Old Combine Has 3 New Jobs

Old Combine Has 3 New Jobs COMBINES Conversions Shad Dewey has a 50-year-old International Harvester combine that does jobs it was never intended to do “I looked at the prices of used tractors with loaders and thought there had to be a less expensive way to plow snow and move bales ” Dewey says He found the solution in a self-propelled combine that had “retired” many years earlier Dewey bought the 915 combine two heads and a head-cart for $800 from a scrap dealer and went to work “I cut everything off the grain platform except the bracket that attached the head to the combine feederhouse ” Dewey says “The auger platform pan sicklebar and reel ended up in the scrap pile and I should be able to get a fair amount of cash for that ” The platform-mounting bracket became the new frame for his plow blade He welded a 3 by 6-in rectangular tube across the bracket for extra support “I found an old 11-ft plow blade from a county truck that was exactly what I needed ” says Dewey He rebuilt the blade mounts to fit the combine’s mounting bracket and welded it together “Raising and lowering the feederhouse gives me more than 2 ft of lift on the plow blade ” Dewey says “When I’m plowing I put the hydraulics in float and the blade glides right along ” Dewey says the engine on the old 915 starts real well in winter and the machine has plenty of power He also uses the blade for pushing dirt and general yard cleanup “It’s not as fast as a tractor but I sit high and can see all around me ” Dewey also uses his rig to move big round bales He built a steel frame for two bale spears and mounts it to the feederhouse just like a crop header “I just chain it in place to hold it on when it’s empty ” Dewey says “and when I lift a bale it tilts back and doesn’t move When the feederhouse is down the forks are level to the ground and I can get right under a big bale to carry it or tip it on end ” Although Dewey’s rig is oversized for a blade and bale hauler it suits his purpose just fine and serves a long-held passion “I worked on a custom combine crew out of high school and really loved it I told myself that someday I’d own a combine and now I do It doesn’t harvest grain but I use it several times a year and that’s even better than just harvesting grain ” Dewey’s combine still has the grain unloading auger and now he’s thinking of turning that into a crane arm that could be used to lift wheels or other parts around his farm Contact: FARM SHOW Followup Shad Dewey 38843 Road 720 McCook Neb 69001 ph 308 737-7166; dewey@ocsmccook com

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