Of Tractor Axles and Hacksaws

I really can't say that my Dad was stubborn (any more than is usually present in the human male species.) But he was ingenious and tenacious.

In the last few years of his life, Dad bought and sold tractors. In our little shop, we would weld-up, fix-up, sand-down and paint-up every kind of old tractor you can imagine. John Deere, 8N and 9N Fords, Minneapolis-Moline, Allis Chalmers, Case, Massey-Harris, Farmall...

Somewhere along the line, Dad bought a John Deere MT Row-Crop Tractor. If you're not familiar with this kind of tractor, I'll try to explain and then look at the pictures below. The Row-Crop tractor (usually) had a tricycle front-end (single or double tire close together). The back tires were adjustable, in and out, to match the "rows" between the crops. If it was wide rows, the tires would be way out on the end of the axle. Narrow rows? The tires would be close in to the tractor body with the axle sticking way out past the tires. And this is where the problem began for Dad.

Since we didn't have any crops that needed worked, he moved the tires in real close to the tractor body. And... since he didn't sell it right away, he started using it around the place for bush-hogging and other tasks. However...he would forget about the long piece of the axle sticking out past the back tire and when he would "Hug" some object... such as a tree... a gate post... the shop building... KER-BLAM!! The axle would catch the tree, gate post or building and "Tear Up Old Jack"!!

Finally Dad had had ENOUGH! He announced to us boys that "We're gonna cut them axles off..."

We backed the tractor into the shop and he commenced to cutting the axles off with our cutting torch.

Let me say that he TRIED to cut the axles off with a cutting torch.

These axles were at least 2½" - 3" in diameter, made of carbon steel and our little cutting torch wouldn't even get it hot enough to make a "cut". You might as well have been spitting on it!

Dad was not deterred... His next statement was "Go Get The Hacksaw"

If this seems laughable to you, believe you me, it wasn't to us! Ralph and I just saw our afternoon disappear into a little pile of metal hacksaw shavings!

We began "hacking" on one of the axles. After about fifteen minutes, we had made some progress but were down to nubbins on the hacksaw blade. With no replacement blades to be found in the shop, Dad says "Boys, let's go to town."

We drove to Western Farm and Home (or as we called it.."Fester's" which was short for "Fester's Worm In Hole") to buy more blades. Now... Dad didn't just buy a couple of blades. This was a serious undertaking... He bought a WHOLE CASE! Forty-Eight Hacksaw Blades!!!

And then we drove back home...

And began "Hacking" away at them axles... Dad would hack awhile, Ralph would take over and hack awhile, I would take over and hack awhile and then back to Dad. We thought of giving Mom a turn but she was busy supplying us with iced tea!

After about four hours of hacking, a couple dozen blades wore out and a couple of gallons of tea...Both ends of the axles were cut off! Dad used the grinder to grind off the sharp edges and he now had a tractor with a much narrower rear-end!!

Never let it be said that my Dad was faint of heart when it came to matters of Tractor Axles and Hacksaws!

(As an aside... I was visiting with my friend, Danny Yarbrough about this and he said he had seen this very tractor with the axles cut off and wondered why and how someone would do such a thing. He said this particular model was a collector's item, but with the axles cut off, was basically worthless.)

After visiting with Danny today, 09/07/16, he said it was a John Deere 40 and not a Farmall like I thought it was.