Thereaper-binder, orbinder, is a farm implement that improved upon the simplereaper. The binder was invented in 1872 by Charles Baxter Withington, a jeweler from Janesville, Wisconsin.[1][2] In addition to cutting the small-grain crop, a binder also 'binds' the stems into bundles orsheaves. These sheaves are usually then 'shocked' into A-shaped conicalstooks, resembling smalltipis, to allow the grain to dry for several days before being picked up andthreshed.
Withington's original binder used wire to tie the bundles. There were problems with using wire[3] and it was not long beforeWilliam Deering invented a binder that successfully usedtwine and a knotter (invented in 1858 byJohn Appleby).[4]
Early binders were horse-drawn, their cutting and tying-mechanisms powered by a bull-wheel, that through the traction of being pulled forward creates rotational forces to operate the mechanical components of the machine. Later models were tractor-drawn and some were tractor-powered. (This mechanical power transfer is commonly referred to as aPTO or power take-off device.) Binders have a reel and asickle bar, like a modern grain head for acombine harvester. The cut stems fall onto acanvas bed which conveys the cut stems to the binding mechanism. This mechanism bundles the stems of grain and ties the bundle with string to form a sheaf. Once tied, the sheaf is discharged from the side of the binder, to be picked up by the 'stookers'.
With the replacement of thethreshing machine by thecombine harvester, the binder has become almost obsolete. Some grain crops such asoats are now cut and formed intowindrows with aswather.[5] With other grain crops, such aswheat, the grain is now mostly cut and threshed by a combine in a single operation, but the much lighter binder is still in use in small fields or mountain areas too steep or inaccessible for heavy combines.
Reaper-binders were in wide use in thePeople's Republic of Poland, but farmers often could not operate them due to shortages of twine and a lack of replacement parts. This was such a regular occurrence that baling twine (Polish:sznurek do snopowiązałki) remains a symbol of the dysfunction of the communist economy in the cultural memory of Poland.[6]
Media related toReaper-binders at Wikimedia Commons