cross-posted from: https://lemmy.world/post/32524920
I watched several videos on a Combine Harvester's inner workings and I still don't understand how this thing works.
this post was submitted on 09 Jan 2026
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We did two things first:
First we made a (simple) machine that cuts wheat stalks at ground level (scythe).
Second we made a (complex) machine that is self-propelling.
I'm gonna guess there was an intermediate step where we put mechanical scythes on horses or something
Yep, e.g. the McCormick Reaper, which is unsurprisingly is mechanically very similar to the modern grain head on a combine.
Here's a video of an even older Johnson Reaper in action.
Of course, yes, there was. But it was extremely brief in the grand scheme of things.
https://www.farm-equipment.com/articles/4269-timeline-of-ag-equipment-firsts
1830's the first mechanical (horse drawn) harvester comes out, and by the 1860's steam powered tractors were being introduced.