implements for Ford 8n (1949)

We have a 1949 Ford 8n w/ Sherman step up. engine rebuilt 5 years ago. We are a small vegetable/poultry operation and this size tractor is perfect for us. But, we have a problem. We have the tractor, but no implements.

In particular, we'd like to use the 8n to break up hardpan, do the initial cultivation/incorporation of cover crops/weeds before we make seed beds AND possibly use it to make raised seedbeds.

I'd like to hear some suggestions regarding each of these jobs. I have some ideas, but would rather see what people suggest since I am aware many others have much more experience in this than I.

Rob
Genuine Faux Farm
Iowa

I sell veggies at the Ashland VA Farmers Market on Saturdays, May to Oct. Everything that's done around here (w/ one exception) is done w/ a 8N. The exception is the new MF that I got because the wife can drive it & the trip bucket on my 51 8N is a PITA.

So, yes, you can do all of what you want to do w/ an N, except breaking up the hard pan. I've got real sandy soil here & it's all my best N can do to pull a single shank chisel plow. So, get a farmer neighbor to break up the hardpan & then use the N for everything else.

I use a single bottom plow, 5 1/2' disc, single row cultivator, lister, home made plastic mulch dispenser, single row Cole planter, single shank chisel plow, bush hog & spike tooth harrow for all of my garden work. Another 8N cuts grass w/ a finishing mower. That's because I believe a man should never have to change implements: just change tractors!



50 Tips

Thanks for the reply. Love the pictures. I can envision ours in use with this as a helper.

We have loamy soil here.
re: hardpan - we're mostly concerned with a developing shallow hardpan from our tiller. We have nothing to work our soil that is any bigger than a JD235 with rototiller right now. The 8n should be able to break into that with a chisel. But, I suspect I won't get the full benefits unless I get someone else to break it up deeper than that.

Out of curiosity, how deep with the single shank on the chisel? Shouldn't 20 HP be able to handle a single shank? I'm not really doubting you since you use the 8n in your operation, I'm just trying to get a handle on everything. what I've heard is the following:
8" chisel is 10HP/shank
12" chisel is 15HP/shank
Ford 8n is 20+ HP (23 advertised I think?)

And I dislike having the wrong information.

I'd say it's about 18".

Those are reasonable numbers, but once the ground gets hard w/o rain in 2 - 3 weeks, the N won't pull it. And, for that matter, neither did the new 32hp MF. After this rain we're getting now, it will work just fine.

Again, my thanks. I feel a little more like I *almost* know what I am doing. But, that's normal when you move to a new thing.

Anything I should know about a bucket if I acquire one? Ok to leave it on when I have something on the back, or better to have it off the tractor?

I will be ordering manuals, etc as well. Lots of light reading for bedtime.

And another (sorry to ask so much). Ever use either moldboard or disc gangs as a 'bed shaper' (thinking 4-6" deep beds). We have had torrential rains each of the last few years and I've got to do something to get the plants up a bit more. It looks to me like you hill up a bit for your plastic application. One alternative, as I see it, is to run the disc gang one direction to throw dirt one way, then come back down the field the other way (on the correct side) to make a hill?

Give me as much detail as you wish or are willing. Or tell me to go looking more, that's ok. Just grateful for any pointers so I don't spend all of my time fixing mistakes. Rather ask now than be sorry later.

Thanks also for the 50 tips, read them out and will print them out as well.

I plow with a 2 bottom plow and use a Deerborn cultivator with all shanks in place to break it up a bit. I stopped using a roto tiller a few years ago when I descovered that they create hardpan by the action of the tines at the bottom of the cut. It packs the dirt down. My garden is doing much better without the tiller. I also have a finish mower, post hole auger, back blade and two row planter that I cut down from an old JD 4 row that works great for corn, beans and peas. I'm going to play with the extra plates I now have to see what else I can plant form the seat.

Rick

Regarding a loader on an N........I've got 4 8N's; one trailer queen & 3 workers. One of the workers is a 1951 w/ a Freeman loader. If I could only own one N, it would not have a loader on it. The N doesn't have PS, so a loader makes it very difficult to steer. (my wife can't drive it) Stopping it on a down slope w/ a full bucket is a real joy as well. Maneuvering around trees, etc, w/ that bucket out there isn't fun either. Some require you to chain the lift arms down to operate the loader. And, try a simple 5 minute repair job (points replacement) w/ some loaders attached & you will not be happy. Worst of all, the N wasn't designed to carry the weight of the loader & the load, so be prepared for split radius rods & worn out front end parts.

As an alternative, a rear scoop bucket on an N works very well.

There were at least 5 (& probably more) loaders built for N's; Wagner, Freeman, Dearborn, Davis & Sauder come to mind. Each has certain advantages over the other, (e.g., the Sauder does detach quicker) but all share the common disadvantages I mentioned above.

Regarding the rows & plastic.....I use a lister. Some folks call them 'hillers'. It's just two disc blades at opposing angles that turn up a row. My plastic dispenser knocks the crest off of the hill as the plastic plays out. The real farmers around here have one machine (and lots of Mexicans) that lists the row, lays irrigation tape, lays the plastic & then covers the edges. It's a one man show around here! Well, the wife does drive the tractor while we lay plastic. Once the row is listed, I pull the plastic off of the dispenser & she drives down the row. I hoe it up about every 10 feet to keep the wind from getting under it. Once all the plastic is down, I open the lister blades up & cover the edges.

I run a all purpose (AP) plow thru my garden at least two times a year,,, I break up a lot of gardens around here with a all purpose plow...

If I could only have one implement a all purpose plow would be it...

http://www.theviperr.info/hobo_dnn/Default.aspx?tabid=121

It takes quite a few passes to bury my seven shank AP with a N,,, I just keep at it till it goes in the ground 18" are start out with 3 shanks and add more as I go...

I also have turn'n plows and a disc but always hit it with the AP...

I have bigger tractors now so don't waist my time with a N other than I like to use my bottom plows with a N,,, for the rest a farmall off set can not be beat...

Good post Bruce.
[i:654c4848f0]If I could only own one N, it would not have a loader on it.[/i:654c4848f0]
Agree completely.
[i:654c4848f0]As an alternative, a rear scoop bucket on an N works very well.[/i:654c4848f0]
That and a cheap boom pole will get you by for most of the tasks you want a loader for.

Bruce gave you some great advice!

We used a walk behind Troybilt Pony, preceded by a Mainline for 23 years before getting our 8N. Our loamy clay definitely had hardpan, and a "digger" (the 13-2 Dearborn cultivator) did wonders to break that hardpan up. After a couple of passes, you can bury the shanks a good 6-7" into the ground.

I don"t have as many implements as Bruce does, but my family has a similar market garden operation and do quite well with a cultivator, a 8 1/2 disc, a two bottom plow, and a bush hog.

Good luck!
Colin, MN

Fabulous input! Keep it coming!

It helps to see what everyone is doing. Each person throws in a new tidbit that can be extremely helpful.

So, Rick, if you drop the rototiller from the tool list, what do you do to create a seedbed for finer seeds (carrots, etc)?

And the photo of the cut down seeder is excellent. I wouldn't have been able to picture this one without the photo.

Rob

I wondered about that (re: problems with a bucket on this thing).

So, with a rear bucket, can I turn compost piles reasonably easily? We're not talking huge piles - but they're bigger than I want to turn by hand. I suppose even a blade to push it around might work.

I'd be happy to hear thoughts on this as well.

You guys are helping so much, I just can't stop asking!

Colin,
My thanks! We now farm/garden 5 acres each season. Once we got to 1.5 acres we began to realize the walk-behind tiller wasn't going to cut it! Since we had a lawn tractor, we got a tiller attach for it. Was a good investment for us at the time, but this years early rains (continuous) illustrated that we can't get the field prep done fast enough if the window to work the soil is as short as it was this season.

With your Dearborn cultivator, do you put any weight on it, or just let its own weight (and more than one pass) do the trick?

Rob

Once again, another excellent post. I took the link for the pics and they look helpful. I'll need to go somewhere where I can get more bandwidth. Our speed on the farm for Internet has much to be desired. I suspect I may have a follow up question once I see the pics better.

For us, the 8n was an opportunity we couldn't pass up. We could afford it, where similar newer tractors are only a pipe dream. The reading I'd done prior to the auction told me it was a popular tractor, reliable, sturdy and versatile. And, it was about the right size for our operation. Overall, it seems that the design of these tractors are a bit more friendly for learning. But, I suspect I'll get to practice my language skills a bit as I learn the ropes.

For fine seed beds, and clover type seeds in foodplots I use a cultipacker. I made a small one out of a piece of 16 inch culvert. I was planting the seeds too deep and a cultipacker just presses them into the soil which works great.

Rod we have sandy loam here. I plow, run through with the disk and then use the cultivator as a field digger.....kinda the old fashion way and then a drag. I've been doing some fall tillage this year for weed control. I've plowed 3 acres of very old sod. Ran the disk and cultivator twice and if you walk in it you sink 3-4 inches. That's a pretty good seed bed by anyones standards. You can still roto till at that point but need to run a plow or sub soiler ever year too.

Rick

Rob I'm also getting ready to buy a crawler loader for the farm. Just an old one kinda cheap for the loader work end of things. It will also allow me to clear fence lines and help keep the snow at bay (can be a problem here in MN). I plan on building a grapple fork for manure and a bale fork too. It's a gasser so winter starting should be ok. You can make/adapt many things to fit your needs like my planter. I paid 100 for it and have another 15 in it for the mods. I just got a old 2 wheel trailer ($50, add another 50 for lights and then 70 for life time registration)) to go behind my N to move small amounts of hay but it will also be used to move small equipment too. Yea I've got 2 bigger tractors here. The IH M sat for 9 months and didn't get started until I need to spread manure and a 1206 IH. So far thats the haybine tractor and runs the baler. Would love a skid steer but the crawler loader can do so much more.

Good Luck!

Rick

find you a couple of team breakingplows and make a three point hitch just like anyother you see around. make sure you measure the distance whitch is about 14inches between the plow points. get and old drag disch and do the same you can figure it out. set your front to cut and your back to smoth out. nothiung to it have done it several times works fine.

Two bottom plow, disc harrow , and spring tooth harrow.

If you can find the originals offered by Ford they will work great, and all are needed in loamy soil like mine.

A back blade and rear scoop bucket is also handy for the garden. Moving manure and such

the feedback has been great and I"ll continue to take it as it comes. Never will stop learning and expect I"ve got alot of learning to do.

Hi Rob,

What do you raise on your 5 acres?

The angle of the springs makes the cultivator want to dig in - when the ground is loose, it can actually dig so deep that it will bog the tractor down.

The cultivator does not work well when there is a lot of field trash. Discing first helps some.

Colin, MN