Rural Heritage June/July 2026

used it over the years, I’ve realized that this machine can be tuned up to work much better and be even more enjoyable to use. Last March, a group of teamsters assembled at Northland Sheep Farm to spend two days working on cultivators. I brought two I thought were fully functional and didn’t need much work. Maggie Smith brought hers that, while functional, needed some work. Becky Frye worked to make one cultivator out of the half dozen non-functioning “parts” cultivators she had parked outside. I’ll mostly focus here on “tuning” up the cultivator, but it should be mentioned that some parts can’t be tuned up and need replacing. Becky’s cultivator had severely bent and rotted wheels that were beyond repair, so she found good ones on the parts machines. Similarly, there were other parts that were broken or that were better replaced than repaired. She chose this machine to work on because most of the parts were in good condition, and the main cast frame did not have any cracks. Take up washer on axle with pin going through the axle. (Note: The pin is pushed all the way through the axles before the hub cap is put back on.)

shovels and other attachments. Having the machines being the same brand and model makes it easy to swap parts and attachments as needed. This cultivator is very versatile and a pleasure to operate. Features include: Precision foot steering, left and right depth adjustment, adjustment for different width rows, spring trip shovels, and a lever to level the machine. With the ability to use different shovels in various configurations, hillers and even “modern” attachments like finger and tine weeders, the versatility of this device seems endless. But it is a 100-year-old piece of steel and cast iron. Not every individual machine has stood the test of time. Even those that are still working can benefit from some straightforward maintenance. I have tolerated a lot from my cultivator over the years by assuming that since it was old I shouldn’t have expected much more from it. I assumed the wobbly wheels, difficult to move handles, and various seized-up parts were just what you got when using old equipment. But as I’ve Wheel hub assembly with hub cap and grease cup (between spokes).

June/July 2026

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