Drawn/Trailing hitch plough question, why a clevis?

buickanddeere · May 17, 2013

Just located, purchased and returned to my Father. His 1958 JD model 555H 4x14" spring trip standard plough.
It"s been treated well and stored in a shed. Going over minor wear items but nothing broken.
After a little searching we found in a shed the original "Combination Steel Jointers" that had been removed from the plough in the early 1960"s when they kept dragging corn stalks.
3 of 4 of the D 659 A and B 528 A Jointer Clamps and Clamp Caps are missing but we will find something somewhere.
Anybody ever use the "Jointer" or "Skimmers" as they were called around here?
The plough hitch, I get as many different answers as people I ask. Why did drawn ploughs of the era hitch with a clevis that allowed 3-4" sway at the drawbar? Instead of a solid hitch like a wagon etc?

retired farmer · May 17, 2013

I think it had something to do with the way the hitch on the plow hooked to the tractor. The plow drawbar was designed to come apart if you hit a rock. Been a looong time since I was around one. Someone else might know a little more about it.

Nebraska Cowman · May 17, 2013

For one thing a plow needs to float and follow the ground. It does not need to be fastened so solid that it is fighting the tractor. The other thing that comes to mind is that most plows were equipped with a breakaway in the hitch. I guess the clevis seemed like the best way to make that work. You could back up and drop the hitch jaw back in the clevis (or loop bolted to the drawbar) without having to climb on and off the tractor.
I have a set of jointers on my Ferguson plow. What they do it to turn a small furrow just ahead of the main furrow so all the grass is buried. Any grass left uncovered will quickly start to regrow.

Dave Sherburne NY · May 17, 2013

This is a plow clevis picture posted just a couple of days ago

buickanddeere · May 17, 2013

Plough has the trip standards that unlock and rotate if there is a stone strike. Back the plough up and the tripped standard rocks back and locks into place.

fixerupper · May 17, 2013

In my narrow minded point of view, the clevis allows the plow more twisting type flexibility. I have the jointers for a two bottom #44 Deere plow that dad bought new. The jointers are hanging up in the machine shed but the brackets are gone. I've tried to Google pictures of a plow with the jointers installed must to give me an idea of what the brackets look like but I haven't found one that's clear enough yet. Jim

buickanddeere · May 17, 2013

The Jointer/Skimmer mounting arm is clamped into a saddle
bracket .
The saddle bracket bolts onto the two holes on the rolling
coulter frame that I always wondered what they were there for.
The saddle bracket"s top clamp has a protruding ridge cast
into it"s bore. The shank has a corresponding receiver groove .
The top cap clamp will rock on it"s axis depending on the bolt
lengths when tightened. As the cap rocks it swings the
skimmer/Jointer shank to adjust the blade"s position next to the
coulter.
The 70D standard that Dad had also bought new , traded
and then we located and restored. It has the Complete DA 898
A Landing Lever for side hills.
The landing lever requires swinging farther to make up for
the extra side travel the clevis allows.
Granted if on level ground and if the plough was properly
set. It should plough straight and level even if the drawbar was
replaced with a chain. With no side loading onto the tractor .

MSD · May 17, 2013

Back when I was young and on the farm we always used plows. I've seen them snag some pretty big rocks and the plow take a pretty good roll Would have been hard on it if it was hitched with a pin to the drawbar.

MPK · May 17, 2013

On these old plows there was no trip on the beams, so the clevis was used for the hitch to hook on to so it could break away when hitting a rock. I have plowed a lot of ground with these. I may still have one but not sure.

Anonymous-0 · May 17, 2013

(quoted from post at 13:10:50 05/17/13) Just located, purchased and returned to my Father. His 1958 JD model 555H 4x14" spring trip standard plough.
It"s been treated well and stored in a shed. Going over minor wear items but nothing broken.
After a little searching we found in a shed the original "Combination Steel Jointers" that had been removed from the plough in the early 1960"s when they kept dragging corn stalks.
3 of 4 of the D 659 A and B 528 A Jointer Clamps and Clamp Caps are missing but we will find something somewhere.
Anybody ever use the "Jointer" or "Skimmers" as they were called around here?
The plough hitch, I get as many different answers as people I ask. Why did drawn ploughs of the era hitch with a clevis that allowed 3-4" sway at the drawbar? Instead of a solid hitch like a wagon etc?

Primitive equipment, nowhere near the ingenuity or quality of the Ferguson System, not even worth discussing. :lol:

Paul from MI · May 17, 2013

Jointers were used to help cover trash/sod, but they are hard to keep adjusted relative to the rolling coulters, so most were bought as a good idea. Then they were hung up in the barn as a nuisance that didn't work, at least ours were. Clevises were used to make an easy connection to a trip mechanism in the event of hitting a rok, etc. Before trip mechanisms were perfected some plows used wooden shear pins instead. I guess the theory was the farmer could walk to a nearby woods and make a replacement with his pocketknife.

LA in WI · May 17, 2013

If plowing in cornstalks, do not use the jointers....they will constantly cause plugging.
They work well in sod.

Older trailer plows had solid moldboards, so the jaw type hitch was the only place that would let go if you hit a rock. When you hit that rock, you would hear a loud bang and suddenly your tractor had no load so it would increase speed. You stop the tractor, throttle down, and back up slowly to the plow, get off and hook it up again.
It was a simple invention and it worked very well. That is why you see a big spring on the hitches of trailer plows....that spring kept the proper tension on the jaw of the hitch, enabling you to plow until or if you hit a rock.

Old trailer plows are a wonderful performer if they are properly set.
LA in WI

RandyB(MI) · May 17, 2013

That is a " D 834 A " and came standard equip with the #4 , 4B , 4C , 4D , #52 and # 51 JD plows of the late '30,s - through '40,s. Where did you see it posted?

buickanddeere · May 19, 2013

Has spring reset bottoms/standards, not solid. No dingaling pop apart drawbar.

buickanddeere · May 19, 2013

Already said. It has spring reset bottoms/standards, not solid. No dingaling pop apart drawbar.

buickanddeere · May 19, 2013

Already said. It has spring reset bottoms/standards, not solid. No dingaling pop apart drawbar.

buickanddeere · May 19, 2013

Already said. It has spring reset bottoms/standards, not solid. No dingaling of a pop apart drawbar.

Tx Jim · May 19, 2013

(quoted from post at 06:05:26 05/19/13) Already said. It has spring reset bottoms/standards, not solid. No dingaling pop apart drawbar.

No you stated it right in your opening statement. The plow you mentioned has spring trip not spring reset standards as these are 2 different type plows.

LA in WI · May 19, 2013

b&d,
You ask "Why did drawn ploughs of the era hitch with a clevis that allowed 3-4" sway at the drawbar?"

That sway you mention only happens when the plow is NOT in the ground. When you are plowing the heavy pull brings the hitch into dead center and never sways. I guess you have to experience it to know that. btdt.

dingaling,
LA in WI

buickanddeere · May 19, 2013

On side hills I have to pull the landing lever an extra notch or two to compensate for the clevis.
So why have the clevis in there?

buickanddeere · May 19, 2013

Well to be clear.
Why a clevis on a 555H plough?
I assumed most people would know that a 555H
does not have the dingaling pop apart drawbar.
The 555 series of ploughs were all equiped with
spring rest bottoms/standards since thier
inception in 1956 model year.
Some of the mounted ploughs such as the
810/812/814 series had individual spring
trip/reset bottoms since the 1953 model year. The
earliest I've found so far for JD.

Drawn/Trailing hitch plough question, why a clevis?

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