1951 Farm Master Incubator

[kjurek]

I have one of these from when I was a kid. Both my dad and brother have passed away recently and they were the only ones who knew how to run it. Can you help? I really want to do this with my kids. If you have the manual I would love a copy if I could get it. Thanks and let me know what I need to do.

Kelly

 

[WalnutHill]

I would love to have one of these. I found one last year but passed it along to someone who needed it more than I did.

I have the manual and would be happy to send it to you if you want to PM me your email address. Also there is a forum on this site for redwood incubators.

 

[SharkmanDan]

I just wanted to say, that thanks to WalnutHill's input, I am in process of doing what a car guy would call a "Resto-Mod" on an old five drawer Farm Master. Someone mopped on several HEAVY coats of various paints, to cover some solid, but quite ugly repair work, and did some redneck mods inside. But, with help, I am using a nice combination of old and new technology, and bringing this one back to life, this week. It is useable, but needs some work, to replace the top and door, which will be done, as I stop incubating, for the summer, and find some appropriate sized redwood lumber.
Today, I think I'm going to save the sander, by buying some Homer Formby's paint stripper, and get this thing in better shape, in much faster order. Especially, since I am not 1/4 of the way through this job, and already burned up the bearings, in one sander.

 

[SharkmanDan]

BTW-I should mention, that thanks to WalnutHill's suggestion in the Redwood Incubators Forum, I am using the STC 1000, available for about $15 from Amazon, as the heart of my "Resto-Mod".
After the suggestion was made, I watched the videos, read lots of reviews, ands poke with my brother in law, who is a control operator at a refinery and KNOWS controls, and decided that this was the best deal going, to keep the incubator at optimum temp.
I am even going to build another incubator/hatcher, out of an old, VERY LARGE, Igloo cooler, so, I bought two of the STC 1000's, to facilitate accurate temperature control. They are FAR MORE RELIABLE, than the old wafer type thermostats, used in the Farm Masters, and other similar designs.

 

[WalnutHill]

I just wanted to say, that thanks to WalnutHill's input, I am in process of doing what a car guy would call a "Resto-Mod" on an old five drawer Farm Master. Someone mopped on several HEAVY coats of various paints, to cover some solid, but quite ugly repair work, and did some redneck mods inside. But, with help, I am using a nice combination of old and new technology, and bringing this one back to life, this week. It is useable, but needs some work, to replace the top and door, which will be done, as I stop incubating, for the summer, and find some appropriate sized redwood lumber.
Today, I think I'm going to save the sander, by buying some Homer Formby's paint stripper, and get this thing in better shape, in much faster order. Especially, since I am not 1/4 of the way through this job, and already burned up the bearings, in one sander.

ZIP Strip rocks if Formby's is too gentle. Wear chemical proof gloves as ZIP Strip will defat your skin and make your hands look like they are 140 years old...

 

[SharkmanDan]

They didn't have any Homer Formby's, and I forgot my checkbook, anyway. So, tomorrow, I go back, checkbook in hand. I'll keep that brand in mind. Whoever repaired and painted this one, put about 8 coats of paint, very thick, alternating between oil and latex base paint. Tomorrow, I'll try to show how badly the door was damaged, then repaired. It is solid, but well worn, and looks like heck, with all the screws and filled screw holes.

 

[BobDBirdDog]

love antiques, but my 48 quart cooler incubator does just fine and handles 250 quail or 175 pheasant eggs at a time. All manual turining though...Okay, I admit it its a crapper!

I would go for it I guess just based on the fact that it is an antique....have to love the historical value. Plus they made things to last back then

 

[BobDBirdDog]

They didn't have any Homer Formby's, and I forgot my checkbook, anyway. So, tomorrow, I go back, checkbook in hand. I'll keep that brand in mind. Whoever repaired and painted this one, put about 8 coats of paint, very thick, alternating between oil and latex base paint. Tomorrow, I'll try to show how badly the door was damaged, then repaired. It is solid, but well worn, and looks like heck, with all the screws and filled screw holes.

I have an old ford, paint peeling a few rust spots, dents, pings but it starts every time and does everything I need it to do and then some.

 

[SharkmanDan]

And, I have things like that, too. But, I'm trying to resto-mod this. You wouldn't restore that old Ford, by drilling new holes, for a Chevy mirror in the door, then tear the door off the hinges, and put it back together with hinges from the front door on your house, dropping an old Model T flathead 4 in it, and call it restored?
It may be functional, as is, but not properly functional, and if im going to do a Resto-Mod, I want it working well. And looking great. We're building a room addition, just for incubating and brooding. I would like this old thing to be the centerpiece of that room.

 

[SharkmanDan]

Here are photos of the functional repairs, done to the door, that were done obviously without regard to the beauty of the redwood cabinet itself. Again, it is very functional. It is going to work for me, while I make a new door and top. But, I just hate seeing repairs, that ruin the inherent beauty, of something so nicely crafted.