Farmall sweeps

BT73000

Member
I'm looking for information on my Farmall tractors regarding cultivator sweeps. What width and degree sweep was most commonly used with the Farmall A and Super A belly cultivator? I have 2 inch wide plow points on my belly cults now, but I think they need to be wider, like 6 to 8 inches maybe. I am cultivating garden crops like corn and beans in north central NC. Any ideas? Thanks
 
You got the right idea getting away from those plow points. I like to run 8" sweeps, with 4 shanks per row in 30" rows. Check the prices of full sweeps and half sweeps. Sometimes the full sweeps are cheaper for some reason, then you can save a couple bucks by making your own half sweeps as required. Just burn one wing off with a torch.
 
What you have now are for hard crusted soil that you can hardly stick a shovel in. Aweeps are for ground that is easy to get a shovel in and they will get rid of the weeds the others will not get. If you have the hard cruisting soil use what is on now ans follow up with the sweeps. Never was angle specified on row crop sweeps, just field cultivator sweeps that will not fit on inplace of a row crop sweep. For a full sweep it was a 6" beside the row and then the 8" half sweep came out and 6" went away. then 8" middle row with either 8 or 10" being the one in back row. The shanks are adjustable for different penetration. But you set a sweep to much on its nose the wings will not get under soil surface. The wider the worse that is.
 
Thanks for the info! I?m 37, so most of the farmalls that we?re used in tobacco around here had all been replaced by two row rolling cultivator equipment by the time I was old enough to start paying attention to how cultivating was done. I got a set of rolling cultivators for my super A this year, but haven?t tried them yet. I also have a 1942 hand lift A that I use the belly shanks on. I think I will get me some 8? sweeps for it and try it out. They should work good. My soil does crust on top after a rain, but after you break that, it?s pretty loose. Thanks again for your help.
 
I am 1 year past double your age so I have seen a bit more. Farmalls of your type were not used here in this part of Ohio. When farmers went from 1 row horse drawn cultivators they all went to the 2 row tractor cultivators. I know we did a few times have to use a duckfoot type of point on the rear mount Ford cultivators in this hard crusting clay soil. Rolling cultivators were not used in this area. But from what I have read if the weeds get more than a couple of inches tall they do nothing but plug and wrap up those cultivators. The 8" sweep is the way to go, half sweep on each side of row, full sweep more likely to cocer or dammage small plants and set as flat as they will go in the ground. I cannot tell you on the Farmall cultivators to do the tilt adjustment as all I have had were Ford or John Deere cultivators. You may or may not have a spring trip safty on your shanks incase you hit a rock or root. If you do have then the trip forse is adjustable and tilt is in same parts on the Ford or JD units. But then you may have a spring shank like a spring tooth harrow or field cultivator like one Ford I had. To get correct tilt there was a small cast block that was used with the sweep to get correct angle but not used with your type of point so if you have that type of shank you might be missing a piece for each sweep to work, If it is you can just substitute a few flat washers on top bolt to get tilt you need or want, no other tilt adjustment on those. I think Agri Supply will have what you want and be cheapest place to get. Post what you come up with.
 
I ended up getting the 8" row crop sweeps from Agrisupply for around $7 each. I cut the inside wing off of the front ones to make them half sweeps. Still need to work on the angle adjustments but they seem to work great as is. I used them the other day a couple of days after a rain and they did a fine job. The ground looks like a tiller was used on it. I'm pretty impressed. Thanks for all the help!
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