Auctioned out

Today I attended my second sale in as many weeks and came home with a nice crop of sunburn on my fishbelly white skin. Luckily, I had sense enough to wear a hat for a change, otherwise my balding pate would be equally burned.

First off we'll go with the usual gratititous equipment pictures of the bargains of the day.


This JD4520 brought $4100. Cheap horsepower at twice the price. The tub grinder that it's hooked to brought more than that. There is not near as much call for 100+ horsepower tractors around here as there was thirty years ago, when big John rolled off the Waterloo assembly line. I've mentioned before, nobody row-crops around here anymore (well, very few at least) and the main purpose in life for a tractor like this is to pull a plow. Most of the serious farmers who do need a tractor in this horsepower range are not going to want one that is thirty years old.


This IH175 trackloader brought $2500. It was a sore temptation for me. I like trackloaders anyway and this one had a 4-in-1 bucket, which means it can perform some of the functions of a bulldozer. The thing that mainly held me back was the very, very bad reputation IH industrial/construction equipment used to have... that and the fact I'd have to make a mad dash to the bank first thing Monday morning to beg for the money to cover my rubber check.

I'd actually went to the sale to look at a NH311 square baler that was on the list. For whatever reason, the person who consigned it never brought it out there. The only square balers there were a Hesston 4570 inline baler, which I'd love too have, but well out of my price range and a JD338. The 338 had possibilities, at least as far as my ability to buy it. It was weathered, the paint was pretty faded and some idiot had left hay in it all winter. I performed a great service for whomever did end up with it, because I cleaned the damn thing out so's I could look at the bale chamber. It was pretty rusty, but it wasn't rotted completely out. As it turns out, I left long before either of the square balers sold.

My neighbor who lent me the NH275 last Summer has finally decided to sell it. He was down there and gave me a fair price. Since I know what I'm dealing with, I think that is probably going to be the wisest course for me to take right now. I really did want a newer baler, preferably an inline, but for now I think it best to deal with the devil I know. That devil being New Holland equipment from the Sperry-Rand era of their existence.

I had hoped to run across another tedder, but the three I was interested in brought over a thousand dollars apiece. I think I'll spend the three-fifty for the part for the one I have, rob the driveshaft off the old tedder and be done with it.

Oddball sight of the day: The chisel plow with mag wheels. At least they weren't chrome... I shouldn't make fun of it, because I found a set (cheap!) that would fit the wagons, I would have no qualms whatsoever about putting chrome mags on a haywagon.


And in case anyone has actually read this far and is wondering what I bought today, the answer is a hotdog and a coke.