Hello Harvest

Well things have really popped off in terms of harvest. One thing in particular was the main drive shaft of my combine. You sort of need that to harvest. It broke in spectacular fashion. The bearing on the threshing side went, as bearings do with age, much like knees that are subjected to tremendous stress and wear. Once the bearing was destroyed the shaft was spinning at a very high speed on metal. Friction heated the one inch solid steel shaft to a nice cherry red colour and actually allowed the steel to bend. As it bent, it collided with some other parts. The plastic air filter casing didn't stand a chance. When it hit a cold, strong steel part it broke off and lodged itself in the screening of the side panel door. We had to cool it off with water just to remove it. It was all very dramatic.

Soybean harvest is well underway for me and my team. I have only ~70 plots left at this point. I would have had a whole other site but a colleague who is done with dirty beans lent me a machine an operator to get it torn off. I was very grateful for this development. We had to order parts for my machine and then take a day to install them. Main drive shafts have multiple belts running off them so alignment and care for each is crucial. Luckily my helper is very skilled in these matters and was easily able to handle this project. Thereby saving me a lot of money in labour from a hired gun professional. We have things almost back together and hopefully in a small window of dry, sunny weather we can finish those last few plots with no issues and be ready to change to the corn head. Which will signal the last leg of the harvest season. We have braved silage and now are on the cusp of conquering soybeans. I am excited to be through it. I have included a couple of photos to show what I mean about the shaft breaking off. I transferred them as medium quality because I'm cheap with computer space like I am with money and that was a mistake. They are definitely medium quality. Enjoy though, as always I hope to see your comments below.