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2013 - 1947 = 66 years of Cubs

Posted: Mon Feb 04, 2013 11:57 am
by DickB
Joe's video link on the Family-Sized Farm IH Cub tractor was interesting. Mostly flat land plowing and cultivation for what I take to have been cash crop farming back in 1947. I'm certain, being a follower of this Cub Forum for some months, that many of you do just that with the Cub. That's not what I do, nor why I have the Cub, so I thought I'd mention what I do with the Cub, what I plan to do with it, and what I no longer do with it. The thought came to me that the Farmall Cub, between 1947 and today, is a flexible tractor and it only takes us to send it on new tasks of the day. Perhaps you have more things you do with your Cub that aren't shown on that old movie?

Cub here, on fairly hilly terrain, does this:

Plows snow from driveway and walkway from barn to house.

Sicklebars fields. Am trying to turn field mowing from maintenance work to haying. Pulls a hayrake for haying. Pulls a cart for gathering hay with a pitchfork.

Pulls carts of firewood for splitting and also split wood to the woodshed. Pulls downed trees out of the brush and to the fields. Helps out with a chain to bring down hung up trees that fell into other trees -- careful work that. Moves the chickens in a wired enclosed cart around. Used to haul larger stones out of the garden...and hope that's done with.


Cultivates gardens early, before planting with tines -- no land plowing or harrowing or even smoothing out with a dragged log or some smoothing tines from horse drawn days. But the Cub has been banned from the home gardens because of curvey paths, semi-raised beds, a dislike of the wheel spacing for working on seedbeds from either side. The planted garden belongs to the rototiller, hand tools. I'm okay with this as is wife who also things that even the Cub compacts soils there. I did lots of land plowing, harrowing, smoothing, but we weren't happy with the outcome for a family garden.

Vineyard work. So far just cultivation of rows before planting out vines. But am working on an outboard cultivator system for maintenance of weed free spacing under trellises. More on this (good or bad) as summer comes and goes. Also pull a cart with a spinning jenny it it for letting out wire for trellis building. Hauling wood posts.

Someone brought over a homemade logsplitter that ran off the Cub's PTO and that was marginally okay but he picked it up and I've not missed it, finding that an electric powered hydraulic splitter does what I need done.

That's what comes to mind.

Re: 2013 - 1947 = 66 years of Cubs

Posted: Mon Feb 04, 2013 9:22 pm
by CapeCodCubs
Well said from the other side of the state. Sounds like you are putting the Cub to work and then some...
Chris

Re: 2013 - 1947 = 66 years of Cubs

Posted: Mon Feb 04, 2013 11:57 pm
by RaymondDurban
I really don't have a real need or use for a Cub, so I just tinker around with the few I have!

Re: 2013 - 1947 = 66 years of Cubs

Posted: Tue Feb 05, 2013 6:16 am
by randallc
Dad did a lot of farming with his cub. Then in his older day, just used it to garden. I got my first one for the belly mower and clearing a hilly lot, up and down - not side ways. Now, the term I use is piddle. And doing little odd things like moving trailers, or dragging something. A little middle blade grading this weekend that I enjoyed, then back in the shed.
And I use to ask dad why he kept a cub around, he'd say, "I just like to mess with them." Now that he is gone, I understand - wish I had then!

Re: 2013 - 1947 = 66 years of Cubs

Posted: Tue Feb 05, 2013 6:58 am
by twotone
Since I left the farm in IL. and moved to PA. in Sept., I dont have a need for my Cubs or my SA. I'll be selling the implements this spring, but definately keeping the tractors. I need something to putz with, and these Cubs are fun, easy to work on, and very addictive.


Tom Freeman

Re: 2013 - 1947 = 66 years of Cubs

Posted: Tue Feb 05, 2013 7:47 am
by BobM
This summer I will finally have my Cub ready to mow my lawn with the 60" mower. It will take me four times around the house to do the mowing. Next winter I will plow my driveway which is 24' wide X 50' long. I hope to clean up the underbrush that surrounds my lawn which will take another 4 passes around the outside of the lawn.
I believe that everyone with a 3/4 acre lot should own a Cub. As I tell my wife, "It's a guy thing".

Re: 2013 - 1947 = 66 years of Cubs

Posted: Tue Feb 05, 2013 7:27 pm
by Buzzard Wing
My first Cub was to mow a 'field' up north on the rock farm and tree ranch. While I was painting that one (Rufus a 71) I bought a 50 at an auction. Got a couple of others since.

I mow the outer works (earth topped granite structures) and ditches at Ft Adams with a Lo Boy. Also, did some York raking of the Advance Redoubt before seeding turf. That gets mowed now too. I also occasionally plow snow with it, except for one year, not all that common here. I have also plowed and harrowed the local Salvation Army garden (would like to cultivate too, but the 'gardener' liked ditches or raised beds.... possibly this year).

Use the 'Swiss Army' Cub to move stone and rocks around (the 'harvest' on a rock farm :lol: ) and mow with a flail mower. Push downed trees with the loader when they get in the trail.

Funny, my neighbor was shocked that I would spend months prepping and painting Rufus and then actually use it. I figure they are like Ertl Cubs, not much fun sitting in a box.....

Re: 2013 - 1947 = 66 years of Cubs

Posted: Wed Feb 06, 2013 12:36 pm
by bythepond88
I was given my cub, which was purchased new by my father-in-law, by my mother-in-law, for "service to the crown." At the time, I lived in a house on a half-lot, but the garage was at the back, so I had 140' of driveway to plow in the wintertime as justification. We moved to a house with a 2-acre lawn, and 240' of driveway, so I can now justify her year round.