In my voyage to plant my garden with antique ag equipment, I'm in the process of seeing if I can get this old planter running. Everything is free, I have all of the seed discs but I'm missing a couple of parts. I cannot find a reference to this thing anywhere on the internet except some vague parts diagrams and one reference on yesterdays tractors.

Anyway, has anyone seen one? Anyone have one laying around?

The parts I'm missing specifically are the seed knockers. I think I know how they work and I might be able to fabricate new ones from low carbon steel but without seeing them, I'm only inferring. My drive gear also has a broken tooth but it seems to engage fine so it's not a huge deal right now. I'd replace it if I could find a donor machine.

I've attached a pic.

I cannot provide any help! But that is a cool project and definitely outdoors.

ShouldastayedataTm said:

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I cannot provide any help! But that is a cool project and definitely outdoors.

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I enjoy "making things work". I also enjoy seeing old tools and how they were designed to accomplish a task. Comparing this to how we plant, and the magnitude at which we do it now is fascinating. This one has been modified to be run behind whatever the hell it was run behind. Maybe it was part of a group of others, but if I can get a couple of parts for it, I can weld up a bracket to attach it to a toolbar and use it. It's also neat to me to think about how this tool was put up one day and never touched again.

Don't know if I can help, either. But it is possible that C33 is not the model number, but some sort of casting number on that part.

You run into this on old equipment. I have a couple of Gibson tractors, and for some reason they cast the number 300 into the rear axle housing. So people who don't know the brand will list them as a Gibson 300, when the models are A, D, SD, etc

CanyonAg77 said:

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Don't know if I can help, either. But it is possible that C33 is not the model number, but some sort of casting number on that point.

You run into this on old equipment. I have a couple of Gibson tractors, and for some reason they cast the number 300 into the rear axle housing. So people who don't know the brand will list them as a Gibson 300, when the models are A, D, SD, etc

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Absolutely possible. All I know for sure is that it's made by Kelly Plow, out of Longview. From what I can see, there are several similar models from a pamphlet. This could be a Model 12-12. I dunno. No way to know really. So far, there are legible part number castings in everything I've DeRusted.

I know what you mean about models. I have an old Shaw tractor that has nearly no identifiable numbers. They made a couple of versions and they were all very similar.

If I can't get it up and going, then I'm going to go back to the four row IH lister I have. I think it's all there though I'm not familiar with it. It's a big piece of equipment just to plant a few rows of corn.

Well, you do need to plant about 4 rows of corn for good pollination.

Don't know what all you have found online, but apparently the Kelly factory was quite a going concern.

They apparently made planters for Ferguson Tractor Company (a Ford company) so I wonder if your planter is one of those.

https://www.news-journal.com/craddock-kelly-plowed-his-way-into-texas-history/article_3707ffba-4f67-11ea-8df1-5f6ef5b68a10.html

Google Books

Most interesting is that all the company archives are at Stephen F. Austin. Looks like they have what you need there, maybe a winter project to find the manual.

https://archives.sfasu.edu/repositories/2/resources/81

CanyonAg77 said:

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Well, you do need to plant about 4 rows of corn for good pollination.

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I planted 6 rows this time. But they are only 50' long. I could do 8 rows next time. The raccoons are going to love it!

Thanks for the info on the planter. I had not found that stuff yet. Looks like they were a successful company. These dang planters should be all over the place! Where'd they all go?!

WWII scrap metal drives, or abandoned in someone's equipment lot

I love going to the Dhanis auction and finding a 'pile of parts' on a pallet. I've never bid on one, but sometimes there is some doodad in there that goes on a particular implement that you'd never find anywhere else. LOL.

Maybe some of the Ag folks here can help with this one. This is a picture of the business end of the planter. The on picture shows the drive ring that is engaged by the front wheel. Inside of the ring sits the seed plate. It spins around and deposits a seed in the chute.

The other picture is. How the base fits in relation to the seed plate. This all sits in the bottom of the hopper.

There are several parts missing from the top of this. These are referred to in the parts book as a "seed knocker" and "valve".

I think I can fabricate new parts for this with mild steel and a grinder but I don't have a picture of it other than a drawing to know what it looks like or how it works.

The red dick shaped parts are the ones in question. I've dashed ones I can't quite figure out how they work. The solid red one I'm pretty sure has a spring under it and a tip and it basically lightly rests on the hole "forcing" the seed out should it get stuck. The dashed red one has some purpose and it largely controls keeping the seeds from getting drug under the assembly and crushed. This is a crucial part and I can't figure it out. The green part is a cap that screws on top and holds it all together. The green spring goes where it is. There is another spring in the parts book that I've drawn here in blue. I don't know where that goes yet.

If anyone has any more post civil war planters, a pic of the inside may be useful to understand how this functions. I am prettt sure a John deer flex planter of modern age may be too different to be much use but I don't know.

Anyway, th is is what I'm working on today. Lol.

The Deere 71 flex uses a roller as a seed knocker. You can swap it for a spiked wheel, but rollers are more common. The dashed part may simply be a shield to delay the seed drop into the plate.

The 71 was an excellent little planter. It worked so well, that Yetter, the company that built the planter for Deere, continued production after Deere dropped it from their line.

I suggest looking at parts or owners manuals for the Yetter 71, I think they operate in a similar manner to your old one, or close enough you can get some ideas.

I happened to find all of the parts in my IH Blackland corn lister. The hoppers are fully assembled and I have several seed plates. Upon reading the manual, I see a "brush" setup that is used sometimes as an option on this particular Lister. With that in mind, I think I can take a $3 parts washer brush from Amazon and adapt that to my Kelly planter now that I see how the operation on my IH works. I understand the seed knocker and cutoffs valves so I'm going to take a stab at fabricating something.


In the meantime, I'm putting togehter the entire 14' IH Lister I have. It's about ready to go. Lol. I'll post pics of that if. Anyone cares.

Hi!!! Strangely enough, I have a Kelly C33 planter if some sort found at my grandparents farm. Have you found the parts you needed?