60 acre hillside
Member
When I was a kid I saw several binders in operation but never gave enough thought to what the operator did, Was there a device for putting the drive wheel ( locally called bull wheel) out of gear for turning? Did the operator turn a three quarter turn to the right on the stubble to make a square corner? Or could he turn a hard left turn and the platform wheel turn backwards? In these questions I am assuming it is a left hand machine and is being pulled with three horses abreas. My dad (born 1885) told me they usually worked six mules to an eight foot binder and the lead mule was ridden.