B O R Posted June 28, 2015 Author Share Posted June 28, 2015 Yes Alex, older balers had both wheels the same size but this led to the wheel at the pick up reel side sticking out and thus being hard to get through gates, but by moving the wheel directly behind the baler it leaves the overall width some 7-9 inches narrower but the problem then is that the wheel is tucked under the "throat" or intake chamber so to get the necessary clearance a smaller size wheel must be fitted. I am currently in the final stages of restoration of a MF 10 baler, my restoration has been done over the last 3 years and ive done nearly all the work myself including copying practically every panel to make new ones and a hell of a lot of welding along the way, im now at the pick up reel and already ive spent £700 on this, a complete set of 14 new crop bands consumed £415 of this. Another month should see progress as I plan to show the baler this august at a few local rallies behind my restored MF135. Its taken so long because model building obviously has to come first Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Oakley Farms Posted June 29, 2015 Share Posted June 29, 2015 Wow Brian i would love to see some pictures of that when its complete. A lot of hard work but def worth it in the end. Thanks for clarifying the wheels, makes sense to me Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tractorman810 Posted June 29, 2015 Share Posted June 29, 2015 that's an unusual item to restore Brian, but also nice to see, many people discard implements and go for the tractors ,implements used to be the preserve of the bigger collectors like the coldridge mf collection and places like that Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
B O R Posted June 30, 2015 Author Share Posted June 30, 2015 Yes Sean, ive never ever seen a baler properly restored. I saved mine from going to the breakers yard, the previous owner said it wasn't knotting but when I got it home I found endless amounts of sisal twine wrapped so tightly around the billhook that it couldn't operate, it was smothering in twine. I cleaned it all off and then she tied 50 bales without missing one. Although MF got overtaken in the baler world mainly by WELGER and JOHN DEERE they were always known to make a perfect square bale, maybe due to the long bale chamber and the fact they had 4 "haydogs" to hold the material until the packer gets thumping more up against it. A great baler in their day but as we know time stands still for no one and they were overtaken by the abovementioned mainly because they replaced the Masseys drive chains (5 of them) with a direct shaft drive, this was miles better and much more reliable than chains that were prone to snapping or stretching. Also I believe Massey Ferguson must have trialled their balers in perfect baling conditions because the minute they detect moisture they start to miss and leave odd shape bales, they also weren't suitable for Haylage where the JD and Welger did!! To be honest theres no baler to touch a Welger but I wanted a period related unusual implement to display with my 135 and boy did I pick a challenge. My baler was left outside and with hay in it so rust had well and truly set in, I blasted the whole baler and then relined anywhere that I couldn't replace the panelling on and made all new panels to replace the ones she bent when she went off timing. Now running like a watch and I cant wait to get into straw with her sometime, was expensive getting through it even though I did everything but the painting myself. I certainly learned myself a lot by stripping the baler down into over 100 pieces and repairing and replacing as I went along, new bearings here and there and seals and gearboxes cleaned out and regreased and now im at the pick up which is a lot of work in itself, but im getting there. Itll now be good for another 50 years which is what restoring is all about, that and learning and of course spending money like nobodies business but thats my interests and it keeps me out of trouble... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tractorman810 Posted June 30, 2015 Share Posted June 30, 2015 To the best of my knowledge our mf124 baler was sold to a neighbour prior to the auction and he's still running it now , they did make a very compact bale , I can remember a contractor starting to bale one of our fields by accident one year with a jd baler and they were longer but felt lighter to compaired to the mf, caused us Some agro when picking them up ,we had to do a stack or two of the jd ones seperate to the normal ones and used them right away as they made the Stack go out of shape back in the Dutch barn Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
B O R Posted June 30, 2015 Author Share Posted June 30, 2015 The 124 and 128 were the first MF balers to feature their own knotters, the 703, 10, 15 and 20 all had a knotter that was licensed to GEHL. the 124/128 were a very much improved baler over their predecessors in terms of less chains, faster knotter and there ability to bale even if the crop wasn't just 100% ready. I don't know of anyone who had a bad word to say about the 124/128, the same baler of course but the 128 had a wider pick up for straw swaths, MF replaced them with the 224/228 and I think they were nearly the same baler, but then when the 224/228 were due to be renewed MF sadly went to a French company called RIVEIRRE-Casalis and the new models were the 3 and 4 and the 5 was a larger square baler, this is where MF lost there way in balers, the French balers were scrap compared to the older MFs, under engineered in almost every department and just nowhere near the strong balers that MF made themselves, they never recovered from that mistake and today Hesston build there small square baler but only an in-line version is available I think named the 1839.. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fordconvermad Posted July 1, 2015 Share Posted July 1, 2015 Brian I must commend you on both your quality of models and your knowledge of the machines you have interest in. Plenty of research and time goes into it for you. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tractorman810 Posted July 1, 2015 Share Posted July 1, 2015 Would you consider doing any other implements brian? See a few mf 200 trailers done, but thats about it to be honest. Maybe a paired bale sledge ? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
B O R Posted July 1, 2015 Author Share Posted July 1, 2015 More implements will be done, theres quite a few MF implements I have in mind to replicate, it takes a lot of room in a house to display a hay diorama though to justify a sledge, the Cooks or Browns sledge is a long implement and I guess someday ill cover it, or a nice later hydraulic floor belt type sleigh to display with a Welger AP630??? I must get round to planning another MF implement though.. Thanks Eamonn, research does go into my builds yes, but also memories go into them too, the Balers, Foragers and potato equipment I cover has either been worked by myself or on a farm I have helped out on, I used to work different times for 4 different farmers and 1 of them a milk farm, a beef farm and a potato/beef farm so a wide range of machinery has been used or worked alongside, a good memory is a big help during my projects and being with older generation farmers/contractors when machines broke down, I used to be fascinated watching them being fixed and maybe better modifications made along the way,i worked around balers and foragers for many years and have seen most of them in bits, sometimes still do as theres 3 fitters employed where I work and I now see the modern day kit in bits too when needing brakes etc.... In model building land im dealing every day with things in bits until there eventually built up into a model. Some ask me would I rather work at models or restoring the real thing and I don't have an answer for this, as long as it machinery related I don't care what size it is... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Oakley Farms Posted July 2, 2015 Share Posted July 2, 2015 And long may you continue at it Brian. One of the most fascinating posters on here, with a great range of machinery from old to bang up to date new. I thoroughly enjoy reading this thread Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
B O R Posted July 2, 2015 Author Share Posted July 2, 2015 The John Deere balers are now complete,although ive noticed ive still to fit the yellow cord running from the baler to the tractor... 10 weeks to build the 6x balers with the time that I have... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
B O R Posted July 2, 2015 Author Share Posted July 2, 2015 Many difficulties were experienced along the way but at this point it all seems worthwhile. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
B O R Posted July 2, 2015 Author Share Posted July 2, 2015 I have 1x 359 model still available for sale, another build never to be repeated by me.. pics 2 and 3 are the only pics I have of the 6 together as 1x 342A has already been sent to its customer in this mornings post, this was my only deadline customer who emphasised he must have it by Friday or Saturday so I just made it in the nick of time for him....The other customers fortunately have no deadlines and never put any pressure on (you know who you are) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
B O R Posted July 2, 2015 Author Share Posted July 2, 2015 Drawbars move, tailgate lifts and lowers, pick up reel lifts and lowers and the fingers above the pick up reel lift and lower to allow "hay" to be displayed... I had originally planned on keeping a 342A but due to a miscalculation in the counting I found out that my 3x 342As are sold, so its a 359 for me but im more than happy with that, there is a slight length difference in the 342A and the 359, although it only translates to a couple of mm in model form its still included, the 359 is in fact slightly shorter in real life than the 342A, the difference is in the chamber at the front where the plunger travels, later 359s had the option of a mesh screen over the packer, I can include this if needed but most were removed as the rear view was seriously hindered because of it.....All in all it was a right difficult project, a lot of squaring when putting parts together and a lot of figuring out, but a nice 1/32 model to have in my collection and also 3 of them making their way over to Scotland to genuine John Deere collectors.... My pictures were taken this evening at sundown, im going to try and get a few in better light as there was a fine line between too bright and a little too dark which I feel has happened, ill get a few pics hopefully at weekend fitted to period tractors.. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mr softie Posted July 2, 2015 Share Posted July 2, 2015 wow Brian these are amazing and a credit to the hard work and headaches that this build has given you , again a masterpiece and glad to be adding these to my collection keep the good work coming Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
B O R Posted July 2, 2015 Author Share Posted July 2, 2015 NOTE.....On the 359 brochure you will notice that the decals are different to the ones on my balers, there were 3 different types of decal fitted to 359s, my models are based on the baler in the attached pic below and you will see the decal is the same, there was a very late type decal after this too Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Niels Posted July 3, 2015 Share Posted July 3, 2015 Fantastic models Brian. Real works of art, superbly done! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paul Palmer Posted July 3, 2015 Share Posted July 3, 2015 stunning,truly stunning Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mr softie Posted July 3, 2015 Share Posted July 3, 2015 yes spot on Brian the 359`s lasted over a period of time and is still available under the new leaping Deere logo today Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
B O R Posted July 3, 2015 Author Share Posted July 3, 2015 Thank you,s for the kind comments.... It seems Brian that the 359 was one of if not the best selling baler in the range, they seem to be far more 359s for sale than any other model.. Its good that there still made as they are meant to be a superb baler, I guess that's why JD didn't change much over there lifespan, if its not broke don't fix it would apply. John Deeres mowers also got a very good name right down through the years, until the 535 with the centre drawbar, when fitted with a swather and turning at a steepish headland very often left them flipping over when the swather was raised, I may be wrong but I believe JD then brought back the 1365 model or maybe its that it was never took off the market, arguably the best 10ft mower made... I wonder how much a brand new 359 would be today? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
B O R Posted July 5, 2015 Author Share Posted July 5, 2015 The last John Deere baler is now sold, details on my next batch of builds soon as I haven't decided myself yet what I'm doing. The JOhn Deere balers is a project that I won't be covering again. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
B O R Posted July 9, 2015 Author Share Posted July 9, 2015 To fill in when im making my mind up regarding my next big project ive decided to build 8x NEW HOLLAND double chop foragers...There will be 4x 339 and 4x 342 models with all available in the early red and yellow or the later all yellow livery. I have had a lot of requests for this one again and ive decided to build another batch so there are a few left available.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fenside MF Posted July 10, 2015 Share Posted July 10, 2015 Your John deere small square baler is superb Brian,nice build for this time of year too Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
B O R Posted July 19, 2015 Author Share Posted July 19, 2015 added this County to my collection yesterday and put in a driver and worked a little at the steering to give it a little more lock, would like to do more but don't have the time right now, the plough is a conversion of UHs KUHN varimaster and is much more realistic in the UK than the KV plough that UH have out in 1/32...My plough is based on the heavy duty EG model Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
B O R Posted July 19, 2015 Author Share Posted July 19, 2015 The County on a NH 719 which would be very much age related... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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