First of all.Thank you so much for the kind offer Seiscat.I already have both enlarged and framed.I really do appreciate the offer though.

Second thing.The round thing is a clock that records when the tractor is moving.There is a round disc inside that is slowly turning and a needle scratches the time tractor is moving
Only getting paid for actual time moving if working by the hour.I'm sure it was also used to make sure operators wernt slacking on the job
Hopefully someone can explain it better or has one, as you can see I was just the operator and got paid with milk and cookies.

Gary I did have one of those time clocks, don’t know where it is now but the needle marked when you were moving and marked the time pretty clearly, and guess what it did it all WITHOUT ELECTRONICS!!! Back in the day in the Turlock area I remember Paul Baker, George Kapor, and I think E.T. Vincent all used them. I remember Kapors was doing a leveling job for my dad and we noticed this old Skinner liked to go to the store during the day and get refreshments hopefully they weren’t 80 prof anyway when the job was done and he turned in his time cards he had taken a pen and tried to fill in the space when he had went to the store it wasn’t even close to looking like the marking the clock made long story short my dad didn’t get charged for the extra time and the old skinner got CANNED. 17afarmer

Thank Mike.Yep.I remember all of them guys.
The clock dad had,had a lock and took a key to open it. I remember the key was usually in it.Zooming in it looks like the key is in it.I remember opening it to see what was inside.
Pretty sure dad took it off when he sold the D2
I heard stories how catskinners would try ways to keep the needle moving such as balancing the tractor on a log and the tractor rocking enough to scratch the time card.Especially on night shifts so they could take a nap.

Thanks for posting. That looks to be a "tattle tale" old school ELD of sorts. The vibration from the machine operating would activate the stylus and make marks on a paper chart.
That looks to be one very happy skinner! JM

Agri-Till used one similar to those record o graph on their rental stubble disks to record acreage. We had these in our 60’s and 70’s diesel trucks.

 
 
 
 

Yes they were called service recorders, in the morning or between shifts you would wind up the dial inside and it was like a wrist watch and sounded like that also. Then it would turn the paper recorder and the movement of the machine would make the pendulum rock back and forth an thus the carbon paper would have a mark show up.

WOW!!  Thanks for sharing 1951D2. I knew someone would have one.

Anyone have any idea when they stopped selling them? They were simple and accurate and dirt did not affect them unlike all of our electronics which are not good with dirt and moisture

Those service recorders worked well. Dad had them on his cats.
I do remember at least once when one of the operators tried to scratch the line like the machine did it was obvious. He was probably on the Night shift. I think I still have a couple of them not sure if I could find the charts to go in them.
I remember George Kapor when they were in the pipeline business he drove that El Camino and he would climb out of that thing and he was what about 6 foot six had his legs folded up in there but I was a little kid so he looked Like the tallest man I ever seen. Skinner