I finally did it. I took the plunge and bought a plow. Based on some excellent advice I received on this board over the last month I bought a Ford 101 plow. I ended up with a model 10-342. From the parts book I got a three bottom 16� shear bolt plow. That�s the good news. Now the bad news. When I tried to mount the plow on my tractor today (Ford 860) I discovered that the cross shaft is for a Category 2 hitch. I NEVER LOOKED AT THE PIN SIZE! I need your advice on some of the potential fixes I�ve come up with. First I thought of trying to buy a Category I cross shaft. The New Holland dealer is closed for the weekend so I can�t call about availability of the part. My suspicion is that, even if it is available form New Holland or a bone yard the cost will be more than I can afford right now. The second option was to have the Category 2 pins cut off and a set of Category 1 pins welded on. I have a friend who welds for a living and is willing to do the job at a nominal cost. But I�m not sure if the welded pins will be strong enough. The third option is to see if there is some way I can grind down the Category 2 pins to a shape that will fit in my Category 1 hitch. I suspect the end result won�t be pretty but with enough power tools and ignorance I think I can get an out of round shape that will fit in my hitch. I really don�t like any of my ideas. Seems like welding the Category 1 pins on would be the best action. However, since my lack of experience with farm work seems to hurt some I�d really appreciate any advice or suggestions youall have to offer. The only comfort I can take from this entire episode is that I seem to have gotten a really good solidly built plow in pretty good shape ( it even came with the lever width adjusting kit), and I can�t be the first rookie to buy a category 2 implement to hang on a category 1 hitch. Thanks in advance for any advice/suggestions you might have.
Dale-SWMI
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