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Implement Alley Discussion Forum

field cultivator

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MikeinKy

12-02-2007 15:55:45




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I recently purchased an old John deere field cultivator to use before I sow hay and it needs new shovels. It now has narrow straight shovels. should I replace with those or put on wing shovels like on a row crop cultivator. I have farmed most of my life, but in thus area we didn't use field cultivators.




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Up North Louie

12-06-2007 16:32:47




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 Re: field cultivator in reply to georgeky, 12-02-2007 15:55:45  
Mike:

Our land is lots of clay and lots of rock. It is difficult and risky to work it with a moldboard plow-- a few years back, my brother got hung up on a large rock, and before he had time to react, it yanked the bottom out of a 560 Farmall. That was an ugly scene on many levels.
We use the quack drag that has been mentioned., 10 feet with 3 gangs- 6, 5, and 6, I believe. It has the double ended 2" spear points described so well above. I think ours might have been built by Brillion Iron Works. We first disk it deep, then go over it in several directions with the quacker, and then we disk again to smooth it out. We then seed with a Brillion cultipacker/seeder and it works well for us.

If there are heavy clods, we drag it with a couple bedsprings, too, chained behind the disk. I would like to have a spike-toothed harrow as well, but I haven't been able to find an affordable used one. I have wondered about using the duck foot points. They are about $8 each as opposed to $3 for the spear points, but I have hesitated for fear of damaging something.

Good luck, Louie

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Leroy

12-04-2007 06:08:17




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 Re: field cultivator in reply to MikeinKy, 12-02-2007 15:55:45  
Tried responding yesterday but computor would not work. It does sound like one of the CC seris field cultivators. The "CC" was the first model avaible only with rope clutch lift and steel wheels with optional horse toung. The next was the "CC-147" series that was avaible with either a 6 lug rubber tire wheel or steel wheels and with either the rope clutch or hydrolics. The latest version was the "CC-A" and I think only on 4 lug rubber and with either lift. They were made from the early 30's to late 60's and in sizes from 6 1/2' to 14' with the most popular size around here an 8' with 6 shovels in the front row and 5 shovels on each the middle and back rows and with a 6" spring shank spacing. They did make a stiff shank version as well and a version with 2 rows of shovels in both a 6" & 9" shank spacing. The spearpoint or duckfoot shovels as you say are on it are for use on hard untilled ground where you should actually use a disk first. The sweeps are the general purpose shovel that in mellow or worked ground will take out the weeds that are there that the narrow point will not. For a 6" spacing Deere calls for a 9" sweep but they are not the same bolt hole spacing that all newer field cultivators use so you will have to hunt. The spear point you have now likely have one hole to set the location and then a slot for the other bolt so they will fit a lot of applications, have never seen a sweep with this feature. Probably put on because the sweeps could not be found. And as far as being called a quack digger if you asked Deere for somthing for a quack digger they would not know what you were talking about as Deere called them a field cultivator. And as for quack grass there is a lot of that in this area and even though they had a special 1" wide tooth for that they were never found around here or used for that. There was also a special tooth made for the spring tooth harrows for that as well but have only seen pictures of them. And they will level a field a lot better than a disc as the disc will not get rid af such things as the dead furrows or the head lands ridge that a field cultivator will, the field cultivator will leave a slight grove between each shovel on the back row but for that and at anytine except for fall tillage that is to lay to spring (TO colect and hold the rain) you should be pulling a spike tooth harrow behind and that makes an ideal seedbed. If the land is just a bit too clody for planting but the weeds are gone then hook a spring tooth harrow between the field cultivator and spike tooth harrow and you will have the smoothest possible field. I had all these for different conditions, rigid disc harrow, flexible disc harrow, field cultivators, spring tooth harrows, cultimulchers, cultipackers, & spike tooth harrows and used them all in different combinations for different conditions, every item does a slightly different job, also had both boldboard and chissel plows. Now retired from farming and on SS. And any more questions just ask me, I have 5 of the "CC series" setting here now. And this is in northwest Ohio. Glaciated type soils that form a hard crust and need fall tillage. And they did also make a 3 point hitch version of the "CC series" as well. A couple of more things, the cultivators up untill the lalt CC-A units used a double 1/4" thick tooth that the helper spring was only half length, that that was replaced with a full length spring that the shovel also bolted to. Then the double tooth was discontinued and a single 3/8" tooth used and that tooth is the only replacement avaible.

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Leroy

12-04-2007 06:47:55




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 Re: field cultivator in reply to Leroy, 12-04-2007 06:08:17  
Wanted to ad. The spear point shovel will be straight on the sides at about 2" wide and probably reversable with a point on both ends altho I have seen some with only a point on one end. The duckfoot shovel is a large V type shovel with no straight sides and will be about 4" wide at the top and thesr will operate at bore of a right angle to the ground while a sweep will operate about flat with the ground. The duckfoot shovels were popular on row crop cultivators for use on hard crusted ground to break it up followed by the sweeps to get rid of the weeds

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LenND

12-04-2007 14:14:21




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 Re: field cultivator in reply to Leroy, 12-04-2007 06:47:55  
I have a 12' one and it is just hydraulic lift only, Pulled in fromt of the drill with spikes (double pointed) on makes a good seed bed. My friend has a 18 footer that I have gotten parts off of. Most of them around here are 8',10' or 12 feet. Not too many left anymore. I suppose mine is a CC-A?



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johns48jdb

12-03-2007 17:50:52




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 Re: field cultivator in reply to MikeinKy, 12-02-2007 15:55:45  
it want leave the ground smoother than a disk. if you want to really smooth the ground run a section harrow behind you disk or use a tractor powered roto tiller. with big acerage the use of a tiller is not the best thing in the world, but for small acreage and gardens there is no way better to prepare a seed bed.



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RayP(MI)

12-02-2007 17:30:16




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 Re: field cultivator in reply to MikeinKy, 12-02-2007 15:55:45  
If this is the tool I"m thinking it is, it is probably a trailer type... hydraulic or possibly rope lift. Composed of several gangs of blades, each gang had a spring loaded rod going up to the lift which was a shaft across the length of the top of the unit. Trying to remember, think there were four blades in each gang, staggered so sod and roots didn"t ball up underneath. We called them "quack diggers." They were used for digging up quack grass roots, bringing them to the otp of the soil, where they dried out and died. In operation, the result was much like a section drag. Pointed shovels were only slightly wider than the springteeth they were attached to.

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MikeinKy

12-02-2007 17:33:11




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 Re: field cultivator in reply to RayP(MI), 12-02-2007 17:30:16  
Yep that's it, just as you described



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JMS/.MN

12-03-2007 16:22:31




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 Re: field cultivator in reply to MikeinKy, 12-02-2007 17:33:11  
Probably a CC or CCA model?



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flying belgian

12-02-2007 17:23:50




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 Re: field cultivator in reply to MikeinKy, 12-02-2007 15:55:45  
Narrow straight shovels are called "spikes" wing shovels are called "sweeps" If your old field cultivator has 3 shovels on each gang you will have to continue running spikes as you will not have enough spring down pressure or weight to push sweeps into ground.



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B-maniac

12-02-2007 17:19:32




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 Re: field cultivator in reply to MikeinKy, 12-02-2007 15:55:45  
In the "day" we called them "sweeps'. Excellent for weed control in softer soils but not good for loosening up packed soil or clay.



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IaGary

12-02-2007 16:36:50




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 Re: field cultivator in reply to MikeinKy, 12-02-2007 15:55:45  
Your shovels should be wider than your spacings.

If the shovels are spaced 6" apart then use 8" shovels.

Winged shovels are fine.

Gary



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MikeinKy

12-02-2007 17:22:05




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 Re: field cultivator in reply to IaGary, 12-02-2007 16:36:50  
Thanks Gary. I thought a field cultivator might leave the field smoother than a disc. I am in north central Ky, and we didn't have field cultivators around here when I grew up. I'm not much younger than your buddy Allan.



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55 50

12-05-2007 09:02:40




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 Re: field cultivator in reply to MikeinKy, 12-02-2007 17:22:05  
The field cultivator will not leave a field smoother than a disk, unless you pull a harrow behind the cultivator, and that would be in loose soil. Also the size of shovel has little to do with the shank spacing. Style and width of shovel has much more to do with what type of soil are you working in, how much power you have to pull the machine, what result are you looking for, how shallow or deep you want to go, whether it's old unplowed ground or working after a plowing, Etc, Etc. There's not just one simple answer!!

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LenND

12-05-2007 19:26:36




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 Re: field cultivator in reply to 55 50, 12-05-2007 09:02:40  
I pulled it in front of a 12' JD rill so the drill disks ran in the furrow left by the spike and worked fairly good. The only problem with it you couldn't use it when there was a lot of loose material on the ground-plugged real easy. Yeah, a disc worked alot nicer but some of my soil was a little light and a disc dried it out too much sometimes.



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