My uncle once told me that I was the only person who could break a tractor implement. I understood but complained that they don’t build things like they used to.
When my dad passed a few years ago, I inherited an antique Ford tractor and a couple of implements. I brought the implements to my house and let the tractor sit in my mom’s backyard for a few years — not because I couldn’t use it, but mostly because I couldn’t get the thing started.
I tried everything — even kicking it, yelling expletives at it — but it didn’t work. I sometimes think that my dad gave it to me just to provide him with some entertainment in the afterlife.
Perfect tool
The carry-all is an implement that looks like a pallet fork, with two parallel arms that are made out of angle iron. Honestly, it seemed like the perfect tool for the job.
The previous owners of this house had ornamental fence posts all over along with other structures that needed to be carried to the burn pit.
I backed up into the post and the arm of the carry-all made an indent in the wooden post. By itself, this indent didn’t mean much. But it got me thinking that if I could push it a little harder, it might give me the traction that I needed to lift it up with the hydraulic arms. Unfortunately, it didn’t work, at least not at a slow speed. But when I moved the throttle all the way up and slammed into the post, I could immediately raise the hydraulic arm and the posts came out, like a hot knife through butter.
One by one, I removed the posts, fences and structures that occupied my backyard. The front needed some attention too.
The previous owners had built a koi pond with multiple waterfalls and fountains. It was very decorative but not very functional. I backed my carry-all into the waterfall structures to rip out the plumbing and wiring, eventually backfilling with 35 tons of dirt to fill the void left from the superfluously ornate pond.
When it was time to carry all of the posts and material to the burn pit, I was unable to carry everything. That’s why we call the heavily damaged carry-all a “carry most.” The implement sustained a lot of damage.
It is difficult to mount the implement as the mounting brackets are more crooked than the arms. One arm points in and down while the other just points up. It’s not much to look at, but it was the perfect tool to remove some of the netting from the hay bales that piled up through the winter.
It worked wonders on removing the fence posts. Unfortunately, some of the other ideas I had didn’t work out quite as well. Like when I ran full throttle while lowering the two-bottom plow to rip up some tree roots. Or when I accidentally pulled a tree down on top of my head.
