two bottom plow identification

I picked up a plow at an estate sale last week and am wanting to know what kind it is. Where do I find the information? Also...wondering on the hitch style. It has a sort of hook style tongue hitch that apparantly designed to pop free if a large rock is struck with the plow. I am wanting to try it out but do not know the proper way to hook this up to the tractor correctly.

You wll need a loop-style clevis to hook it up. A picture would help for ID. Look for any casting numbers or stamped logos.

Picture?

Description - does it have a lever on the right, a crank on the left? Steel wheels, rubber wheels? Trip lever with a rope on a gearcase, or open gears?

--->Paul

I can get a picture today...it has rubber wheels, the levers for adjusting plow depth are two long handles facing front of plow. trip rope goes to a handle on the right side as you face the front of the plow. I would say it must be gear box you mentioned as I see no open gears. It has small patches of light blueish paint on it so I suspect a faded John Deere? Picked it up for $50.00 at an state sale and am plannin on using it to plow up an acre for our family garden. Who made it does'nt really matter to me that much other than I just am curious.

All sounds like McCormick. That is the way the hitch on the No. 8 (Little Genious) worked just by dropping into a clevice and the No. 8 would have 3 wheels carrying it when out of ground. Was avaible in 2 up to 5 bottoms. And they were blue and red. Newer and bigger McCormick I do not know about. and if that hitch is the same for the No. 3 & 4 Little Wonder that is carried on only 2 wheels and was avaible only as a 1 bottom or 2 bottom I do not know about.

What Mark-Ia calls a "loop style" were also called a "twisted clevis"; the clevis is attached to the tractor drawbar with a hitch pin, then the clevis turns 90 degrees so it is horizontal, then you just drop the "jaw" of the hitch into that horizontal loop.

That clevis is for trailer plows that have the rear wheel on the ground at all times. The older plows have the whole rear end of the plow raise up, even the rear wheel is in the air when not plowing. Those hitches often need a different clevis.

As for that trip rope; DO NOT tie it securely to the tractor seat with a stout rope, use some twine or rope just strong enough to trip the plow. If you hit a rock or root, you want the rope to break off because that spring hitch will allow the plow to stop right now to save damaging the moldboard while your tractor is still powering forward....trust me on this!

Best is to tie on with a homemade wire clip that will give way easily. Just give the rope a quick jerk to raise or lower the plow....don't pull and hold it as then the plow just keeps going up and down. All this has to be done while the plow is moving foreard.

LA in WI

IF you know nothing much about the plow, How do you know if yo have tractor enough to pull it??

To set the plow right. hitch it in the center of your swinging drawbar in a straight line with the tractor. Lay a 10ft or longer board against the INSIDE of the furrow wheel up and under the tractor. IF your R Rear wheel DOSENT butt up against that board with it laying against the front and back of the inside rim of the furrow, youll need to jack up the tractor and bring the wheel to meet that board.