Don't Be Like That. Learn To Crank It Right Before You Get Hurt.

We watched these fellows at the summer Boonville show, and we walked away hoping that the engine would start without hurting someone. Tractor magnetos have an impulse, which fires the plug after top dead center when you are cranking, (antique cars have a manual advance/retard lever) but if the impulse doesn't work right, the engine can fire before top dead center and pull your face down into the radiator, or jerk the crank out of your hand, spin around, and break you wrist. Keep your fingers and thumb on the same side of the crank; pull the crank from the bottom of its swing to the top (called a Quarter Turn; 1/4 of the combustion cycle), and stand so your arm will escape the arc of the crank if it jerks loose and spins around. I have been lucky and never had my arm broken when an engine kicked back, and that crank really gets your attention when it spins around like a helicopter. If the engine kicks when you are pushing down on the crank; well, it's going to hurt. Have fun, but remember Safety First.