How did those old guys do it?

[TomE]

What Is the tread width of your cub? Wider is better. What are your tires inflated to?
Have you moved the seat back?
I'm 6'4 which might be the limit, but don't suffer that much.
And yes, those old guys were just tougher than we are. I plowed 400 yards behind draft horses once, and discovered how puny a man I am. I think the men that did that work all day were as strong as wild animals.

[DieselDennis]

I think back then, they didn't let 4 acres go like that and then just mow it to have it mowed. Land just didn't sit like that to a farmer. Try to cut it regularly for hay, run goats on it, or even a cow on the end of the rope. There was something else to knock it down first.

Whenever I get on my Cub, it's usually for novelty. Sure, we all use them, and get on them for a reason, but I have a handful of other options that could do the work just as easily (or easier). 4 wheelers are faster, modern tractors have more capabilities, etc. But when I think about my great granddaddy climbing on the Cub, I think "this was all he had. This was his 'big' tractor. This was an upgrade from an F-20. What did they do if the Cub wasn't enough? Drag out more mules?" Then that makes me appreciate what the Cub does more.

[offrink]

The land is unfarmable based on the angles of the hills and the fact that it's primarily sand. The previous owners had horses for the last 30+ years and that's like the grass and weeds down. For me traction was also an issue. I couldn't even back up to hills because I would lose traction about 15' from the bottom of the hills. One way up circle around and mow. Then back up circle around and mow.

Both front and back wheels are set up to be as light as possible. The tires are inflated to the manuals backs. Engine is finely tuned and runs great. Lots of tread on the tires. Basically in tiptop shape. How do you get the seat to go back further? I didn't think they made adjustable seats.

[Randy Tuura]

...How do you get the seat to go back further? I didn't think they made adjustable seats.

Take the little tool box off by the battery case and you'll find two large hex head screws going into the axle housing. Take those out and move the whole seat post assembly back one notch. If it has already been moved back, well, maybe you can have a welding shop make a new tab with a third set of holes...

I've been trying to loosen those two screws now for a couple of years. The heads have rusted away enough you can't quite tell what size they were. And I learned the hard way that WD-40 is not really a penetrating oil.

[Randy Tuura]

>>How did those old guys do it?<<

I ask myself that a lot. Especially when I see film of logging crews with no power equipment logging off trees that are 4 to six feet in diameter and hauling them out with mules. Or watching the Amish farmers at a barn raising. Some of them still do everything with horses. Making lumber at a job site by sawing logs into boards and then planing them - all by hand...

How did they do it? They just did because they had to.

[brewzalot]

[quote="offrink"]I spent 7 hour today mowing my 4 " back acres " of pasture.

I asked old dad for a wise mans answer to offrinks question- what I got was a wise guy answer.

He said that's why they're called " back achers "

He did say seriously though you didn't mow a pasture very often-that was free feed for the cows and a waste of fuel.

[randallc]

Farm life was hard work and one thing to remember it was done day after day after day, so the soreness was always worked out. Dad and others worked the CCC and the men would use shovels all day long or life rocks. Carpenters do that today, day in and day out they are lifting, hammering, reaching, bending.
Now, at 67, I do it one day or part of a day and I'm plenty sore the next day. Back in the day, young men would work the farm all day, plowing with horses, and then walk 5 miles to a party. Dad couldn't take one of the work horses because they needed their rest for the next day, or so I was told.

[Randy Tuura]

This kind of explains it all...

20 reps.png (312.12 KiB) Viewed 391 times

[Matt Kirsch]

When you're running over "virgin ground" like that it always takes longer and is kind of rough.

Now that you can see what you're working with even just cleaning up the sticks and rocks will smooth things out a lot. Simply mowing regularly will eventually smooth most of the smaller whoops and bumps out. The larger ones might require some grading.

What always torqued me was that I could outwork any of the jocks in school and throw most any of them across the room but the school's so-called fitness tests pegged me as one of the flabbiest out of shape people in school.

[John *.?-!.* cub owner]

What always torqued me was that I could outwork any of the jocks in school and throw most any of them across the room but the school's so-called fitness tests pegged me as one of the flabbiest out of shape people in school.

I know how that feels, however our PE coach had seen me in action a time or two and wrote me up as being good.

This kind of explains it all...

20 reps.png

Yup, things like that along with being overweight are why I have two artificial hips and a bad back.

[offrink]

This is the main trouble with some side hills that are about 2/3 this angle. Glad it's all done though. The snow plow is on the cub, oil changed, all lubed, and waiting on the snow!

I really hope it smoothed out!

[fl37]

I spent 7 hour today mowing my 4 back acres of pasture. They haven't been mowed all year and I have a woods 59 and it took forever. This was the first time I mowed the property because we moved in mid December last year. Lots of sudden shifts as I went over hidden branches and holes. A couple of very steep and bumpy hills and had to go over all of the area at least twice but more likely three times. Now I'm sore. My 6'6" frame gets whipping around on some of those big bumps and turns.

So my question is, how did people 50 years ago spend so many hours on a tractor an not constantly get beaten up? Is being a foot to 6" shorter really make that much or a difference? Did they just get use to it? I had red paint running down my pant leg because it rubbed off the steering column.

Running over hidden holes--a good way to crack or complete break off that lower right flange on the block (the one with the hole for the water hose). That flange is a well-known weak point on the Cub block. Early year Cubs like my 1948 are particularly susceptible to that failure mode. Earlier this year I spent the better part of two weeks tediously welding that busted flange onto the block of my 1948 Cub. Learned a lot about welding cast iron.

Good luck

[offrink]

I believe this was already broken by a previous owner and was reinforced by 1" angle iron between the front bolster and the around the rear part of the engine. Seems fairly strong because I've plowed last year with no issues.