Rare Baler Required A 4-Man Team

2019 - Volume #43, Issue #4, Page #19

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Loren Myran has a beautiful collection of 20 Farmall tractors with matching implements but it’s his rare IHC #14 baler - which required a 4-man team to operate - that gets all the attention.
    Described as a labor-saving device when it came out in 1940, the baler needed plenty of hand labor to operate. While it did pick up hay and packed it into a chamber, everything else was done by hand.
    “In addition to a driver, the baler required one worker with a pitchfork to move the picked-up hay into the bale chamber,” says Myran. “Workers also rode on either side of the bale chamber to tie off the bales with baling wire.”
    When enough hay for one bale had been packed, a small bell would ring. A worker would then drop a block of wood into the chamber. It separated the bale to be tied off from the next bale to be packed. As the new bale pushed through, the block of wood had to be retrieved.
    Myran, a dedicated auction-goer, kept the old baler from going to a salvage yard. “The only other bidder was a scrap dealer,” he recalls. “I hate to see these old and unique pieces of equipment go for scrap.”
    The baler had some missing parts, including the engine and a carrier for the baling wires. He had to replace all the wooden parts, such as seats for the workers. While finding an engine wasn’t hard, the carrier was more difficult. Myran finally ran across a rusty downspout in a Minneapolis, Minn., salvage yard.
    “It looked just like the carrier in a brochure for the baler,” he says. “I had to cut it in two to fit it in my car for the trip home.”
    The baler sits with the rest of his IH collection at the intersection of his driveway and a public road.
    “The collection is about half a mile from my house, and we enjoy watching people stop to take pictures or just walk around the equipment,” says Myran.
    Contact: FARM SHOW Followup, Loren Myran, 9440 32nd St. SW, Taylor, N. Dak. 58656 (ph 701 974-3644; lorenmyran@ndsupernet.com).

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Rare Baler Required A 4-Man Team BALERS Loren Myran has a beautiful collection of 20 Farmall tractors with matching implements but it’s his rare IHC #14 baler - which required a 4-man team to operate - that gets all the attention Described as a labor-saving device when it came out in 1940 the baler needed plenty of hand labor to operate While it did pick up hay and packed it into a chamber everything else was done by hand “In addition to a driver the baler required one worker with a pitchfork to move the picked-up hay into the bale chamber ” says Myran “Workers also rode on either side of the bale chamber to tie off the bales with baling wire ” When enough hay for one bale had been packed a small bell would ring A worker would then drop a block of wood into the chamber It separated the bale to be tied off from the next bale to be packed As the new bale pushed through the block of wood had to be retrieved Myran a dedicated auction-goer kept the old baler from going to a salvage yard “The only other bidder was a scrap dealer ” he recalls “I hate to see these old and unique pieces of equipment go for scrap ” The baler had some missing parts including the engine and a carrier for the baling wires He had to replace all the wooden parts such as seats for the workers While finding an engine wasn’t hard the carrier was more difficult Myran finally ran across a rusty downspout in a Minneapolis Minn salvage yard “It looked just like the carrier in a brochure for the baler ” he says “I had to cut it in two to fit it in my car for the trip home ” The baler sits with the rest of his IH collection at the intersection of his driveway and a public road “The collection is about half a mile from my house and we enjoy watching people stop to take pictures or just walk around the equipment ” says Myran Contact: FARM SHOW Followup Loren Myran 9440 32nd St SW Taylor N Dak 58656 ph 701 974-3644; lorenmyran@ndsupernet com

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