2 blade plows

I got the tractor STUCK twice! What am I doing wrong? Are there any detailed and picture instructions on how to use these old implements?

Thanks.

Please reply to board and my e-mail.

Greg

mike

PS: Most people call it a two bottom

I didn't know that I had to. So this wheel, is it the tire on the left side of the plow? I pulled the rope trip, as I thought I should and left it down. Should I ride this tire on the high side of the furrow?

I am just learning at this. I inherited the two bottom plow when I bought the Blueberry farm, now I want to plant other crops, such as tomatos, pumpkins, corn etc.

Any other helpful ideas or hints? i'm all ears!

Greg

1. Can you tell us the brand of the plow? A lot of people here will be able to tell you how to run it from that. Otherwise have to guess with general operating instructions.

2. What is left & right to you? I always think of sitting on the tractor facing forward, and any reference to tractor or implement s based on this. But some people try to face the implement & say left or right...

3. How do you make the plow go up & down? Is there a rope you pull & it drops, and you pull the rope later & the wheel makes the plow come up again? It sits on 3 wheels. That is a trip plow.

4. What was the steel rod going to or coming from, and where did you try to connect it? Was it part of the plow, was it supposed to be loose, was it supposed to be connected to something?

Most 2 bottom trip plows have a way to control how deep the plow goes (crank I'm familiar with, lever sometimes) and a way to control the left/right angle of the plow (lever I'm familiar with). There should be some adjustment for tipping the plow front & back as well, but this shouldn't need much attention for a plow that has worked in the past. The first time you go around (you are going around in a rectangle, not just back and forth?) you need to make the right bottom plow deep, so it hardly is off the ground when the plow is 'up'. After that, you plow around and around, with the right wheel of the tractor & plow in the furrow you made last round, and the right bottom set much shallower, because your right wheel is 4-8 inches lower in the furrow.

Often that first round is very tough to get through, as it is hard to angle the plow properly without a furrow, and often the plow is a little rusty, and it has to throw that first ridge of ground up on the surface. Following rounds seem easier for me to set up right.

It can be a challenge to match a plow & tractor & get all the angles set right, and more so if you are not familiar with what is supposed to be happening. Don't give up.

--->Paul

1. I have no idea what brand of plow it is. I can tell you that it looks like it is as old as I am (at least, 41 yrs.old).

2. Yes, I am referring to left and right as I am sitting on the tractor facing forwards.

3. To adjust the depth, there is a right and a left lever, controlled by notches and a spring loaded pins. It has 2 wheels (tires). And it has a trip mechanism that drops the left axle via some sort of cam mechanism on the inside of the wheel hub.

4. I found the steel rod in the barn and connected it where a rope was on the lever that make the wheel drop, I connected it to the left hand depth adjustment, which seems to control the rear most plow. I don't even know if it actually belongs to the plow (?) I was just trying by trial and error ( I had to disconnect it though, as it didn't seem to work out.

There does seem to be a right/left angular adjustment that I haven't monkeyed with yet. There is a lever and pin system for tipping the plow front and back, which I have tried to adjust. Yes I was trying to plow in a large rectangle.

The wheel adjustment has just two positions, up and at least 8 inches, if not more.

Yes, it is a challenge! the tractor is a Farmall H, in really good shape - the plow is old and rusty - looking like it came about just after horses left the scene.

Oh, I don't intend on giving up! I can't, I have just incurred some major debt buying this farm
(that I always wanted) and I am going to make it work. It already has over 1600+ mature Blueberry bushes, I have the notion of making it a fruitful farm with other fruits, vegatables, etc.!

I was trying to plow a plot for tomatoes this time, I have this idea to put in about 600+ plants. Then I want a plot for pumpkins & a small one for corn.

We are also putting in 200 Christmas trees this year and several dozen fruit trees and a few nut trees.

All this along with our own family garden - wife works a full time job in a hospital about 50 miles away and I already own a small struggling printing company. And two kids to boot! An 11 year old boy and a 13 year old girl that have been wonderful in helping to do the spring fertilizing of the berries.

Not to mention putting in a mobile home for the "groundskeeper", including a sewer tap in and water, either from one of several springs located on the farm ... or negotiate with the borough to extend thier water several hundred yards to feed the farm!

Thanks for any help. So far, I have learned a lot and have gotten banged up and gouged up to boot.

Ah, the "simple" and "unrushed" life of farming...

Thanks.

Greg

3. This is not a brand of plow I am familiar with (I got a couple of Olivers, they have a crank for depth control), but I'm sure the right lever determines how deep the right bottom goes. You want to set this deep to start a field, then set it shallow for the rest of the field. I would expect the other lever sets how deep the plow goes, but that is a guess.

You have a trip bottom plow. I have never seen a 2 wheeled one, it must have a small wheel on the back of it? Sometimes these are all steel?

4. It doesn't sound like this rod is in the right place, if it belongs on the plow at all. Only the rope goes in the trip lever hole. It is possible the rod belongs on another lever somewhere. Oliver plows have a rod going from an arm on the front axle to the back wheel linkage; as the front axle rotates, it makes the back wheel drop as well.

G> The wheel adjustment has just two positions, up and at least 8 inches, if not more.

You mean the lift mechanism on the left wheel has just an up or down. However, the levers adjust the depth of the plow in small steps. Moving one lever often changes the way the other one is set, they kind of interconnect. Also, worn shares (bottom cutting edge of each bottom) will make the plow stay shallow, & not go into the ground properly.

Doesn't matter much if the plow frame is rusty. However, it's very hard to control a plow with rusty bottoms. If they are not shiny metal, do you have some sandy ground to run it through? Or take a gunny sack & some ashes & polish them with elbow grease. You don't want to sand or grind them down, they wear fast enough, plus you don't want scratches going the wrong direction. Dirt shouldn't be sticking to the bottom when they polish up.

--->Paul