Oliver 64 Grain Drill Manual

kman- I'll tell you how my John Deere works and I'll bet yours is similar. There is a square shaft, about 3/4 inch, that runs the length of the drill. Above each drill shoe is a tube that funnels the oats seed down to and thru the shoe into the ground. Above each tube is a sprocket about 2 1/2 inches in diameter and about 2 inches thick. When you slide the square shaft to the left or right you can observe, all those sprockets move. And, they are what kicks out more or fewer seeds per revolution of the shaft. When the drill shoes, or discs, are taken out of the ground, either by handles or a trip rope the shaft will stop turning, and the drill will stop spewing out seeds. When sowing oats I put in 2 1/2 to 3 bushels/acre, and for that seeding rate I have about 1/4 inch of the sprocket showing. My drill has a chart right inside the cover. One reason for the square shaft is that you can put a wrench on it and give it a twist each direction before starting out each day. If they rust up overnight, or since its last use, you can break things.