Another treasure

Steve in VA

Well-known Member
Dragged home one more jewel.
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I have never been around one of those in use.
After you close it on the hay, what keeps it closed on the way up to the loft?
 
We use one for alot of years worked good. When someone would holler we would pull a roperson and trip it to open and drop the bales.
 
I always thought those were used for loading loose hay? Bale elevator for bales. I don't see why it could not lift a bale and I absolutely am not disputing that you did so. Just seems like a long tedious way to put bales up when an elevator and a couple strong backs can get it done faster. Loose hay now....I have seen pics of large amounts being lifted by similar devices and looks like a better way than forking it up.
 
Because of the angle of the iron at top, plus the pivot on top, it's just like the clamp for picking up ice blocks....., the weight draws a tighter hold on the hay bale. Wingnut
 
There was one of them home on the farm, never seen it in use, think it was for loose hay. The one for lifting bales had four individual spikes you stabbed in.
 
Maybe this pic will help. I'm confident there are lots of versions but in this case there is a pivot built in that will lock the tines in place. So, drop it in to load it with loose hay. Pull up into the maw and trolly it in. Then, pull the lanyard and the pivot unlocks to drop the load. As noted, its not for bales.
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The fork for bales was four individual tines stabbed into the bales, one of my brothers was real good at that, seems like he could stab about twelve at a time, The wagon had to be loaded tight and wright.
I can't remember the pully and rope setup and the signal hollering but I do know that if the guy on the pull tractor gets to day dreaming about hunting, fishing or girlfriend and misses the signal that the track is going to junk in the rear of the barn and he's in for an azz eating.
 
I've seen a fork that was used for loose hay. It was like a long legged upside down U rather flat on top. near the bottom of the legs were short pieces that swiveled 90 deg after it was pushed into the loose hay on the wagon. The fork full of hay was then pulled up to the track the, it rolled down the track and it was tripped the little cross pieces swiveled back parallel with the fork, and the hay fell to the mow.

I've also seen slings used. One was laid on the floor of the wagon, hay was piled on it, then another sling was laid down, more hay, I don't remember how many slings were used, maybe 3 or 4.

I've also seen forks used for bailed hay. Like been said those had 4 individual curved spicks, it carried sever bales at a time.

An elevator was another piece of equipment to own. But most barns, back in the day had the track and rope.


Dusty
 
Grandpa installed the track system into the replacement barn in 1950 following the fire. They put up loose hay, loaded onto wagons with a hay loader- a pickup rake that fed an inclined plane with a web chain like a manure spreader floor. With some rake teeth on the bed chain, it would just lift the windrow up and set it on the wagon. For a while they used slings, then with the new barn track came a set of forks that replaced the need for slings.

When small bales became popular in the area, they pulled eight bales at a time into the barn with the forks. You loaded the wagon with bricks of eight, four bales perpendicular to the wagon, with four atop those parallel to the wagon.

My early operator years were pulling the loads into the barn with our MI. As you learned the intricacies of loading the barn, you varied the length of your track, and learned to back up without running over the rope.

I still have the setup in the loft, but we replaced it when it started to dump the load as soon as it locked onto the track, with some bales falling back onto the wagon. Unsafe and unproductive. Would need some new parts made from by a blacksmith I suspect.
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Designed for loose hay, not baled hay. In my neck of the woods, instead of the grapple there were two giant needles with retractable barbs which were pushed into the hay on the wagon. In some cases the barbs were retracted automatically when the trolley came to a "stop" on the track or the hay could be released by pulling a release rope. When I was a kid back in the 40s and early 50s, a couple of local farmers used these. One of them was still using horses and had a tow behind "hay loader" for loading his wagons as well.
 

I went to a farm sale about 15 years ago and picked up a 30' elevator for 5 bux. Apparently no one uses them much any more. I put hay up in the loft with it for spare hay in case we need to feed in the barn. Cut holes over the feed bunks and run 2 x 4 fence up to the top so we can just drop it in.
 
(quoted from post at 20:54:17 01/31/21)
Grapple forks. Dad used them on short hay. Long hay, he used harpoons. I have two of his harpoons hanging on the shop wall.

That makes a lot of sense.... there was always lots of timothy and orchard grass in the hay around here in the old days. Harpoon is a perfect description....double harpoons.
 
I found a couple of tines like that in a scrap pile, I took them to our pioneer village and hung them on the outside of the blacksmith shop. I never knew how they all fitted together, thanks!
 

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