Back in July we purchased this old Massey Ferguson (Vermeer) "Giant" round baler just to have a baler for gathering up some of the grass where the livestock aren't grazing. The old baler was in working condition as it had rolled a few bales earlier in the season though it does need some new lacing on one end of a ten inch wide belt. A few minor fix its and it should be ready to roll up a few acres of grass.
So about ten days ago we cut a little grass in order to try the old baler and see where it needs any repair or adjustment and so forth. The next day we hooked up to the 966 Farmall and proceeded to roll some hay. This is really the first real work the old tractor has seen since we purchased it two years ago. Anyhow, the tractor and baler sort of match up well as the tractor has plenty of PTO hp (96) and is more than large enough to drag the old baler around.
The tractor performed well and ran like it did new in 1973 while the baler put up five nice rolls of hay. About halfway along, the old fan belt left the water pump pulley and fled the scene, in shreds. And this after I had run the tractor several hours prior to this event and called the belt good. Ofcourse, I hadn't operated the tractor at working RPM for an extended period until this day and it proved to be too much for the old belt. Found a replacement belt up in the shop and was back to baling soon. The old Farmall sounds 'sweet' under a load and blows a little black smoke out of the exhaust just like an old tractor should. What a day! Got to run the old equipment and bale a little hay!
