Spreader Rebuild Revolved Around A Cam
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When Lar Voss tackled the rebuild of a 70-year-old McCormick Deering 100 manure spreader, he couldn’t see the broken cam. A fender covered the broken-off cam and the log splitting chisel that had been driven in to keep the feeder chain engaged. The cam is key to a ground-drive spreader. It’s a common problem, advises Voss, who with Eli Price has repaired a number of old spreaders.
“If the spreader is left in gear when hooked to a pickup and driven down the road, it will break,” says Voss.
Luckily for Voss, he had restored the same model spreader for friends, and its cam was unbroken. His friends made a cardboard template of the cam for him. He also found a copy of the owner’s manual for the spreader online with a diagram of how the cam worked.
“Welding mild steel to the old cast iron hub can probably be done by the experts,” says Voss. “A simpler and more lasting solution appeared to be to saw off the part that was broken and replace it with a new cam, which is what we did.”
To hold the piece in the saw, Voss machined a 2-in. rod down to 1 3/4 in. He inserted it into the hub and secured it with various pieces of scrap metal. This allowed him to cut away the broken cam. Setting it on the template made it clear how much material had broken away.
“We cut the new cam out of mild steel and used a mag drill and broach to cut the hole and the keyway,” says Voss. “We mounted the new cam in place on the axle, adding spacers to center it on the roller of the lever that indexes the drag chain. It is that action that moves the load to the spreader reels.”
With the cam repaired, Voss and Price attacked the operating levers. One had been broken and left in the bed of the spreader, while the other had been poorly welded.
“We removed the welded handle and shortened it and the broken handle before repairing them and reinstalling them,” says Voss. “Our hope is the shorter handles are less likely to be broken off in the future.”
With no major rust damage to be found on the spreader, Voss and Price shifted to cleaning and repainting. Three passes with a pressure washer and some scraping were followed by a coat of Corroseal.
“The Corroseal stops rust and converts it to a hard black coating that can be primed and painted,” says Voss. “We then repainted the spreader and applied new decals. In the case of the red paint applied to the wheel hubs, we added hardener to reduce potential oxidation and add shine.”
Restoring the spreader was a change of pace for Voss and a good use of his farm shop in the winter. However, the 78-year-old retired consulting electrical engineer, full-time farmer and realtor still puts a pencil to the job.
“These spreaders sell for about $2,700 today,” says Voss. “If we can purchase the machine and any parts for less than $1,000 and can restore it in 8 to 10 man hours (usually over a weekend), we can be paid for our time.”
In this case, the costs and labor ran roughly double his goal. However, he was doing it for a friend.
“It’s a unique machine,” says Voss. “It is ready for another 70 years, especially if the new owner keeps it shedded and clean.”
Contact: FARM SHOW Followup, Lar Voss, 27455 WCR 15, Johnstown, Colo. 80534 (ph 970 204-9300; lar@larvoss.com)
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Spreader Rebuild Revolved Around A Cam MANURE HANDLING Equipment When Lar Voss tackled the rebuild of a 70-year-old McCormick Deering 100 manure spreader he couldn’t see the broken cam A fender covered the broken-off cam and the log splitting chisel that had been driven in to keep the feeder chain engaged The cam is key to a ground-drive spreader It’s a common problem advises Voss who with Eli Price has repaired a number of old spreaders “If the spreader is left in gear when hooked to a pickup and driven down the road it will break ” says Voss Luckily for Voss he had restored the same model spreader for friends and its cam was unbroken His friends made a cardboard template of the cam for him He also found a copy of the owner’s manual for the spreader online with a diagram of how the cam worked “Welding mild steel to the old cast iron hub can probably be done by the experts ” says Voss “A simpler and more lasting solution appeared to be to saw off the part that was broken and replace it with a new cam which is what we did ” To hold the piece in the saw Voss machined a 2-in rod down to 1 3/4 in He inserted it into the hub and secured it with various pieces of scrap metal This allowed him to cut away the broken cam Setting it on the template made it clear how much material had broken away “We cut the new cam out of mild steel and used a mag drill and broach to cut the hole and the keyway ” says Voss “We mounted the new cam in place on the axle adding spacers to center it on the roller of the lever that indexes the drag chain It is that action that moves the load to the spreader reels ” With the cam repaired Voss and Price attacked the operating levers One had been broken and left in the bed of the spreader while the other had been poorly welded “We removed the welded handle and shortened it and the broken handle before repairing them and reinstalling them ” says Voss “Our hope is the shorter handles are less likely to be broken off in the future ” With no major rust damage to be found on the spreader Voss and Price shifted to cleaning and repainting Three passes with a pressure washer and some scraping were followed by a coat of Corroseal “The Corroseal stops rust and converts it to a hard black coating that can be primed and painted ” says Voss “We then repainted the spreader and applied new decals In the case of the red paint applied to the wheel hubs we added hardener to reduce potential oxidation and add shine ” Restoring the spreader was a change of pace for Voss and a good use of his farm shop in the winter However the 78-year-old retired consulting electrical engineer full-time farmer and realtor still puts a pencil to the job “These spreaders sell for about $2 700 today ” says Voss “If we can purchase the machine and any parts for less than $1 000 and can restore it in 8 to 10 man hours usually over a weekend we can be paid for our time ” In this case the costs and labor ran roughly double his goal However he was doing it for a friend “It’s a unique machine ” says Voss “It is ready for another 70 years especially if the new owner keeps it shedded and clean ” Contact: FARM SHOW Followup Lar Voss 27455 WCR 15 Johnstown Colo 80534 ph 970 204-9300; lar@larvoss com
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