c. 1926 John Deere Binder

 This binder was made by Deere & Company of Moline, Illinois. Like the International Harvester Company binder here in Stuhr Museum's exhibit, this John Deere binder was used to cut, gather, and bind grain together in one quick process. Unlike the International Harvester binder, this John Deere example is lacking the reels which would have been attached to the bar running across the top of the binder. If you look closely, you might see where the reels would have been attached to that bar.
 As horses or a tractor pulled this binder forward, the reels, were they attached, would have rotated, pushing the grain into the sickle, or cutting bar at the binder's front. The sickle bar moved from side to side in order to better cut the grain. Guards – they look like teeth – held the grain in place as it was cut. After the sickle bar cut the grain, the reel pushed the grain onto the canvas.
 The canvas, wrapped around a series of bars connected to gears, carried the cut grain past the driver's seat up into the binding mechanism. While inside the mechanism, the grain was bound with twine and then spit out onto the fingers you see near the walkway to the north. The bound grain then fell onto the ground where it sat waiting to be stacked, or shocked.

 You can see a 36 second video of a John Deere binder very similar to this one in action, being pulled by a tractor, by clicking or touching here. Or you can watch a 3 minute and 8 second video of another John Deere binder being pulled by a John Deere tractor by clicking or touching here. To see a 2 minute and 35 second video of an International Harvester Company binder at work, and of men shocking the grain after it had been bound, click or touch here.