Plow Share Question

My 3x18? Case-IH 145 plow came with 16? shares, I guess that is called ?Undercut?. What are the pro?s and con?s of this?
I am about to replace the shares.

Second, what is your opinion of plastic cover boards vs steel? Plastic always seems so flimsy to me but then again they are usually well used When I see them. Plastic is half the price.

Thanks, Paul

I've only used plastic and have gotten along fine with'em.

I have one steel and one plastic on a 2-16 IH plow. In my case dirt sticks more to the steel one than the plastic.

Narrow cut and for soil that turns over easy and pulls easier, full cut is for like a deep rooted crop that you are trying to kill off with plowing, they will cut all the deep roots to kill the plant where the narrow cut anything in the right side of the plow botton will not be cut off and continue to grow. And coverboards I had them on a plow we bought and took them off because of nothing but trouble. They are made for use when you are trying to plow deaper than the bottom is designed for. In your case your plow is designed to plow at a 9" depth and doo the job corectly. The cover board is designed to turn over the soil abouve that 9" cut so uou can plow 11" deep with a plow designed for a 9" depth And that plowing deeper than designed is why the bottom back end of the moldboard becomes razor sharp. If you want to plow 11" deep you would be better off to trade for a 20" bottom plow.

Regarding the cover boards, I am wondering if plastic is for normal to light soils and steel works better in normal to heavy soils?
Thanks.
Paul

Coverboards are "nothing but trouble?" What kind of trouble were you having? We have absolutely no trouble with ours.

I use clipped shears so that I can turn furrows up hill. They leave a hinge point so the sod rolls over rather than slides sideways. I would like to have plastic cover boards for my plow to flip under the trash on the edge of each furrow. Metal one don't work well here . Too many flat rocks that break them off. Plastic ones tolerate the rocks better.
Cover boards would flip under these green tufts that show.
The best thing that we used around here which we could order on the White/Oliver plows was angled disc colters. They cut an threw that outer edge of dirt and trash in, so it was covered.
Loren

I love the cover boards on the 642 ih plow even plowing shallow they sure help burry the trash I would like to have them on the other 3 plows

M & W offered a curved coulter . First i ran them was way back when i first started on my first plow and that was a 311 I H fast hitch , they worked great to stop the plugging when plowing down corn stalks , when i bought my 540 semi mounts i found one more and took the three off the 311's and installed them on my new to me 540s , the 540's had two cover boards the one above and in the shank and one on the end of the moldboard . . One thing about metal cover boards is that unless they are as shiny as the moldboard our dirt will stick like glue and cause plugging problems more with a low clearance plow . Next is Speed if you are not plowing at the wright speed or the soil is to wet it does not roll wright Now i am no expert on all the plows made as i have only ever owned I H plows and on them you had High speed bottoms and low speed bottoms , the older plows were mostly low speed bottoms and did a fine job at 3-4 MPH and the high speed bottom worked better at speed of 4-6 mph if ya had the pony power to haul them . If you are dragging the plow then your not getting the soil to flip like you want it to but if you can RUN with the plow it will roll the dirt far better . Then there is getting your plow set for your tractor and leveled . In our soil type with the soil just wright meaning not to dry and not to wet when the speed was wright along wwith the harrow i had mounted on my semi mounts the only thing needed discing was the dead furrow and the head lands and it was fit to plant . Moving up from the 450 D to a 706 gasser going from 3 rd. gear in second year corn ground with the 450 to 1st high on the 706 with the same plow made it even better. In sod most times it was 2n with the 450 and still first high with the 706 and a far better job of cover .

Plastic cover boards are prone to breaking when plowing frozen ground, which seems to be the normal condition when plowing cornstalks here.

Thanks everyone.

I have had good luck with cover boards covering trash. I forgot about frozen ground, steel cover boards it will be for me.

Regarding normal vs clipped shares. ACG taught me something I observed and could not explain this last spring. My 3x18? 145 with 16? shares seemed to plow up hill real well and I could not figure out why, must be the hinge.

Since this is organic ground a full share makes sense to cut all the roots. Regardless, I am going with the 16? shares since I mostly plow uphill.

Thanks again, Paul.

I bought a decent ford oliver 4x18 plow.somebody made coverboards and heavy brackets.they used front axle leaf springs for the bords nd half inch plate for brackets.they turned trash under
Well and were rugged.we got clay,hardpan,gumbo n rocks in every field

I have plastic cover boards. They will flex almost straight with a big rock and come back fine. No problems.