Before Hydraulics: The First Bulldozer Blade Ever Built (1923)
62K views · Mar 18, 2026 · Science & Technology
Comments · 17
@ConstructionLegends · 6 months ago · pinned
The patent number almost every article, book, and website cites for the first bulldozer blade is wrong. 🔍 <br> <br>US 1,478,306 appears everywhere. The actual patent is US 1,522,378A, filed December 18, 1923, by John McLeod and James Cummings of Washington, Kansas. They built it from oak planks, a windmill spring, a John Deere lever, and Model T Ford parts in under three days. <br> <br>McLeod's wife died and he sold his share for $500. Cummings got 68 patents, a Presidential award, and credit for helping win WWII. McLeod vanished for 62 years until a Kansas neighbor built a replica and invited him to the unveiling. <br> <br>And the word "bulldozer" itself? It was a term for racist vigilantes in 1876 Louisiana — nearly 50 years before the machine existed. <br> <br>What fact from this video surprised you most? Drop it below 👇
5
@MorganOtt-ne1qj · 6 months ago
Anyone that knew anything about livestock would have called it a HOGDOZER. A hog can root out anything, they can lean into everything if they want to move it, and have traction like no other animal. Think about it, I am just using my observations of livestock. 🤔🤔😯👍👍
11
@edbruder9975 · 5 months ago (edited)
My Dad had an old Willy's jeep with a homemade snowplow. There was a steering wheel on the passenger side with a shaft through under the windshield and over the hood and a pulley on the end of that with a rope you wound up to lift the blade when you cranked the steering wheel. There was a knob on the wheel so you could crank it from the drivers seat and I think a little loop of rope you had to snag over the knob to keep the blade where you wanted it. He was a busy fella when he was plowing snow. You had to pull a pin out've the pulley shaft to open the hood, and it used a quart of oil an hour when you worked it hard.
5
@lonecowboy789 · 5 months ago
I believe this is a little deceptive, by far more people died of malaria than accidents building the canal.
2
@martindick6001 · 5 months ago
The Fresno Scrapper, have one of those in the farm tree row. I know why it says Fresno now. All the old used up equipment from years past were just left out in the tree row. There was an old thrashing machine that they pulled out of there even.
1
@MarkRowland-x7s · 5 months ago
Lataunau used screw drives before hydraulics.
1
@robertmain4773 · 5 months ago
All over the place talking about using a racist word or the earth moving equipment Skip this one.
3
@robertschneehagen4308 · 4 months ago
Hard times produced hard Men
1
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