Hand starting wrench

Hey guys putting final touches on 1948 Farmall H i bought a hand starting wrench at salvage yard Do any of you guys no where where they were mounted for storage on tractor i can;t see any place it be stored on tractor Also i have never used a hand crank to start tractor any advice would be great I want to show my grandson how they use to start tractors by hand The hand crank rod that sticks out in front of tractor works great it is all free the spring loaded head springs back and fotrh all that works good Thanks for any help

Get someone that knows how to hand crank to show you. Hand crank is best with a magneto, because chance of kickback is less. With battery ignition or the magneto, make sure that your timing is set so that the ignition fires (or in case of the magneto the impulse trips) just after top dead center. If you get ignition at or before TDC, you can get a kick back and that can cause injury.

Be very careful how you try to hand crank your H or you could end up in the hospital with a broken arm. Never hold the crank with your thumb wrapped around it always keep you thumb and fingers together. Also never try to turn it more then about a 1/4 of a turn at a time and I was always told to pull up on the crank so if it did kick back which they do it will make it so your hand slips off and little to no pain. I wore a arm brace for 6 weeks because of a kick back and I was holding it the correct way and it still got me

My dad always showed me that you cup your hand around the crank, with the thumb on the same side of the crank as the fingers. He'd turn the crank so that the crank engaged the crankshaft at about 5 o'clock position facing the tractor. Then he'd stand on the distributor side of the tractor and spin the engine over by pulling sharply upward on the crank.

I don't know what anyone else recommends, but that's what I saw...and it worked, without any broken bones.

(quoted from post at 15:12:27 02/13/12) My dad always showed me that you cup your hand around the crank, with the thumb on the same side of the crank as the fingers. He'd turn the crank so that the crank engaged the crankshaft at about 5 o'clock position facing the tractor. Then he'd stand on the distributor side of the tractor and spin the engine over by pulling sharply upward on the crank.

I don't know what anyone else recommends, but that's what I saw...and it worked, without any broken bones.

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That is a very good description, and if the engine is going to start, once or twice using that method is all that is needed.

Here you go. You only need to watch the first 2 minutes.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dNiS86_H-RA

If you've never done it before now, show him Jim's video and hang the crank on the barn wall for decoration. :shock: No, really, I'm serious.

I'd agree with that.

You definitely want to pull up with the crank - do NOT go past 12:00

The idea being that if it does kick back, you want it pulling away from you, not pushing into you.

It's basically a quick quarter turn operation. You'll feel the spot somewhere in 6:00 to 12:00 range.

And if it doesn't fire up on the first crank (and it won't) pull the crank completely out and resposition it back down around 6:00 to try again - DON'T try to turn the engine over slowly to get the crank back down into position!

I've seen people do that a lot and it drives me crazy!!!!

The engine does not need to be spinning fast to start (with a mag). Even a slow crank will fire it up.

In fact - I find it MUCH more likely to kick back when it's being cranked slowly. I think that's because if the mag is set to fire even very slightly before tdc, going slowly ensures you'll get a good fire before tdc (and therefore backwards) - where if you spin it fast, you're getting the timing advantage of beating the delay of the spark with TDC.

If it does kick back - you do need to re-adjust your timing. There's no real performance advantage to having the timing set so close to tdc that you're in danger of that kick. Always fall on the side of after tdc if in doubt.

You just need to feel the kick back once and you'll gain a real appreciation for doing it the right way. If you think you're strong enough to keep it from breaking some bones, you're not.

My dad always started his and now my M with a hand crank. It never kicked back and always started on one or two pulls of the crank.
My dad always kept the crank tucked in by the steering post and it never fell out.
That tractor is now 71 years old. My dad will be 95 this summer and still sharp as a tack.
Brian

There was no special provision for storing the crank. Some people put them under the seat and also a spot next to the frame between the engine.
This is just from what I have read on the forums.

Randy

That's the same way I do it too, must have done it at least 200 times between last April and January when I finally got a new battery and fixed the charging system. My H has never kicked back at me once, but the Allis C I used to have gave me some bruises a few times.
Zach

IF YOU INSIST ON HAND CRANK STARTING THAT H IMPRESS ON YOUR GRANDSON TO DOUBLE-CHECK TRANSMISSION IS IN NEUTRAL AND BOTH BRAKE PEDALS ARE LOCKED. YOU WILL NOT HAVE A 2nd CHANCH! Best to leave crank hanging on the wall!!!! Armand

Thanks for the confirmation. Dad was a teenager when he and Grand-Dad started selling Farmalls in 1941...so he grew up with the letter series tractors. What I know is based on what I've witnessed, and what Pappy told me over the years.

Haas pretty well sums it up. Timing is CRITICAL when hand cranking.

Some guys have the timing a bit before TDC which may work with the electric start but cause some issues when hand cranking.