not sure how yet to secure them down. Then using either 2X or deck boards for the decking. I am shooting for something that looks nice and be stained/kept up and smooth for anyone wanting to sit/ride.
 
2510 Paul- are the main beams on your hay rack three 2x12s nailed or screwed together rather than one solid piece beam?

Also, what is the purpose of the smaller boards running side to side on top of the deck?
 
We have 10 953 with hay beds on them 16 ft long 8ft wide using 6X8" beams 1 1/4" cross boards the cross board lay out spaced about an inch apart helps get the chaff out of the way and keeps the bales from sliding forward on hills, we stack one down the middle on 4 tiers then bring them in at the top to carry 129 per load, a couple of the were bought new in 1953, they are probably the best wagon ever made,,combines ,balers and pickers have come and gone,,but the wagons are still here working.
a169662.jpg
 
That's a nice looking hay rack. I kept the decks natural untreated wood. What kind of finish do you have on the wood: used engine oil, a water seal or spar varnish? What would you use if you built another one?
 
I no longer have the wagons so I cannot go out and measure but the beams were 3 - 2 x 10's (or 12's) screwed together, Douglas Fur. The deck boards were also screwed to the beams with large coated decking screws. I also had metal pieces made that went between the beams to keep them from twisting independently. The metal pieces were like cake pans only much heavier steel. I think I put 3 of them in. If you look at the pictures carefully the brackets for the standard at the back were also fabricated steel bolted to the beams. Everything goat a couple of coats of wood sealer.
The boards on the top of the rack/deck were an after thought to give us (and the hay) something to hold on to with our feet when taking bales off the baler. If I were to do it again I would use rough sawn lumber for grip. The planned (spelling?) boards with deck sealer on just got too slippery.
We stacked these wagons 7-8 layers high end to end on the coulee hills of western Wisconsin. I think they were 18'L and 9 or 10' wide. They held a lot of hay. When I sold them one went to a commercial hay producer and the other when to a guy to display his collection of pedal tractors. Paul
 
If you look carefully at the picture with the front view and the picture with the back view you can see a portion of the "cake pans". I never painted them so they were rust colored. Paul
 
Thanks. You know I do not recall exactly what I used as a finish, It was some kind of wood sealer. I just know it got too slippery. I would use rough sawn lumber next time. Paul
 
If I understand your question - there was no "official" or "correct" or "standard" way to build a flat rack. There were as many ways to build one as there were farmers and lumber yards building them.

If I were building a flat rack to pull behind a tractor just for play, I'd try to make it with rough sawn full dimensional white oak, bought from as close a source as I could get. Maybe even from off my own property. I'd build it on 4 by 8 runners, and run the boards cross ways, using different widths. I'd run a 2X4 on the underside to tie the boards together. I'd use square head lag screws to hold the deck to the runners and square head bolts and nuts on the 2X4 to the deck boards. I personally think it'd make a sharp flat rack.
 

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