Dearborn Single Action Disc Harrow

Doing some work on a buddys tractor, and the other day when I was there, I noticed this harrow sitting in the weeds, it is pretty well hidden!! He isn't a farmer at all, just has a MM tractor that he uses for this and that. He told me that he bought a 8N at one time, and this disc came with it. He says that he has never used it.

I googled it, and I think it is a 8 or 10 foot model, I THINK it is a Dearborn (or Ferguson possibly?).

Was wondering what it is worth? I have never seen one like it around here, and I would kind of like it just to restore and show with the tractors. Maybe even use it a little behind the 2N or something?! Looked like it was in pretty decent shape, other than a disc having a small chunk broken out of it, but, I know a guy that can fix that...

I offered to do the work on the tractor for free, but he is insisting on paying me something, so, I charged him my normal rate, of $25 an hour for work. I am probably going to have 3 hours in on it, $75. I think that is too much for the disc, but maybe just right for this particular trade??? (wink wink)

What do you guys think the actual value is? Thanks!! Bryce

We can't identify anything unless we see pictures -can you post? Email me them if not and I will post...

Tim *PloughNman* Daley(MI)

Howdy Bryce,
They're not as handy as a 4 gang disc because they're so wide. But they are still handy to have around if you don't have to transport them far.
The big thing on those older discs is check the bearings - sometimes called boxings.
Bring a chunk of wood and a 2x6 board about 8' long with you. Use the chunk of wood as a fulcrum and the 2x6 to lift on the frame of the machine.
Do this above each of the bearings and look closely for looseness/slop in the bearing.
Many of these old discs are completely worn out there and new bearings for them with 7/8" shaft are made of unobtainium.
If the bearings check out OK (less than 1/4" vertical movement) then $75 would be a great price to pay as it is a somewhat collectable disc.

I have a pail full of unobtainium, hard wood bearings for a disc.

http://www.link_disallowed/manuals/implements/harrows/Dearborn%2011-1,%2011-2,%2011-3%20Single%20Disc%20Harrow%20Assembly%20and%20Operating%20Instructions%20(1948).pdf

picture of one if you can open it.

the ford tractor site N ford tractors has a great site with all kinds of ford and ford Ferguson equipment.
however, they will not let you copy the links.

hey I took a stab at it for you.
go to their site and look up your single gang disc might can use some of these numbers but you do see the disallowed so you can not open it in any other site or copy them.

disc looks great, I would get it if I could, you for sure will not meet yourself coming down the road, because not many folks out there that have one.
it looked about 8 or 9ft wide.

would be a good conversation piece at a farm show.

Where were you when I needed them 13 years ago?
I spent a couple of months looking for those wooden bearings for an old disc that was worn out.
Ultimately I modified things so I could use 1 1/8" bearings and replaced all 8 of them.
Was a lot of monkeying around but I did save the disc. I sold that disc a few years later. The buyer will probably never have to touch the bearings again - other than grease them. But if he ever does replacements will be an off the shelf item.

(quoted from post at 09:52:23 02/15/16) Where were you when I needed them 13 years ago?
I spent a couple of months looking for those wooden bearings for an old disc that was worn out.
Ultimately I modified things so I could use 1 1/8" bearings and replaced all 8 of them.
Was a lot of monkeying around but I did save the disc. I sold that disc a few years later. The buyer will probably never have to touch the bearings again - other than grease them. But if he ever does replacements will be an off the shelf item.

Click to expand...

The original style wood bearings are now available from Woodex:

[u:07351f1256]Dearborn/Ferguson Disc Harrow Bearings[/u:07351f1256]

TOH

Son-in-law made these wooden bearings for my Ferguson Rotary Hoe.

I knew I had seen pictures of old Ford/Ferguson single gang 3pt disc harrows, but I could not find any pictures that I could post.
found these this morning,

if the disc is the 12ft wide Dearborn 11-1, might be a problem transporting it to a show
however, the small Dearborn 11-36 would be perfect, would sure be a novelty.

The disc in the second photo is a Dearborn Bush and Bog Harrow.
They are pretty agressive for ag work but work good for keeping trails and firelines clear. The pans on it are about 20" in dia. and real heavy.
I used to have one but let it go when I went all Blue.
It is laying on it's face in the photo.

The first picture is an exact match to it, and the tag today says 11-1 on it, but it only has 3 bearings/supports per gang, and is much narrower. Not in as good of shape as I had though. Looks to be all there, but, one of the main gangs is bent, and I don't think it is fixable. Half of the discs are notched ones, and half are regular ones!!!

I think I can get it for $20, and will still try to get it. Would still like to fix it up, and paint it, and show it at the fair and what not.

Anyone know if they were Red or Grey? I think I would like to paint it Ford Red, just so that it would look right behind either the Ford 2N OR the Ferguson TO-30, as they are both slightly different greys!!!

Bryce,
The picture of the disc on the N site (that you can not open) shows the disc painted red mounted behind a 8N Ford tractor

Excelent! I googled the disc, and found an Ad for one on Ebay, showed the same thing. Did they make a narrow version, or do you think this one has been cut down?

Would you have any for an old, early 40's Dunham drag type disk?

Bryce, you have found a tag for model so does it say Dearborn, if so it would have been red, if it says Ferguson then it would have been grey. Now if it says Ford then also red as for later Ford blue implements they went to a different type of numbering situations. With that type of disk you half laped on every pass to get full and level covering but on the very first pass at edge of field you could not get the half lap on it so that is why so many fence rows are a high bank as it would only throw the soil towards the fence and you could not pull it back as with a tandem disk. Most places never used a single disk because of that build up fence row problem. They were popular only with the horse drawn disks and that was due to the fact that a team could pull a single disk, it took two teams for a tandem and a lot of the farmers at that time did not have 4 horses. A team is 2 horses. And I am suprised if they did not make at least 2 different widths.

I looked up the disc on the n tractor site
all widths are 10ft wide, but the difference is a 11-1 has 16" disc blades, a 11-2 has 18" disc blades and a 11-3 has 20" disc blades.

all were 10ft wide.
no smaller ones.

note to file: the disc in the picture behind the Ferguson TO35 tractor may have been a Ferguson version of the disc, so it may have been built different.