BEER CAN BUSHINGS??? (a cheap, improvised repair for old equipment)

As a child, I sometimes had the opportunity to go with my father to the hay fields.  Dad was in the business of baling hay, and had lots of customers in a three county area.  There was always hay on the ground ready to bale, and a breakdown that took more than a couple of hours to repair could let the customer's hay get too dry, so waiting for parts could cause the hay to ruin.

I will never forget the first time I was in the field when the baler stopped tying the bales.  There was a worn out bushing in the knotter.  The baler was old and parts often had to be ordered. taking several days to get them.  On this occasion, one of the haulers was drinking beer while they waited.  Dad took one of the empty cans and cut a strip of metal from it.  He wrapped the metal around the shaft, replaced the hub and proceeded to bale hay.  It worked, and kept working until he could get the new part and fix it right.

Beer cans back then were heavier than they are now, but the principle hasn't changed.  By now you may be curious as to just how this all relates to my small homesteading operation.  Actually, it relates in the form of my early training to deal with whatever comes up.

I don't have powered hay equipment here, choosing to use people powered instead.  For me, that equals scythe and pitch fork, neither of which use bushings.  However, when my scythe blade broke recently, I simply went into my blacksmith shop to make a new one.  It was almost finished when the blower on my forge broke down.

Now we get to how the beginning of this post relates.  Unlike my hay tools, the blower DOES have bushings, and one was worn out, causing the gears to run crooked.  My blacksmith tools are all very old (the blower was old when I bought it over thirty years ago), so finding bushings to factory specification will be difficult, and they may have to be custom made.  The delay could easily take until after the first freeze which means no more hay for the goats.

This is where the lowly beer can (or in this case, the pop can) saves the day.  With a smile and the memory of my dad's beer can bushings, I sacrificed a can.  In a short time, the strip of can metal was in place and the blower re-assembled.  It works well again.  Is it perfect?  NO!  Do I still need to find the right bushing?  Absolutely!  Bottom line is that it works, and will continue to work until I can get the right parts.

I'll let you know how the scythe blade turns out.