Rural Heritage June/July 2026

Pins through cast frame that need to be removed before widening the wheel spacing.

One of the best parts about the McCormick Deering cultivator is that parts are readily available for it. In addition to being able to find “parts machines” at auctions and in hedge rows, there is a great source for new parts. Crossroad Cultivators has every single part of the cultivator available for purchase. Some of the parts are steel instead of being cast but, in my experience, they fit perfectly. They even sell brand new cultivators that are virtually identical to the old machines. The only improvement is that the wheels have sealed bearings. Below are some of the main things we did to tune up our cultivators. I encourage you to tune up your own — you will be glad you did. While we were all working on McCormick Deering cultivators, many of these tasks can be done on other brands, although the exact details may be different. Nothing moves freely. If the cultivator has not been used for a while or has been left outside, many

of the joints (there are many) will not move freely. And if they don’t, the levers may not work and many adjustments (including the foot lever steering) won’t work correctly. Prior to starting work on your cultivator, spray any joints and bolts with a penetrating oil to unseize frozen areas so they move freely again. While oiling them is suggested after they are unfrozen, you might have to use a penetrating oil to get them moving initially. The wheels should move freely with the foot steering, and the gangs should move up and down easily when operating the levers. Wobbly wheels. One of the most common things you see with these cultivators, even when the wheels are not bent, is the wheels wobble side to side as you go down the rows. If you grab a wheel and pull back out on it, generally you’ll find there is a lot of “play.” Luckily this can be easily fixed. With a wrench, you can take off the hub cap. If you can’t get a good hold on the square head, you can use a monkey wrench on

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