The Grangeville globe. [volume] (Grangeville, Idaho) 1907-1922, 1918-12-26

prepared by the United States Depart
ment of Agriculture
The most essential thing in setting
a separator for thrashing is to get 1t
level. Here again the thrasherman
should not guess, but should have a
good spirit level and use 1t at every
setting To do its best work the ma
chine must be as nearly level as pos
sible from side to side, and 1t Is gen.
orally conceded best to have 1t level
'lengthwise, although few inches diff
ference in level between the front and
rear ends is not likely to be detri-
mental. If the machine Is set on
soft ground, one or two of the wheels
may sink further into the ground than
the others after 1t has been standing
for short time, and the operator
should not forget to watch this point.
A very slight difference In level be-
tween the two sides of the separator
will make the shafts all run against
the bearings on the lower side and
have tendency to cause them to heat.
1t will also cause the. grain constantly
TO work toward the low side of the sep
arator and make 1t more difficult for
the cleaning mechanism to do good
work. Even IL the machine is set on
a barn floor, 1t should be leveled care
fully, for barn floors are rarely pre-
cisely level, and the weight Of sepa-
rator may make II sag in weak places.
The main drive belt should hang
loosely over the pulleys, with just
enough tension to keep 1t running
smoothly. If 1t is too tight, 1t will
have a tendency to pull the separator
out of place and will put unnecessary
strain on the cylinder shaft and box
ings and possibly make them heat or
pull the cylinder out of line so that
the teeth will not run true.
When thrashing in the open, 1t is
well to pay attention to the direction
of the wind. If there is any choice
in the direction in which the machine
Is to be set. 1t is much more pleasant
for the men working at the machine
If 1t can be set so that the wind blows
the dust and chaff away from them.
II a steam engine Is used, the setting
should be such also that sparks will
he carried away from the separator
and straw stack.
The separate" should always be
blocked solidly to prevent vibration as
much as possible. and to prevent the
belt from pulling the machine for
ward. 1t will frequently save some
time If blocks of the right size and
shape for this purpose are selected or
prepared before the thrashing starts
and carried with the machine from
place to place. Wornout or broken
plowshares make excellent blocks.
Cylinder and concaves.
The problem of adjusting the cylin-
der and concaves Is to get them placed
in proper relation to each other, with
the right number and arrangement of
teeth in the concaves for the grain
that is being thrashed. The adjust
ment should be such as thoroughly to
loosen all the grain from the heads
without cracking or breaking up the
straw into such fine pieces that sepa'
ration will be difficult.
It Is essential that the cylinder and
concaves be adjusted so that each
tooth is at all times equally distant
from the two between which 1t is pass
ing. and that the concaves be kept
close enough to the cylinder that un
thrashed heads cannot get through
The first thing In adjusting the cylin
der Is to see that the shaft Is aligned
properly, that is. that one end is not
further forward than the other. There
is constant tendency for the end OF
the shaft to which the main drive
pulley is attached to pull forward
and at the same time force the Other
end back. The next step is to take III
any superfluous end play. Some pro
vision for regulating end play is fount
on all machines. The space that mus
he left to prevent friction on the enc
of the shaft and consequent heating Il
from one thirty-second to one sixty
fourth of an inch, or just enough Il
allow the shaft to run freely. An,
more play than Is absolutely necessar!
should not be tolerated, as 1t allowl
the cylinder teeth to get close to thu
concave teeth on one side and CORE
spondinlly far ny on the other. TIL,
distance be the cylinder and con
cave tech properly adjusted Il
generally + q over an eighth o
an inc II jly seen that a yer.
little end play will cause cracking o
the grain on the one side and ALLOW
unthrashed heads to pass through ol
the other. For the same reason
is important that all teeth in both tn
cylinder and concaves be KEEP
straight. There should, always, b
wrenches in the tool box for straight
ing any which get out of line.
Seif-Feeders.
A large majority of the thrashn
machines of the country are no'
equipped with self-feeders. 1t is
mistake. however, to assume that h,
cause the feeding is done mechar