Mini Threshing Rig Works Like Real Thing

Mini Threshing Rig Works Like Real Thing FARM HOME Houses 7-5-20 "I made every part and I aim to make the thing thresh grain when I'm through." John Jackson, 76, of Kelowna, B.C., has spent the better part of the last four years fulfilling his life-long dream of building a miniature "threshing outfit" identical to the one operated by his father in 1915 "on the farm in Colorado near Steamboat Springs at the foot of Elk Mountain." And, after 6,000 hours in his shop following homemade plans, pictures out of a 1912 J.L. Case Threshing Machine Co. catalog, and his memory, Jackson has completed a miniature 75-horsepower steam tractor and almost completed a miniature 36/58 750 rpm separator. They are miniatures not models, because Jackson has taken pains to duplicate every rivet, spoke and control handle on the machines right down to "working" miniature pressure gauges. The tractor operates on compressed air rather than steam, but, it could operate on steam, if desired. Everything works on the Jackson miniature as it does on the life-size tractor. If one wants to make the tractor go forward you reach into the cab, squeeze the lever on the control handle and shove the handle forward to engage the engine. The inside of the threshing machine is made with the same precise care. Jackson, who is currently working on an operating grain-bagging attachment for the machine, said every piece on the thresher has been hand-machined in his shop. "The 1915 Case Tractor always seemed to lose power in reverse," says Jackson. "Now watch this." He would switch his miniature into reverse and, sure enough, its operation became sluggish. Apparently the unexplained power loss prevalent in the large models has manifested itself in Jackson's miniature. "These things always ran lousy in reverse," he notes. Jackson, who says he's too old "to go back home" has, through his hobby, created a little time machine which transports him and everyone who comes under his spell back to the farm in 1915. One almost expects to see grain fields, an old farm dog and a threshing outfit when stepping out of Jackson's workshop. (Reprinted with permission from Kelowna Daily Courier.)

To read the rest of this story, download this issue below or click here to register with your account number.