Manure Spreader ID... Sears (David Bradley)??

Dale Finch

Dale Finch

501 Club
I recently acquired this manure spreader and plan to get it back into usable condition. To my uneducated eye, it appears in pretty good condition, though the wood all needs replacing. The control rod on one side had been bent, and the PO replaced it with a length of angle iron. He did keep the bent rod, which I plan to straighten and put back on, if I can find the right fittings...spring?
Not sure if I will try to straighten the tongue, but maybe with my body shop friend, it will be possible.

I'm hoping to ID it, and perhaps find a manual for it. The PO said he thought it was a Sears, and the little I have found on line indicates that David Bradley made manure spreaders for Sears. There was a 2012 post on a forum where a guy said he had the Manuals for the 75 model and offered copies to a poster for $12, but the post is locked so I don't think there's a way to contact him.

Any information on this guy would be greatly appreciated. Here are the photos I took yesterday:

20230309_135054 (Small).jpg
20230309_135105 (Small).jpg
20230309_135121 (Small).jpg
20230309_135129 (Small).jpg
20230309_135141 (Small).jpg
20230309_135159 (Small).jpg
 
I guess somewhere along the line, I should ask if investing in this refurbishing is a "fool's errand"?!! :lol: :roll:
Mostly it will cost me my labor and the cost of wood, sandpaper, and paint...maybe some sandblasting. Opinions? :?:

20230309_135606 (Small).jpg
20230309_135619 (Small).jpg
20230309_135628 (Small).jpg
20230309_135651 (Small).jpg
20230309_135705 (Small).jpg
20230309_135717 (Small).jpg
 
Wow, pictures galore. I had the same situation with the small IH except it didn't have the apron chain and the gearing was rougher. So I took all the flingers off the back, left the 2 big handles on the front, replaced the wood....and ended up with the coolest yard cart in the neighborhood. It can hold a yard of dirt (picked up at the nursery down the street).

The only thing I don't like about it is that it is super tongue heavy but on the big tractors that isn't an issue
 
I thought that tongue would be extremely heavy, too! But I can easily pick it up. I was very surprised. We used a small hand cart under the tongue to maneuver it.

Guess that "stuff" on the rear end is pretty heavy as a counter-balance.
 
Can anyone nail down the model? David Bradley?
I found one photo that was labeled a 75, but when I googled David Bradley 75, most of the results were similar, but different... e.g. levers on either side of the front rather than centered together.
 
check casting #s on gears, maybe if #s are on there you can find the make by the part # kinda looks like New Idea to me
 
Dale Finch":2dz5qxee said:
. levers on either side of the front rather than centered together.
Click to expand...
Levers on the sides usually means it was horse drawn. With the seat in the middle the levers obviously couldn't be there too.
 
tst":zvj1goib said:
check casting #s on gears, maybe if #s are on there you can find the make by the part # kinda looks like New Idea to me
Click to expand...
I plan to go out today with an inspection mirror and see if I can find some numbers on a couple of the big sprockets. Thanks.
 
Oooo...luckily the tires are holding air now. :|
With regard to the wheels, is it a safety issue or lack of familiarity
 
Is there a maintenance process to ensure the wheels are safe?
What goes wrong with them? I've never dealt with spoke wheels.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top