John Deere Disc Tiller

I was helping a Lady in our Community Saturday and in a over grown hedge row I "found" a JD 6 disc tiller. Her husband has been dead for 6 years and had quite farming 10 years before that. she didn't know that it was there. I offered to buy it but she told me I could have it to get rid of it so I got it home today. I have a newly acquired Farmall H that pulls it OK in our S.C. sand, but it doesn't track well at all. The trail wheel tries to pass the front of the plow. I need to know the model of this plow, it has a hydrulic cylinder to lift and lower it, it looks like a bottom plow only it has disc instead plows. I would like to get the manual so I can set it up. Any help will be most helpful. Thanks, Jay.

Jay.
Model is 120 I think. Raise front disk 1 to 2 inches higher than rear disk. One can also set rear wheel for hard ground if not already done. It' been many years since I plowed with one of those.

If it looks like a bottom plow only with discs then it is a disk plow, not a disk tiller. A disk tiller has like a disk all blades on a common axle with bearings like a disk only a lot heavier but the blades will be smaller than on a disk plow. WE had a disk tiller, John Deere but with clutch lift and on steel wheels.Been many a year but if I remember correctly to make it cut straight it had 4 segimate weights on the right wheel and 8 on the tail wheel (4 inside and 4 outside) these were the standard John Deere weights that it had came with and weighed if remembering correctly about 75# each for 600# on that tail wheel plus a heavy guide rib to keep it straight. And it was about 6' and pulled in heavy soil with a 39 HP AR John Deere. Northwest Ohio.

Jay:

I had a AC disc plow once, used it on a D-14 tractor, however it was mounted (snap couple) to the tractor, not a trailer plow.

Disc plows pull eaiser than flat bottom plows and will roll over rocks, roots, etc: so they have there place, I guess were used a lot in rough ground before trip plows came along.

I know my dad would not used the Ferg steel beam flat bottom plows in ground he thought might have rocks, etc: as you can hang plows and spring them. (A set of sprung plows will never plow right, ruined).

If the ground has a lot of turf, disc plows will edge the ground into big chucks, if I remember correctly.

Very important: The back trail wheel must be in the ground at all times and angled against the furrow. If not, the plow will do as you said, back of plow will try to past front of plow.

The AC disc plow had a solid steel trail wheel with a metal guide around the wheel to keep in digging into the furrow.

When all was set and running true the old plow did a good job. As I said before, it was much easier to pull than the same number of flat bottoms.

IF the field to be plowed has rocks and roots:

With a disc plow you will be plowing while your buddies will be at the house washing their flat bottom plows, because they will be afraid to put
them in that ground.

Good luck and stay safe,

Thanks for all of y"alls help. One problem I have found is that draw-bar on the tiller is not hooked up right. I think that when it get in a tight spot that it allows it to pull to the left. I guess I"ll just have to hook it up and tinker with it some. That"s the joy of using older equipment, just working with it, getting the bugs worked out and have the knowledge that you are preserving a piece of our farming heritage. My 15 year old son loves getting out and working with me and he already has his eye on a JD 60.

They made JD disk plows in several series over the years. 90, 100, 300, 400, 500, 600 and several other older series. Later series were 3600, 3700 & F225. Like a series 400 but called model 404 would have 4 disks on it. Yours could be a 500H or 600H series or 506H or 606H with H standing for hydraulic lift. Some were convertible to add or delete 1 or 2 disks also. Many older JD parts catalogs are available online now to download at jdparts.com click on parts catalog and enter your model or try other searches to find it. Enter disk plow or JD disk plow over on implement photos section in left column. <<<

Disregard the 3600, 3700 & F225 I posted those are moldboard plows oops. Tx Jim is right it could also be a 120 series as the model 126 had used 6 standard shanks with disks. Also the 600 series there was indeed a 606H I found in parts catalog. I didn't look but you might also check out parts catalog for 500 series disk plows to see if it came with 6 disks convertible also. Just go to jdparts.com then click on parts catalogs entering 120 or 600 and download the adobe pdf parts catalogs to help you ID which plow you have. Most likely your dealer won't have any catalogs yet or know so ID it and then you can get a operators manual from JD dealer or direct from techpubs.deere.com for a fee of course. The online parts catalogs don't cost though just download to save on disk and can later just print off what you need to look at.

Tx Jim,
I went to the web sight you told me about and I found that I have a 260-H Disk Tiller. It took some searching but I found it. I thank all for your help and insight.

Jay