Little genius Plow

Had the opportunity the other day to do some plowing for a wild game plot. I used a Little genius plow behind a Ford 600. Tractor seemed to pull it alright with occasionally spinning out. After every round, the dirt was sticking to the mould boards, so I would have to scrape the dirt off. The was some surface rust on the mould boards, but they seemed to shine up after a couple passes. I put some waste oil on them to prevent rust while they sit in the barn. The area had about 8" of rain 3 weeks ago, so I'm thinking that the ground needed to be a bit dryer. Any words of wisdom on how to better use this plow would be great. I'm not very experienced with using a pull type of plow.

Just a thought a I am refinishing a companion to you plow a #8 C [Canadian] two furrow. After I clean and polish the mole boards I am going to spray them with clear coat since I wont be using the plow right away. I used to oil them but found that the oil didn't stay very long. IH used to cover them with a shellac substance in the plant[ at least that is what I have learned from research]
Wm.

My plows sit outside all the time and I used to cover them in grease. Grease would hold for about a year but if I didn't use the plow again next year they would start to rust. I went to spraying them with Rustoleum paint. I use what ever color I have kicking around and it works great. It takes a few passes to get the paint off but the dirt doesn't stick to the paint. It lasts for years if I don't use them. I will oil mine if they are sitting only a couple of weeks. It saves a lot of work by not letting those bottoms get rusted up again.

The same works for me as I use my plow that sits outside once a year. I tried grease but it wouldn't last. So I paint them with what left over paint is sitting around.

Just dont use primer, that sticks a little to good, is what i have found out !

When you ask how to use it better what is the issue you are having?

Have the plow level in all planes. That's a good start.

If you try to polish the soil contact areas there are right ways and wrong ways to get them shiny. The wrong way is to use indiscriminate motions with a brush or wheel. Leaving those wire brush scratches in the steel will cause some soils to stick like glue even though the metal is shiny. The soil flows, so the brush marks have to follow that same line. Scouring those wire brush scratch marks out with soil takes much more time than scouring the rust or paint off does. If you have access to a sandy beach or very sandy or pebbly soil (not rocky) that's a big plus and makes life easier. Plowing faster also helps scouring sometimes.

Use colters and set them correctly if going through virgin ground. Correctly on a Little Genius is about 1/8"-1/4" outside the landside. It should cut at least 2" deep but this is often determined by how hard the soil is. If the plow rides up on the colter blades the soil is too hard, sharp blades help. Trial and error. A colter blade is not absolutely necessary but it lets the plow pull easier by breaking the sod. It also makes for a nicer looking job.

Have the crazy wheel set right and at the depth you are plowing. This is a part of the leveling process. Determine how deep you will be plowing before dipping the shares into the soil. I have my own personal rule of thumb about depth of plowing...I consider half the width of a bottom to be the max depth I plow. I don't always plow that deep but that's up to you. I have 14" and 16" plows. So 7" and 8" would be the max depth of my plowing. Normally I only go about 6" YMMV.

Technically I suppose I could take the 16" down to maybe 11" or more deep- but why? More soil turned means bigger chances of clogging, harder pulling, more fuel consumption, and broken parts which are already getting harder to source for these old things. Not to mention finding more rocks and other things that should best remain buried.

My way is not necessarily the common way or accepted way. But it works for me. I can plow at about 4mph with my Little Genius plows. Horses worked at about 2-1/2 to 3mph in easy soil so a little faster is better.