My New Idea

KV Bruce

Member
Thought I'd share a couple of pictures of my New Idea spreader that I pick up at an estate sale. I have the original booklet that came with it.
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WOW ! That is a nice find . I think that spreader was made in the early 1930 s as my dad had a mate to it when he started farming about then. One other thing , the sides are not flared on this one. After he got his , the top board was 'flared' out to increase the capicity. Thank you for the pictures. clint
 
Not to worry. As you can see it's just yard art. But I do hope to tow it in the Christmas parade with my 1947 BF Avery model A.
 

You could still buy one of those on steel into the 1960's. I have one, and whoever mentioned the manure fork is pretty close to dead on. You have to be real careful loading with a skid steer. Sloppy cow crap is one thing, heavy bedding is another. NI made some heavier units with the shredders later on. Wish I had one.

FWIW- there are brand new units that are near exact copies being made today for the Amish. I'm told they use better bearings and steel, but outside of that, some of the parts are interchangeable.
 
The book pictured is not for that spreader, it is for a later model that is a 10A and the last model 4 wheel spreader New Idea made. Yours is either an 8 or 9 with the 9 being a 60 bu size spreader and only made for a very few years, the 8 is a 70 bu size spreader and was made for quite a few years and actually was made in 2 slightly different models, one being the earlier model. Yours is a later model from what I can see as it looks to have the pressed steel front wheels that the ends of the spokes are recessed in the center of the rim while the older ones it is a heavy flat plate for the wheel rim and the spokes stick out anf are very rough on roads. That spreader on a dealers lot would be a thousand dollars and be sold within a week for use. They are putting $2,000 into rebuilding them for use as there is no new spreaders of that quality being made today.
 
Hey Bruce, ya have all summer to do a decent "farmer" restoration. Grease the bearings, straighten stuff out, and do a nice paint job. You will need to hand cut a stencil for it. Think about it. It is a shame to just let an old piece like that rot away as yard art. You could have one or two people sitting in folding chairs in the back waving to the crowd. Dress them up as cows!!!
 
Leroy, Thanks for the reply. I was certain that someone on the forum would know about this spreader. I noticed right a way that the sides were different from the booklet. Any idea what year this might be? The mechanical pieces seem to match the booklet. The dimensions of the box are approx. 9x3x1.5 feet, which would be 40.5 cu ft. which would be approx 32.5 Bu. You were right on with the front wheels.
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When I was growing up, almost every farm in the county had at least one New Idea implement, now most people don't even know there was a New Idea company.
 
A few years ago,the Agco dealer said somebody came in and wanted to buy a new New Idea spreader. He said that was all his grand dad every had,all his dad ever had and all he ever had,and it was all he was gonna buy. You can get them decaled as Agco,New Idea or Massey Ferguson. They all say Agco on the tag and the serial numbers are all intermingled. He said he ordered one specifically to be a New Idea. He said when it came in,it was decaled as a Massey. He said he steamed the decals off,put a pair of $12 New Idea decals on it and delivered it. The guy was happy as a clam and never knew the difference.
 
Some info and a story. New Idea was based in Coldwater Ohio. The Mercer County Historical Society (based in Celina, the County Seat) has put together histories of the NI manure spreaders and the NI cornpickers. Whether they have books in stock, I don't know. They're currently working on a history of the Unisystem.

June 22, 1963. Coldwater celebrated a town Annivesary. Connie and I got married that day. As newlyweds, we were invited to ride as guests of honor in the parade in a non-used manure spreader. Connie declined the honor. To this day, I don't understand it.
 

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