My 1912 John Deere Model
B Manure Spreader
My 1912 Model B was an
accidental find on Craigslist. I didn't need another spreader.
I didn't want another spreader, but you know how that goes!
When I saw the ad I just HAD to have it! I got it for $800
I think that is a very
good price considering the fact that a restored 1913
Model C
sold for $16,250 in 2007! Interestingly,
the front corner brackets
and knee angle brackets on this spreader are not correct and belong
on a spreader made after 1915.
When I picked up the
spreader I was a little sad to find out that one of the front
corner braces was missing. I was, however, very glad to see that
the remaining corner brace had the original serial number of the
spreader stamped into it. The number is 161329. How amazing that
this bit of information has survived.
The spreader is otherwise
very complete.
It just needs lots of sandblasting and new wood. Someday I'll
get this thing done!
So I found the left front corner
brace on a random photo of a spreader on flickr.com. It was in a pasture in southern
Manitoba.
On June 4, 2015, I drove up to Pipestone, MB, Canada and bought
a 1913 Model C for $300, complete with the left front corner brace.
That part alone would have cost about $800 to have custom cast!
Here are some photos:
My problem now is whether to restore the 1912 as a Model B, it's
original state, or a Model C.
The only difference in the B and C was the length of the spreader
bed. I think a Model C was more common and all of the literature
I have seen portrays a Model C.
It would seem more acceptable in my opinion to restore it as a
Model C, so it is consistent with all the documentation that I
have collected.
Here is complete information about
US Patents for the early John Deere spreaders:
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This page created and maintained by Gary Jacobson. Comments
or suggestions regarding the content of this page may be directed
to Gary at gary@garyjacobson.org
©2015 Gary K. Jacobson-All rights reserved. Last updated
on 15JUL2015.