Two Bottom Plow Question?

The guy I bought my first two Ns from gave me an old 2 bottom plow. I've used it for years now and it turns dirt over. It doesn't have coulters or rear wheels. Having never used a so called good plow, how much difference does that make? Looking at one on CL. Seems a little pricey to me. But a good one? Is it worth the money? What does that rear wheel do? Wish I could include a picture of my plow. But I'm out on the road now. My old plow would bring in $100 or maybe $150 tops.
Heavy Duty 3 point 2 bottom disc

It would depend somewhat on what you are plowing under. If it is sod then the coulters are a big help. The rear wheel i think helps to keep and even depth. I think if you used the one with the coulters and wheel you will like it a lot better. But the type of soil you have will make a big difference in my opinion! You can always offer him less! may get it a lot cheaper if he really wants to sell.

FD your prospective plow appears to have the same shares as the Prior Model which doesn't have readily available replacement parts. With that in mind, the price seems a little high.

The purpose of the rolling landside is to carry the rear of the plow while reducing drag and keep the plow straight by running against the furrow wall.

If the plow you have is working then leave that one for someone else. Look for a Dearborn 10-1 (economy) or Ford 101. The wear parts - shares, shins and moldboards - are still available and not expensive. The older dearborn and ferguson plows most of the wear parts are NLA and folks looking for them are SOL.
Also make sure you get the right size plow. IIRC you have larger tractors than an N so can pull 2-14s or even 2-16s.
I would gladly pay $400 for a good 101 and might for an extra nice 10-1 but would not pay that much for that one.
The tail wheel keeps the plow going straight and not crabbing.
Coulters cut the furrow off and help the moldboard turn it over cleanly. Very important in sod but less important in soil that has been turned frequently.
I don't know what his deal is with the heavy duty stuff. That plow is a typical Ferguson AO or early Dearborn job.

I borrowed my neighbors Ford 101 plow,
it was a 3x14" plow with the center plow taken off, it did a great job.

so, if you do not find a good 2x14" or harder to find 2x16" plow, you might consider buying a 3 plow unit and removing the center plow.

I also use an old disc plow from time to time.
they will plow in most any ground and back up from nothing. They do leave the ground a bit rougher, but you are going to work it down anyway.

International (IH) plows are very good plows, but finding a small 2x14" plow maybe difficult.

no matter what plow you buy, if the points are worn out, it will not go in the ground.
reason that some others said "you must be able to buy replacement parts for your plow or all you will have is a yard decoration".

good hunting,
this is the time of the year to look for and buy plows, spring time the price will sky rocket.

the metal scrap yards are taking in this old small farm equipment every day, so the inventory is slowly going away.

In really hard ground the coulters will keep the plow from taking the ground.

The tail wheel is not necessary at all. It is only good on a disc turning plow.

The rear plow on a flat bottom plow will have a longer land slide (side) and that is what keeps it from turning the tractor sideways.

Yes you should use the stabilizer bars. This is mainly to prevent the implement from swinging and banging around when it is raised up as when turning around or transporting it.

Plowing with an 8N Ford tractor Posted by ZANE on January 01, 1999 at 06:48:44:
In Reply to: plowing with an 8n posted by john alexander on December 31, 1998 at 20:00:53:
Attach the plow to the 3 point hitch. Drive the tractor's left rear wheel up on a 6 inch block. use the right hand leveling crank and the top link screw adjustment to level the plow share and the land slide with the ground. Do this on a good level spot or on a level slab of concrete. Pull a string from the back of the land slide to the front of the tractor or farther out in front of the tractor and make a straight line beside the land slide to the front of the tractor. The line should angle slightly to the right front wheel of the tractor about 6 inches more than the left. This is to assure that the plow doesn't try to turn the tractor right when the plow comes in contact with the earth. Think of the plow acting as a rudder would on a boat. The way to adjust the angle of the landslide to the left is to loosen the bolts that hold the drawbar that goes across the plow and attaches to the two lower links and twist it in it's cradle untill the plow is pointing in the right direction.(string pointing to the right at the front of tractor) The plow will have to be raised to let it more easily be moved. Some plows have adjusting bolts that help in turning the plow and in securing it in position. This is just a preliminary adjustment and when in the field it may be necessary to tilt the plow slightly forward by shortening the top link etc. Good luck and let me know how you do. Zane.



To prevent the plow from trying to turn the tractor you need to adjust the draw bar. Think of the plow as the rudder on a boat. If you want the boat to turn left you turn the rudder left. The same is true of the plow. The drawbar has an offset on the right side with the offset turned down. To turn the plow as a rudder to the left to make the tractor stop turning right when the plow is engaged, loosen the bolt that secure the drawbar to the plow. Turn the drawbar counterclockwise looking at the right end(offset).in order to make the tail of the plow turn to the left. It only takes little to turn the plow tail a lot but do it so that the tail of the plow is moved about 6" to the left. Retighten the bolts that secure the drawbar to the plow.
Put the little lever that is under the seat in the down (draft control position) Move the lift lever till the plow drops to the ground. Advance the tractor and gradually move the lever more down till the plow is at the depth you wish to plow and then set the lever at this point with the stop to make it stay there.

The little lever under the seat is the mode selector lever. It is in position mode when up and in draft when it is down. Position lets you hold the lift arms at a given or selected height.

Draft control allows you to have the ground engaging implement (plow etc) to automatically raise or lower itself according to the texture or hardness of the ground it is engaging. If you want the plow to go deeper you gradually move the touch control handle down just a little and then set the quadrant stop so that the touch control handle will not go down any farther than it is set. This will allow you to return to the same load on the tractor when the plow is raised to turn around etc. Draft control was the brain child of Harry Ferguson back in the mid thirties and his invention is still used today on every modern farm tractor the world over.

Draft is the amount of pull an implement has on the tractor or the depth of the implement. The draft of a boat is how deep the bottom goes in the water.

If when you try to use the draft mode on the tractor and it will not raise the implement when the touch control handle is raised all the way then the lift is in need of repair and or adjustment. Also if the lift will not hold the implement at a selected height it is in need of repair and or adjustment.

I sell a jig and instruction booklet with illustrations that is for adjusting the lift on the 8N tractor.

A flat bottom plow should be set so that when the plow opens the furrow the bottom of the furrow will be flat. Hence, flat bottom plow" ! If the plow will not go in the ground with the plow set flat, get new plow points.
When using a 14" flat bottom plow the distance from the inside edge of the right rear wheel should be 14" from the most forward point of the first plow. Or 14" from the landside of the first plow to the inside of the RR tire.
The tires of the tractor should have water in them or either wheel weights or both.

Zane

If that plow was in my area, I would buy it.

Mr. Duddy, I have a plow zackly like that one. I paid $200 for it 7-8 years ago. It works real well. I did end up taking the coulters off it as I was plowing sod/blackberries and the plow kept loading up with trash between the coulters and share.

It looks like a nice, serviceable early Fergy/Dearborn for occasional use, but is not a good plow for long-term use considering the difficulty with parts.

If you can get him to $275, then maybe it's worth it - depending on how much plowing you plan to do. It'll certainly turn your food plot or garden and make you and your N happy while doing it.

Colin, MN

400 is a little high. it would bring 275 tops here in nebraska.