Ploughing match

sawguy21 · September 19, 2015, 08:47:51 PM

I hooked up with Paul_H and magicmikey today, weather was not very cooperative but we still had a good time. This is my favorite pic:

It was powered by this

Talk about a trip back in time. There were also drag saws powered by hit and miss engines, slow but sure beat sawing by hand, and an old band mill.

That one didn't turn out as well I had hoped.

isawlogs · September 19, 2015, 10:00:55 PM

I'll be going to the plowing match here this coming friday. (Eastern Ontario) Acres upon acres of things to see!!!

SwampDonkey · September 20, 2015, 05:15:17 AM

Any single furrow plows up that way for sale Marcel? Would like to work up a 1/4 acre of ground for some fiber flax. Just have a 26HP Kabota with 3-point. ;D

timberlinetree · September 20, 2015, 07:25:15 AM

That looks like a lot of fun!

r.man · September 20, 2015, 02:03:42 PM

I have fed a thrashing machine a fields worth of oats, more than once. Fun is not the descriptor I remember.

SwampDonkey · September 20, 2015, 02:11:56 PM

Gets old after the first hour don't it? I've never done it, but I know what it entails. :D ;D

sawguy21 · September 20, 2015, 02:32:54 PM

It was hard work to be sure but a huge improvement over the hand labor it replaced, the thresher revolutionized farming. There were some weird and wonderful creations at this show, some of them worked and were improved on, others lost favor but each met a need at the time.
I enjoyed the pulling. They loaded a tractor on the sled, size depending on what was pulling. If the load wasn't big enough bystanders piled on until the puller spun out and stopped. They ended it with a monster Case steam tractor. It would not quit with a 50 hp tractor and as many bodies as could fit on the sled, if it had not lost steam it would have pulled to town 8 miles away. :D

isawlogs · September 20, 2015, 02:59:54 PM

Bill.... That should be able to pull a two furrow plow, sheesh, the old grey masseys had a two furrow plow behind them... But to aswer that, I do have two one furrow plows at the farm, you would need to modifie them or get a helper, they are horse pulled plows... Seeing as you like the olden days such... ;D

Get a narrow two furrow plow and you should not have any trouble pulling it.

SwampDonkey · September 20, 2015, 04:47:15 PM

Still looking for a 2 furrow. People usually hang onto them around here because of all the 10 acre hobby farms all over the countryside. The field might be all growing in weeds and willow, but they still have a plow. ;D

beenthere · September 20, 2015, 05:59:47 PM

Quote from: r.man on September 20, 2015, 02:03:42 PM
I have fed a thrashing machine a fields worth of oats, more than once. Fun is not the descriptor I remember.

And feeding was a bit better than as a kid having to stand in the wagon and mow the oats back that came from the thrashing machine. About died.. couldn't breathe.
But the experience of being on a thrashing crew for a couple summers was still a good memory.

GAB · September 20, 2015, 07:47:26 PM

Quote from: isawlogs on September 20, 2015, 02:59:54 PM
Bill.... That should be able to pull a two furrow plow, sheesh, the old grey masseys had a two furrow plow behind them... But to aswer that, I do have two one furrow plows at the farm, you would need to modifie them or get a helper, they are horse pulled plows... Seeing as you like the olden days such... ;D

Get a narrow two furrow plow and you should not have any trouble pulling it.

I agree with Marcel if you have loam or sandy loam soils.
If you have clay soils and it hasn't rained for a while you may have to plow it all going downhill, if you can get the plow into the ground.
When Marcel says narrow I believe he means 12" bottoms.
My dad plowed many an acre with a Ferguson TO-20 with a 2-12 plow.
Gerald

beenthere · September 20, 2015, 08:18:01 PM

Quote from: SwampDonkey on September 20, 2015, 05:15:17 AM
Any single furrow plows up that way for sale Marcel? Would like to work up a 1/4 acre of ground for some fiber flax. Just have a 26HP Kabota with 3-point. ;D

Have Ag tires or do you have R-4 Industrial tires? If R-4, they don't drop into the furrow and don't have much traction (ask thecfarm, he knows about that).

I just sold my one-bottom Dearborn 3 pt plow because I couldn't use it with my R-4 tires.

Also, the older Massey, Ford, and Fergusons had draft control as well as more weight to handle a plow, whereas our new sub-compact tractors do not. A bit on the order what sawguy21 was describing when the Case steam tractor walked away with the loaded sled... lots of weight for lots of traction.

Hope you find the one-bottom plow. There are some tricks to adjusting them to plow right... not like just falling off the potato truck. :D

Andries · September 20, 2015, 09:28:14 PM

Quote from: beenthere on September 20, 2015, 08:18:01 PM
Also, the older Massey, Ford, and Fergusons had draft control as well as more weight to handle a plow, whereas our new sub-compact tractors do not. A bit on the order what sawguy21 was describing when the Case steam tractor walked away with the loaded sled... lots of weight for lots of traction.

I picked up a Ford tractor this spring and it has three point hitch controls marked "position" and "draft". Its difficult to find someone that understands how the draft control works and how to get the most out of it.
My Ford is only twenty five years old, and I'm going to ask a question thats not even close to what this thread started out to be.
Can you tell me, Brother Bean, how does that DanG Draft Control work?

beenthere · September 20, 2015, 10:21:03 PM

The older tractors, Ford 8N and Fergie 20 era, had a heavy spring connection on the top link. If the plow would start pulling hard and pushing (compressing the spring) on the top arm, the mechanical linkage would cause the 3 pt arms to raise thus lifting the plow up for less pull. As the compression was relieved, the 3 pt arms would lower to that point of happy medium pull. Adjustment for depth was then controlled mechanically by setting the top arm in different positions with respect to that compression spring.

Newer tractors started having two levers on the 3 ph controls and variations of how they worked to control draft (rather than changing pin settings) and another to control height of the 3 ph arms. These are not easy for me to explain.

Look up "tractor draft control" for some in-depth reading on the subject. Likely they are tractor specific.

Andries · September 20, 2015, 10:38:11 PM

Quote from: beenthere on September 20, 2015, 10:21:03 PM
Newer tractors started having two levers on the 3 ph controls and variations of how they worked to control draft (rather than changing pin settings) and another to control height of the 3 ph arms. These are not easy for me to explain.
Look up "tractor draft control" for some in-depth reading on the subject. Likely they are tractor specific.

Thanks for the reply!
They aren't easy for me to understand, let alone explain. We might be in the same boat. :D
I may have to break down and buy an Owners Manual.

beenthere · September 20, 2015, 10:48:38 PM

Think of the draft control as "fine tuning" the actual depth of any ground engaging attachment, such as a plow. Drop the plow in the ground with the position lever and then move only the draft lever up and down until the furrow is the depth you want it to be. If everything is working, that should be all you need to plow. IIRC

If I was plowing in sandy soil, could go pretty deep but the wheels would spin and drop the plow deeper. Have to move the draft to a point that the wheels didn't spin themselves too deep.
Same with wet clay ground, one or two slips of the wheel lugs will dig down pretty fast or just spin out. Draft control is your adjustment for keeping depth and traction balanced.