Navajo350

Member
I am plowing for the second time ever this weekend if the field conditions permit. Supposedly it rained back home pretty good about a week ago. I will be using an Unstyled John Deere A and an old McCormick plow.

The plow is the one I used before. It is a steel wheel, trip plow. I'm not sure what size, but maybe 2 x 12s? At what points do you make the measurements to find out the size?

I have the rear wheels set at 66" for the JD A. I was told that is a pretty good general setup for plowing. Is that true?

What about tire pressure?

I have read that I want an 8 inch deep furrow. So that's what I measure after plowing a little to see if the rear depth wheel is set correctly?

And then I adjust the sides so that both furrows turn over 180 degrees?

Anything I am missing?

I will wire wheel the moldboards and grease the plow before I go.

I just want to be able to plow properly when I go out there, have the proper tools and knowledge to set it up properly, not bother anyone else out there who wants to enjoy their time, and have fun as well.

Thanks,

Robert
 
Rear wheel setting from center of tractor right wheel 24 " level plow front to back after first round set plow approx 6" deepwith some ground moister and decent points you should be good to go for first timer as for plow size measure across top of beams inside to outside the other after plowing a bit get off look from rear of plow toward tractor plow should be running in line with tractor and plow wheel following tractor and tail wheel of plow just lightly showing light mark on furrow bottom
 
Dont take this personally - you are trying to make this rocket science - it isn't unless it's a plowing contest.

Is this a plow day? If so, there will be willing help for your issues - don't hesitate to ask.

Skip the wire brushing. - just plow for 15 minutes.

The plow does not turn dirt 180 degrees. Depending on the soil and cover, it's usually only 110 to 150 degrees.

Have fun playing in the dirt.
 
Hi Robert,

Ploughing properly takes a bit of practice.
All land varies, and a plough that works on one patch may need re-setting for a different soil.
As to depth to plough, 8" might be the ideal depth in ideal conditions, but a lot of land that has been ploughed previously has a 'sole'.....a depth that a plough likes to run at.
Sometimes this is the depth where stones are encountered, sometimes it is where the nice top-soil meets the subsoil that should be left down there.
By this I mean don't get hung up on what the book says, as long as it is somewhere close and turning over well, and burying the trash, that is what matters.

Getting the mouldboards as bright as possible before starting is best as well, as some soils just like to stick otherwise, and you can't set a plough until it is running bright.

Good luck.
Richard.
 
Measure the width of cut. Straight (90*) across from thelandside to the widest point. Or from center of one beam to the center
of the next.66" sounds fine. However it is more important to set the tractor so the plow is somewhat centered for good draft
and the first bottom takes a full cut,not under or overcut.Air up your tires to the manufacturers specs.Set your plow so it
plows LEVEL. Front to back,side to side,each bottom the same. You need to do that yourself,trial and error with it in the
ground.If you have a 12"plow,it will do its best work at 6". A plow is 'designed' to go approxamately 1/2 as deep as it is wide.
That said,put it in the ground,set the depth to where you are happy with. Happy plowing!
 
That 66" is a good setting. The measurement given by the other poster cannot be gotten as impossible to narrow tractor that narrow and if you could it would be likely to flip over to side with one wheel in furrow and other hit a bump. Now for size of plow measure from same point on one beam to same point on the other at 90* angle. Can be either from side or center of beam but has to be same point on both. Now that plow could measure any one of these sizes, 10", 12", 14" or 16" but unless you have a 16" that in most ground is too much for that tractor do not try to go 8" deep. A plow bottom is designed to plow at depth of one half the width of the bottom. Now there are some bottoms that are designed for deeper work and they are called deep tillage bottoms but I don't think any were ever made on your type of plow. In normal plowing that tractoe should pull a 2-12" at 6" deep in third gear and that is what we did. I easier plowing it might pull 2-14" like that at the 7" depth for that plow but more than likely you will be down to second gear. A 16" botton at recemonded 8" depth the tractor would be struggling in low gear. If you try to plow shallower or deeper than recemonded depth the plow will not do a good job of turning the soil over. Mine was a 38, last year for ubstyled and with 11 x 38" tires, no fluid but I am guessing 400# of concrete on each rear wheel. The plow was a Deere instead of the McCormic and 2-12" bottoms. In anycase if you see a yellow clay bottom in bottom of furrow then you are too deep as you do not want to mix that in with the top soil, that is why so many places easy working soil has turned into hard working soil. And your plow could be set to work with an 80" wheel tread OK as that is what the wide tread Farmall F-20 and Regular had.
 
(quoted from post at 06:58:34 09/16/15) That 66" is a good setting. The measurement given by the other poster cannot be gotten as impossible to narrow tractor that narrow and if you could it would be likely to flip over to side with one wheel in furrow and other hit a bump. Now for size of plow measure from same point on one beam to same point on the other at 90* angle. Can be either from side or center of beam but has to be same point on both. Now that plow could measure any one of these sizes, 10", 12", 14" or 16" but unless you have a 16" that in most ground is too much for that tractor do not try to go 8" deep. A plow bottom is designed to plow at depth of one half the width of the bottom. Now there are some bottoms that are designed for deeper work and they are called deep tillage bottoms but I don't think any were ever made on your type of plow. In normal plowing that tractoe should pull a 2-12" at 6" deep in third gear and that is what we did. I easier plowing it might pull 2-14" like that at the 7" depth for that plow but more than likely you will be down to second gear. A 16" botton at recemonded 8" depth the tractor would be struggling in low gear. If you try to plow shallower or deeper than recemonded depth the plow will not do a good job of turning the soil over. Mine was a 38, last year for ubstyled and with 11 x 38" tires, no fluid but I am guessing 400# of concrete on each rear wheel. The plow was a Deere instead of the McCormic and 2-12" bottoms. In anycase if you see a yellow clay bottom in bottom of furrow then you are too deep as you do not want to mix that in with the top soil, that is why so many places easy working soil has turned into hard working soil. And your plow could be set to work with an 80" wheel tread OK as that is what the wide tread Farmall F-20 and Regular had.

Ok, thanks everyone. I should now have the basics to enjoy the day.
 
On a pull-type plow, there is no "one general setting". Sure, you can hook it up there and turn dirt over but you won't be doing yourself or the plow any favors. On your plow it is not possible to set the rear wheels narrow enough to set the tractor drawbar on the center of draft. But a 66" tread is way too wide to let a 2-bottom plow work like it should. A pull-type plow line of draft is figured at one-fourth the width of cut of one bottom set to the left of center. In other words, one-fourth width of one bottom is 3", half the width of cut is 12", so the line of draft is 15". Being you can't get the wheels that narrow you have to off-hitch the plow hitch and the tractor drawbar. If your wheels are set at 66" you will not be able to set the hitch correctly. When this happens the plow pulls crooked (and harder) and you will be fighting the steering wheel. If this doesn't bother you then go for whatever the others are telling you. But if you want to do a good job and not hurt your plow or tractor (or your arms) take some time and do it right. At many plow days it is painfully obvious there are many there who don't have a clue on how to set or operate a plow. Don't be one of these people. Mike
 
"somewhat" centered.That is not an absolute/cast in stone rule. That was merely a guideline.Of coarse there are those instances where that just isnt possible.The important thing is to get the tire and plow in correct 'orientation'.Set the hitch point to where the plow will pull right.You will be able to tell pretty quickly. I have a SM set to 60" center,pull a 2x14 two way 'tumble' plow at plow days. It pretty much centers on the tractor. However,the hitch is adjustable and will work correctly on ANY tractor width.Yes,I've even pulled it with a wide F-20.Ask plenty of questions at your plow day.People will be more than glad to help!
 
Nav,

When you are through plowing, clean up you plow, get all the dirt off, lube it good.

I let my bright shinny wings dry, then paint the wings with john deere plow wing paint.
This material protects the slick surface of the wing, but the next time you plow the
paint will slip right off and you will have a slick wing in no time flat, slick wing
surface flips dirt better in my opinion..

If you let them rust it takes a good while to get back that slick surface. For those of
us with small garden or food plots, you may never plow long enough to fully slick polish
the wings.

My dad would go off on you if you let his plow wings rust, learned that lesson, many
years ago.
 
Actually if you have plow hooked up corectly you will NOT be fighting that steering wheel from pulling to side with wider wheel treads.
 

So where should my hitch be offset? If I think about it, wouldn't the plow want to have it's tail go left, due to the drag of the dirt pushing the moldboards back and to the left?

So that means I would need to counter the pushing left by setting the hitch at an equal pressure to the left of center to push the tail of the plow right, or back to on center?
 
You adjust for the tread width on the cross bar on front of plow, that is about all it does, what you are thinking about is done with angle of pull bar part of hitch and angle of brace part of hitch. That plow could also be adjusted for crawler type of tractor keeping both tracks on top of unworked ground and only the plow furrow wheel in the furrow. If you have an owners manual with a parts list in it then it will tell you how to do the hitching as it will have different parts for running on land like with thar crawler with part of it being a longer cross bar on the plow. Did you decide what size your plow is as that will also affect the location of the hitch. The 66" wheel tread width should be about 55" between tires or center of tractor to tire of 28" and that would be also the hitch point on plow from furrow wall with the angle of plow being taken care of by the angle brace on plow hitch. Have I confused you even more? Started plowing with that unstyled A in 57 the year Dad bought it and I just last week turned 72. We kept the sane wheel tread on all tractors The 38A Traded on the 49B, 41 Farmall H, 46 John Deere B, 49 John Deere B and 51 John Deere A so could hook to any of the plows with any of the tractors without chainging hitches around.
 
(quoted from post at 13:50:36 09/17/15)
So where should my hitch be offset? If I think about it, wouldn't the plow want to have it's tail go left, due to the drag of the dirt pushing the moldboards back and to the left?

So that means I would need to counter the pushing left by setting the hitch at an equal pressure to the left of center to push the tail of the plow right, or back to on center?

Yes and no. The soil forces do push the plow to the left but the landsides and tail wheel support the plow. If the plow is not running straight (more than likely off to the left) you need to correct worn landsides or adjust the tail wheel properly or it may be due to underlying problems such as worn shares not keeping the plow in the ground or an incorrect vertical hitch adjustment. You will never get the plow to pull straight by changing the horizontal hitch adjustment.

I run a 2-12" and 2-14" behind my A John Deere and I think I have my rear wheels set at 46"-48" inside to inside (I don't remember for sure). It's a hair too wide for plowing contest purposes but that's what I needed for the fenders to fit. I would like to be at 42-44 inches. That would put the wheel mark in the right spot for the finish when using a 12 inch plow.

Follow the link below to a diagram I made showing how to set-up a narrow plow behind a wide tractor. It is possible. When manuals explain how to "divide the side draft" they are really talking about getting Point A, the tractor's dynamic center of gravity, and Point B, the tractor clevis, and Point C, the center of load on the plow all lined up. Hopefully you can picture in the right two examples how they could cause the front of the tractor to pull to one side or another. Recognizing that and knowing which direction to move the hitch in the field is key.

https://photos.yesterdaystractors.c...eter=plow hitch&w=iphotos&cc=3&s=

I find it funny how guys with heavy soil (probably from Ohio) say, oh don't bother cleaning the rust off, just go plow. But here in SD you need all the help you can get to start scouring. Get the rust off with a wire wheel or flap discs. Once the rust is off there will still be some black oxidation that needs to come off before you see good metal. They only way I have found is to hand-sand in the direction the soil flows because then your sandpaper is getting into the soil scratches already in the moldboard. Sanding against that direction doesn't seem to clean up as fast.

Your master lever, or land lever, sets the depth of the plow. Then you use the furrow lever to level the plow and to throw uniform furrow slices. I would suggest 5-6 inches for your 12 inch plow. Depth half the width of cut is a good suggestion but I think things can work even better on the shallow side of that.
 

Drawbar must remain pretty much Centered on the tractor...

Not more than 1/2 plowing slice Deep...

NOW, to really get the rust off, you need to use a 4 or 4 1/2" Angle Grinder, with a THIN Cut-off disc (wear safety glass end a Mask)...
Hold the Disc at about a 30 Degree angle to the steel and move it (with the grinder running) like it were a putty knife...

It WILL remove only the rust and leave a nice smooth (Black oxide) surface that will scour immediately..

Easiest and BEST way to clean up wearing surfaces you will find...

I always rub used oil (thin coat) on my plows, then spray on a good coat of Cheap Enamel paint, to hold the oil in place..

Or, smear on a good coat of gun grease..

Ron..
 
I didn't read all of the comments.
Take a 2X4 that is straight, and lay it tight on the ground against your right rear wheel. It should likely be around 8ft long. Have your plow hitched to the A and in as straight a line as you can get it with the A. The board will tell you IF the plow is hitched right. The inner side of the plows right wheel SHOULD be against the right wheel same as the As right tire is. The plow should be centered on the drawbar.
IF this is not so, then you will have to make adjustments, either in the As R rear wheel, sliding it in or out, and/or even turning it around and sliding it in or out, as the wheels should be somewhat offset between tire and hub. I don't remember. Dad had a 37 A I learned to start at age 12 and have plowed some on /with it. We had a 2 14 Moline plow.
How to tell what size plow you have. Measure the distance between the tip back end of the front share, with the tip front of the back share, and that will tell you what the distance is.
 
I am from Ohio and have the heavy clay and you need to clean those moldboards up good and shiny before trying to plow. Always stored plows inside and would grease up all the time. Got onto using the cheapest can of spray paint could find even at end of day, the next time a hundred feet or so that paint was off and shiny. Haven't plowed for several years as no ground to plow.
 
Thanks everyone for the help. Some good info that I will definitely try and apply. It has been raining back home so who knows if we can plow this weekend or not. But, maybe later and that will give me time to setup.

Robert
 

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