{"id":6275,"date":"2020-10-28T12:17:44","date_gmt":"2020-10-28T16:17:44","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/alanskeoch.ca\/?p=6275"},"modified":"2020-10-28T12:20:08","modified_gmt":"2020-10-28T16:20:08","slug":"episode-153-gran-farmers-must-have-hated-docking-macnines","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/alanskeoch.ca\/?p=6275","title":{"rendered":"EPISODE 153 GRAN FARMERS MUST HAVE HATED DOCKING MACNINES"},"content":{"rendered":"
EPISODE 153   GRAIN  FARMERS MUST HAVVE HATED DOCKING MACHINES<\/p>\n

<\/div>\n
alan skeoch<\/div>\n
Oc.t 2020<\/div>\n

<\/div>\n
<\/div>\n

<\/div>\n

<\/div>\n
\u201cTake a seat, Alan\u2026rain trying to sleet outside\u2026good time to think\u2026to remember”<\/div>\n

<\/div>\n
HEADING:  DOCKING MACHINES MUST HAVE  BEEN HATED<\/div>\n

<\/div>\n
Cold rain\u2026almost sleet\u2026falling today.  Good time  to try and sort through our collection of weird and wonderful machines<\/div>\n
in the main barn.   It has been years since I have  done so.  Seems like a treasure hunt \u2026 includes a chair for contemplation.<\/div>\n

<\/div>\n
Contemplation?  Yep, I sat down and stared at two machines that were uncovered once the flower pots and threshing machine<\/div>\n
moulds were set  aside.   Two antique DOCKING MACHINES.  Probably the only such machines left in North America.  How<\/div>\n
did  I know that?  I combed the internet under various titles like ANTIQUE  GRAN DOCKING MACHINES and  other word<\/div>\n
combinations.   No luck.  You might do better but let me get on with the story.<\/div>\n

<\/div>\n
The same year, perhaps 1980,  we visited those hidden ICBM  SILOS in North Dakota we also  stopped at a grain silo near the Canadian<\/div>\n
border.  A  huge wooden structure that, unlike the ICBM sites,  stood out against the flat horizon. <\/div>\n

<\/div>\n
\u201cHi, hope we  are not intruding but could I take a couple of pictures of your grain silo?\u201d<\/div>\n
\u201cDo what you want.  We don\u2019t get many  visitors\u2026matter  of fact we  don\u2019t get any except for<\/div>\n
the trucks loaded with grain.\u201d<\/div>\n
(I noticed two dust covered mini fanning mills in a forgotten  corner)\u2019<\/div>\n
\u201cWhat are those machines?\u201d<\/div>\n
\u201cOld Docking machines\u2026they go a long way back.\u201d<\/div>\n
\u201cDocking machines?\u201d<\/div>\n
\u201cYep, we take  a sample of every load of  grain, dump it in the docker and then<\/div>\n
calculate how much to dock the farmers\u2019 load.\u201d<\/div>\n
\u201cWeed seeds and rat dung as a percentage  of  total load.\u201d<\/div>\n
\u201cNot so much rat dung but weed seeds for sure and other waste\u201d<\/div>\n
\u201cFarmers must hate these machines.\u201d<\/div>\n
\u201cThey do\u2026cuts into profits.\u201d<\/div>\n
\u201cStill using those dockers?\u201d<\/div>\n
\u201cNo\u2026they\u2019re obsolete.  New dockers are  better.\u201d<\/div>\n
\u201cWhat are  you going to do with the old ones?\u201d<\/div>\n
\u201cNothing\u2026we\u2019ll get rid of them when we have time.\u201d<\/div>\n
\u201cWould you sell them to us?\u201d<\/div>\n
\u201cSure\u2026sell them cheap, how  about $20 each?\u201d<\/div>\n
\u201cI\u2019ll give you $25 each.\u201d<\/div>\n
\u201cSold.  Let\u2019s get them in your truck\u2026Not much room.\u201d<\/div>\n

<\/div>\n
<\/div>\n

<\/div>\n
<\/div>\n

<\/div>\n
<\/div>\n
This is the older  of the two\u2026perhaps once  it was hand cranked.   Both Docking machines run by electric motors so they are likely vintage 1920 or 1930 or 1940.<\/div>\n

<\/div>\n
<\/div>\n

<\/div>\n

<\/div>\n
<\/div>\n

<\/div>\n
CONCLUSION<\/div>\n

<\/div>\n
And so  we  loaded both docking machines\u2026packed tight in our  van.  Two kids, two dogs, four sleeping bags, Coleman stove, coolers, dog food, human food, one giant tractor tube (our idea of a boat),<\/div>\n
then Marjorie and  me  and  now TWO DOCKING MACHINES.   And a case of Coors beer for our visit with Wick at Lake of the Woods.  Behind the van we hauled a pop up trailer.  We  must have looked  like<\/div>\n
a modern version of Steinbeck\u2019s Grapes of  Wrath.   <\/div>\n

<\/div>\n
I sat in the barn today thinking about that trip.  Good memories.  One mistake somewhere along the way when the tractor tube broke loose and rolled like an immense do-nut into the ditch.  We should<\/div>\n
have deflated it rather than tie it to the truck roof.  But how would we re-inflate it at a lakeside camp ground?  I think we gave it away.<\/div>\n

<\/div>\n
I hadn\u2019t seen those  Docking Machines for two decades.  I knew they were  safely tucked away in the barn though.   This was a good time to give them the <\/div>\n
exposure they deserved.  So here they are\u2026yours to admire.<\/div>\n

<\/div>\n
alan skeoch<\/div>\n
Oct. 2020<\/div>\n

<\/div>\n
P.S.  Just in case you wonder why I had trouble finding the Dockers, here\u2019s a picture of things that blocked<\/div>\n
my view.  Each of these things is  another story.  The great wood  drive pulleys were rescued when the<\/div>\n
Massey Ferguson factory was demolished around  1990.  <\/div>\n

<\/div>\n
<\/div>\n
\n


<\/p>\n<\/section>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

EPISODE 153   GRAIN  FARMERS MUST HAVVE HATED DOCKING MACHINES alan skeoch Oc.t 2020 \u201cTake a seat, Alan\u2026rain trying to sleet outside\u2026good time to think\u2026to remember” HEADING:  DOCKING MACHINES MUST HAVE  BEEN HATED Cold rain\u2026almost sleet\u2026falling today.  Good time  to try and sort through our collection of weird and wonderful machines in the main barn. […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-6275","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/alanskeoch.ca\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6275","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/alanskeoch.ca\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/alanskeoch.ca\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/alanskeoch.ca\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/alanskeoch.ca\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=6275"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/alanskeoch.ca\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6275\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/alanskeoch.ca\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=6275"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/alanskeoch.ca\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=6275"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/alanskeoch.ca\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=6275"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}