Case Grain Drill Question

[bcsawyer]

I know this is not a tractor question, but maybe somebody here can help. I have a Case "6 inch seedmaster steel hopper drill" that I think was probably made in the late 50's. My grandfather told me years ago that it was bought to finish a job where an older drill bit the dust and wasn't used much if any after that. There is not a lot of small grain planted in our area. It has been under the same shelter all my life and my mother said she had never seen it used. I pulled it out yesterday and cleaned and lubricated it and it seemed to function wonderfully. Other than some surface rust and a bad tire it looks great. I'm going to use it to plant some rye for my cows and mule for the winter since hay is very short here in southeastern NC. The chart on the drill mentions a high gear and low gear setting, but without a manual and since no living person has seen the machine in use, I don't know where it is set. I know I can plant an acre and figure it out, but I was hoping that someone had experience with this machine. Any help would be greatly appreciated.

 

[art]

I'm not familiar with the case drills to say that I've worked with them but if you remove the shield by the wheels there are drive chains under them. See if there might be two sprockets one larger and one smaller that might intechange easily. They normally used a type of quick release pin to hold them.

 

[bcsawyer]

Update- got the drill working and planted some of the rye. It seemed to work fine, but if we don't get any rain I've wasted my time. If we get enough water to make the seed come up, I'll know how well it worked.

 

[bcsawyer]

The drill worked fine and I have a beautiful stand of rye. We got some rain just in time. Thanks for all the advice.

 

[art]

Glad to here you were successful!