I’ve heard of that happening, breaking their arm from a kickback. Good video.😊

Thank you sir for showing this, I remember my grandfather starting them like this during my childhood years of the 60's, definitely a time when men didn't inherent their hands from their mother.

This is how our food gets made, dudes like this!

Thank you for posting this.

My grandfather had a story he liked to share about an F-20 he grew up with. He was in a hurry to get back to plowing and instead of pulling up on the crank he spun it from the top. The engine caught at the bottom of the spin and it kicked the crank out. Crank caught him across the forehead and knocked him cold. When he came to the tractor was sitting there idling.

I've always wanted to see how a hand crank worked on a tractor, my dad told me when I was a kid how he used to crank my granddaddy's John Deere when he was little. Great video!

My ‘35 allis charmers almost got me good once! Thanks!

Thank you for taking the time to make these videos very informative. We need more shooting videos

What a beautiful tractor. You've done a wonderful job of restoring/maintaining that machine.

Safety - I saw your video. I like your video except for the grip on the handle. I grew up with a crank start Farmall A and several crank start autos, I still have my 1911 Hupmobile. I was taught to never grip the handle like a handlebar. All fingers and your thumb should be cupped on the same side of the handle just in case the handle grips and sticks. If it so binds it will break your thumb most often this is when people are cranking it round and round. We never had to do more than one or two up pulls on the Farmall A. In winter we primed the old engines with perhaps a milliliter of gasoline in each cup. The rest of the video was great. My cranking instructor a neighbor, was an old orthopedic doc who had rebuilt some hands and arms as well as had some B&W autopsy photos. Thanks for the memories.

Thanks for the demonstration on half cranking start up farm tractor! Will do it, when I get my tractor hopefully soon and save my arm!

Spot on, you guys. I've linked this to a Citroen 2CV page, where some folk were curious about how to hand start their motors. 'Half a turn' is top advice... ;)

Good to see you back messing with the tractors.

Thanks for the post. I a battery going bad in my newly inherited Farmall C. I was dead in the yard for the night with the battery not taking to a jump. 15 cranks after watching this video the old gal fired up 👍

you learn something every day !

Hi Thanks for the video, I'm 44 and started messing with hand crank tractors and engines when I was about 12. My Grandad and dad/uncle all farmed in the U.K with the old fordson N and E27N's back in the day. My first lesson was never hand crank an engine to start it with your thumb over the handle, the rest of the lesson was just like your video. If any of my dads side of our family ever saw me crank an engine with my thumb over the handle, it was a guaranteed yelling at. And possibly an @$$ kicking if it was my dad or granddad that caught me doing it !. I was taught the same steering tractors never put your thumb over the rim of the steering wheel., If you went in a hole and it jerked the front wheel and spun the steering wheel. It would take your thumb off with the old type mechanical linkage steering systems, I've never had it happen with full power steering, but had a big gopher hole yank the wheel round in my hand on the Fordson supermajor we use to cut grass here.

My grandfather broke his rist from pushing down on the crank Needles to say he told me not to do that

Just got a crank for our 1942 farmall H excited to try this out

To the POINT thank you please do more videos, like Starter replacement.

Learned something new this help me with my Oliver

I'm about to watch this one more time n im doing it

That makes good sense pulling from the bottom half a turn I seen a guy pulling it from the top standing on the opposite side half of turn the way you're doing it you have your feet planted firmly no chance in falling seems like trying to pull it from the top like I seen that guy do it would pull your shoulder out of joint

Great! Just what I was looking for. thanks

Good explanation

got to love a tractor that bites back!

glad i figured this out before i got my old rusty one working.

Great instruction! ✔

very well explain

I have an old 8N that started and ran like a singer sewing machine when i bought it. Next morning i flooded it and now the starter just spins. I had to get a new starter. It didn't help, so i ordered the hand crank. Well, then i found out it didn't have the ratchet nut on the crank front. So, i found one on ebay and waiting for that now. I am going to be real careful. I am a big strong hillbilly, but i have small wrists for a man my size. I am afraid i'll break a wrist or worse. Thanks for this video. I'll try to be careful. Someone said back in the day men had bigger wrists. I know my grandpaw did. I once saw him pick up the engine side of a car and walk around the yard with it. He was only five feet six inches tall but his hands were like baseball gloves.

Thanks for bothering to show the correct and safe method of hand starting an engine. It’s frightening to see so many people swinging an engine in a dangerous manner. If you do it safely, it’s easier! Nice tractor too 😉

OK I wondered how you could break your wrist cranking a starter engine! Thanks!!!

pretty cool any of them tires in the background skidder tires? ..father has a Farmall "A" Culti-Vision ..sat since about 92...we put a different carb on it and that did work at all so i rebuilt the carb for him...after i put it on ..i went to get a chain to tow it ...he said just wait 4 hand flops and it was idling like a champ..i take the kids on it everychance i get

Love Your Channel Sir, I have one question I hope you can answer. My 1940 Farmall A, Hand Crank Only, will start Every Time Cold, with One or 2 Cranks, as You demonstrate, However after Running for 10 minutes or more, engine warm, it Refuses to Restart. Hours later, it starts right up! I remembered watching this video and you mentioned this in the video. What is the reason? Bad Coil or Condensor? Points are set Perfect at .013. Does a Coil Loose Power after heating up? It's very Puzzling, hope you can shed some light on this. Perhaps even do a video. Thank You very much for sharing Your Knowledge.

when cranking you should always keep your thumb on the same side as your fingers so if it does backfire it doesnt break your thumb other than that thats the same way i crank mine.

How do you know that handle will disconnect from the bottom pulley? How do you disconnect the handle as the engine fires? Do you withdraw the handle as you hear the engine fire?

Do you have any good used 3"x19" steel front wheels with 6 on 6 inch bolt pattern? they were used of Ferguson Greys and similar Ford tractors?

Why does the lever not keep turning after ignition? Does it automatically disengage? Is there an automatic disengage mechanism?

What about one with the H4 Magneto.....my Super A has it and I have no spark.....have replaced the coil, points & condenser.....so aggravated!!!

Does it have to have a battery in it to start with the hand crank?

Hey Dave, maybe you should point out holding it with an open palm, so the handle can slip out if it does decide to be cranky, that way you won't end up cranky in the ER, My old man went over and over again with me about it on my H (birthday present).

My farmall 130 wont turn when I pull up with the hand crank like it’s jammed or somthing

I find always use choke when hand cranking it, the thing starts a lot easier.

Does this also work with 1900’s cars?

YOU SHOULD ALWAYS....do it with your left hand. If it backfires, the crank will just rip out of your hand and push it out of range. If the crank comes a second round, your hand will not be hit. Do it with the right hand, same scenario, and you will get hit over your hand backside or knuckles, probably breaking them.

Hi how can a person know what year an IH Farmall tractor side steering hand crank it has Canada 1? # on block 6532DC D

My uncle has a farmall but I dont know if it's a crank start

What if the transmission is in gear?

My hand crank feels like it’s to round want go in far enough got another one to try

The way my dad said to do it.

i have a ram that tries to headbutt me and attack every chance it can get, and this hand crank scares me more , ill remember now how to do it

Why did they ever quit the good old timing retard lever ? It actually spun the motor in the forward direction when it fired. Instead of the occasional kick back found with BTDC / advanced ignition.. I still use the technique to start cars with near dead batteries.

I just picked up a 1940 A and I have, what may seem like a Foolish Question. I Know that the engine usually will only Kick back if the Timing is advanced, Not Retarded, so my question is, How can You be sure, on a Tractor You NEVER started before if it is NOT advanced, thus an accident waiting to happen, enough to Kick back?

About to start a farmall a just wanted to know 😂

If I could I would help you haul the tires and wheels off there is a lot of them behind you

My A has an electric start and unless battery is dead you just as well use electric start

i wanted one, until you said how many different ways i could break my arm

No I’m happy with the electric start

I've scanned through these comments and decided to add my 2 cents worth. Use your left hand and DON'T wrap your thumb around the crank.

Umm I a front end loader on my Farmall

Afellow doing this right

95% of humans wouldn’t even be capable of doing such a thing these days.