One Thousand Ways to Make a Living; or, An Encyclopædia of Plans to Make Money

by Harold Morse Dunphy

A New Vocation

This opens a new field of employment, that of farm mechanic.

The farm mechanic will have employment the year round, and the farm owner who has a competent mechanic in his employ will find his machinery in good order when needed.

The farm mechanic should not think that he is above doing regular farm work, when that is more important. He may be called upon to repair buildings, build fences, or even plant potatoes, but his duties should be primarily the operation and upkeep of mechanical equipment.

With the machinery cared for by a competent farm mechanic there will be less loss of time due to breakdowns and the equipment lasts longer. If anything goes wrong with any of the mechanical equipment while in operation it will receive the immediate attention of an expert. When there is a need for repairs to any of the buildings a competent man is available to do the work.

Some large scientific farmers who have made their farming truly commercial propositions have introduced as one of the economic features of their business a department of farm mechanics with an expert mechanic in charge. The time is ripe and the need urgent for the general introduction of the farm mechanic on every farm of sufficient size. Adjoining farms might in some cases advantageously combine in employing a farm mechanic.

A person with a desire to farm and an inclination toward mechanics may make one help the other by getting a farm so located that he can do general repair work for near neighbors, this work to be undertaken with the understanding that repairing and sharpening of tools will be done when farming is at a standstill because of weather or for other reasons, and that his own farming operations must not be sacrificed. Those desiring his services will gladly bring their machines to him to be overhauled before the season for use and while other work is not pressing.

The farm mechanic must be ingenious in utilizing the equipment at hand. He can often adapt available equipment to do work that, without his ingenious help, would be accomplished with much difficulty.

The cut shows a small gasoline engine mounted on a binder to drive the cutting and binding machinery. With this arrangement the team has only to draw the binder. This is particularly advantageous on soft ground. Where the bull wheel does not have to drive the machinery it is not so liable to mire in wet places. This plan, taking much of the load from the team, enables more and better work to be done. If a tractor is available that can draw a grain drill and a harrow at the same time, it is poor economy not to do both operations at once.

Efficient hitches are very important and the mechanic must arrange these so that he can do the maximum work with a minimum power in the shortest time. It has been found that the power required by some methods of hitching may be 15 to 25 per cent greater than by others. As a rule, proper hitches not only take less power but the tools do better work. This illustrates one of the benefits to be derived from having an expert in charge of the machinery.

The farm mechanic will be able to supervise the use of machines and tools on the farm and thus greatly increase the efficiency of the equipment in the hands of others, as well as of that operated by himself. By supervising machines when in use and by keeping equipment in the best working condition, the farm mechanic can make himself the most valued man on the place.

In some sections of the country drainage and irrigation are very important. The intelligent farm mechanic with a little training can be of great service in the simple farm surveying necessary.

The erection of and additions to farm buildings is another line of work that naturally falls to the farm mechanic, as does also the installation of farm equipment. Many convenient devices are possible if some one is available who can use tools and has ability to plan and construct such improvements. How many farmers, for example, have a dumb-waiter connecting with the cellar, or water in the kitchen to save steps for the farmer’s wife?

Most farms have a gas engine for pumping water. It would be an easy matter to arrange this engine so that it could be fitted to a short shaft provided with pulleys to drive various machines, such as feed grinder, feed cutter, grindstone, fanning mill, etc. A 1¹⁄₂ or 2 horse-power engine on a small truck would be very convenient for moving from place to place for odd jobs. Many farms are supplied with small electric-light plants, which by a little ingenuity could be made more convenient and also save work in the home. Electric lights, running water, bathroom, vacuum cleaner, cream separator, electric washer, electric iron, furnace, and many other conveniences are all possibilities, although many farmers do not realize that these are available for the country home. However, with the assistance of the farm mechanic, the farmer will feel that he, too, may enjoy city conveniences. Farmers are not unwilling to have things made convenient for themselves, but hesitate because of the difficulty of getting a competent person to operate and maintain the plant. Lights, feed cutters, milkers, and other conveniences are needed at the barn. Probably no farm would have all these improvements, but any farm may have some, and, if a farm mechanic of originality is available, many of these will be possible.

The farm mechanic should be provided with a shop equipped with well selected tools. This shop, for convenience, should be located as closely as possible to the machine sheds. It should have good light, a tight floor, and some means of heating in cold weather, for most of the work in the shop will be done during weather which is unsuited for outside operations. The equipment should consist of a forge and anvil, a bench and vise for metal work, a bench and vise for woodwork, good, suitable tools, and a small stock of supplies—such as nails, screws, nuts, and bolts.

Farm machinery is built on the interchangeable plan, and a few of the extras most liable to be needed should be kept on hand to avoid delay. For example, a careful inspection of the binder before harvest will show what parts are likely to give trouble and which, if immediately replaced by extras on hand, will eliminate unnecessary delay at a time when every hour counts in saving a crop. It is well to know months before harvest that when you hitch to the binder it will be in shape for work; also, that when the silo is to be filled the knives will be sharp and the blower in good working order.

With a reasonable outfit of tools a trained mechanic can repair almost any ordinary break that may occur in the busy season which, otherwise, would cause the work to stop and the crew to be idle while a part, or perhaps the whole machine, is taken to the local shop for repair, only to find the shop crowded with similar rush jobs which must take their turn.

The farm mechanic should know how to do simple forge work; sharpen plows; dress and temper ordinary chisels, punches, and other steel tools; make good welds in iron and steel; do a fair job of woodwork, such as will be required in repairing around the house and barns, and erect such small buildings as may be needed. He should know how to babbitt a bearing; fit new piston rings in a gas-engine cylinder; grind in the valves; clean out the carbon from the cylinders of the gas engine, auto, or tractor; overhaul the binder, mower, hay loader, or other machinery; and replace such parts as are broken or worn.

Practically, all repair work should be done on the farm and most of it may be done when the machines are not in use, or when the weather prevents other work.

While a machine is in use, or immediately after it is brought in from the field, any repairs or replacements that are needed should be noted by the operator on a tag to be attached to the machine before it is put away for the season. This will serve as a reminder when the machine is overhauled to prepare it for the next season.

During the late fall and winter the entire equipment of machinery should be overhauled and put in shape for use. This will give ample time to secure extra parts. The “one-hoss shay” had no weakest part, but most machinery has. If the weak parts can be repaired, or replaced, before they give way the life and efficient service of the machine will be prolonged. A point often overlooked is that poor results are secured by using tools that are not sharp, or not in good repair, and, also, the additional fact that much time is lost. Men will do more work, and do it better, if the tools they use are in first class condition. A man who is swearing mad at a dull, rusty plow that will not scour, will be liable to mistreat his team and he will be unprofitable in many ways all on account of a neglected plow. In consequence of poor tools, or tools in poor condition, inefficient plowing, cultivating and other operations follow with their resultant losses in crop returns. To illustrate, the average yield of wheat in the United States is about 15 bushels per acre, but the efficient farmer produces 25 to 40 bushels, and thereby greatly reduces his cost per bushel. Likewise with corn or other crops, the larger the yield the less the cost to produce, and hence the greater the net profit.

Even if the local repair shop happens to be convenient, and the farmer inclined to use it to the best advantage and as often as would be profitable, it would frequently be impossible to get efficient service, since the local shop is often congested with work, poorly equipped, and the shop mechanic may not be familiar with the machinery to be repaired.

To make the farm investment as a whole most profitable a considerable and judicious investment in modern farm machinery is absolutely necessary. The farm equipment will usually include a tractor, sometimes a truck, depending on the size of the farm and farm implements suited to the lines of work being carried.

It must be realized, however, that the best results from the farm depend on the efficient equipment of the farm home. The farmer’s home is more than a shelter, it is the most important tool in his business. The farm equipment chart, shows the result of a study of all the farm homes in a township in Iowa. Half of all the farm homes in this township had furnaces, while the proportion having water, bath, and electric or gas lights was somewhat less. Nearly half had vacuum cleaners, power washers, and electric irons. Nearly all these homes had telephones. Over half had pianos, and about half had automobiles. This is not a picture of average conditions obtaining at present in farm homes throughout the United States, but it is a picture of conditions, somewhat exceptional at present, to which we are, however, rapidly approaching.

In many instances an automobile is included in the farm equipment. Farmers have in fact more need for a car than have any other class, since it serves the double purpose of business and pleasure and makes possible the greater enjoyment of church, town, and neighbors. Statistics show that nearly 2,000,000 autos are owned by farmers.