Plowing with my 8n Help!!

Plowing with an 8N Ford tractor Posted by ZANE on January 01, 1999 at 06:48:44: In Reply to: plowing with an 8n posted by john alexander on December 31, 1998 at 20:00:53: Attach the plow to the 3 point hitch. Drive the tractor's left rear wheel up on a 6 inch block. use the right hand leveling crank and the top link screw adjustment to level the plow share and the land slide with the ground. Do this on a good level spot or on a level slab of concrete. Pull a string from the back of the land slide to the front of the tractor or farther out in front of the tractor and make a straight line beside the land slide to the front of the tractor.The line should angle slightly to the right front wheel of the tractor about 6 inches more than the left. This is to assure that the plow doesn't try to turn the tractor right when the plow comes in contact with the earth. Think of the plow acting as a rudder would on a boat. The way to adjust the angle of the landslide to the left is to loosen the bolts that hold the drawbar that goes across the plow and attaches to the two lower links and twist it in it's cradle untill the plow is pointing in the right direction.(string pointing to the right at the front of tractor) The plow will have to be raised to let it more easily be moved. Some plows have adjusting bolts that help in turning the plow and in securing it in position. This is just a preliminary adjustment and when in the field it may be necessary to tilt the plow slightly forward by shortening the top link etc. Good luck and let me know how you do. Zane.

To prevent the plow from trying to turn the tractor you need to adjust the draw bar. Think of the plow as the rudder on a boat. If you want the boat to turn left you turn the rudder left. The same is true of the plow. The drawbar has an offset on the right side with the offset turned down. To turn the plow as a rudder to the left to make the tractor stop turning right when the plow is engaged, loosen the bolt that secure the drawbar to the plow. Turn the drawbar counterclockwise looking at the right end(offset).in order to make the tail of the plow turn to the left. It only takes little to turn the plow tail a lot but do it so that the tail of the plow is moved about 6" to the left. Retighten the bolts that secure the drawbar to the plow.
Put the little lever that is under the seat in the down (draft control position) Move the lift lever till the plow drops to the ground.advance the tractor and gradually move the lever more down till the plow is at the depth you wish to plow and then set the lever at this point with the stop to make it stay there.

The little lever under the seat is the mode selector lever. It us moved from position mode when up to draft when it is down. Position lets you hold the lift arms at a given or selected height.

Draft control allows you to have the ground engaging implement (plow etc) to automatically raise or lower itself according to the texture or hardness of the ground it is ingaging. If you want the plow to go deeper you gradually move the touch control handle down just a little and then set the quadrant stop so that the touch control handle will not go down any farther than it is set. This will allow you to return to the same load on the tractor when the plow is raised to turn around etc. Draft control was the brain child of Harry Ferguson back in the mid thirties and his invention is still used today on every modern farm tractor the world over.

Draft is the amoung of pull an implement has on the tractor or the depth of the implement. The draft of a boat is how deep the bottom goes in the water.

If when you try to use the draft mode on the tractor and it will not raise the implement when the touch control handle is raised all the way then the lift is in need of repair and or adjustment. Also if the lift will not hold the implement at a selected height it in need of repair and or adjustment.

I sell a jig and instruction booklet with illustrations that is for adjusting the lift on the 8N tractor.

A flat bottom plow should be set so that when the plow opens the furrow the bottom of the furrow will be flat. Hence, flat bottom plow" !If the plow will not go in the ground with the plow set flat, get new plow points.
When using a 14" flat bottom plow the distance from the inside edge of the right rear wheel should be 14" from the most forward point of the first plow. Or 14" from the landside of the first plow to the inside of the RR tire.
The tires of the tractor should have water in them or either wheel weights.

3 bottoms is a lot to ask of an 8N. I suppose it can do it if the soil is loose enough. But if you are turning sod, then I wouldn't count on it.

Plows are three dimensional. There is pitch, roll and yaw (or angle of attack), just like with airplanes.

The pitch of the plow (nose to tail) will determine depth. If the nose of the plow is not pointed low enough, it will glide along the top. Adjust the pitch with the top link. The 8N book says the top link should be 25". Also, the rear wheel on some plows can be adjusted to control depth.

The roll (left to right) must be parallel to the ground so that all moldboards are cutting evenly. Adjust this with the right leveling arm.

The yaw, the angle of the plow line of sight relative to the line of sight of the tractor, determines the width of the cut. Most plows allow you to adjust this by loosening a couple of bolts near the 3 pt. connection and then rotating the lower link mount points on the plow. This is why the mount points have bends in mount points... to adjust the cutting width.

All of these must be adjusted to get a good turn on soil. And the last element is speed. If you are moving too slow, the plow cannot throw the soil with enough force to flip it over.

Also, make sure the lift is all the way down. It should be in "draft" mode. The small lever under the right side of the seat should be lower to be parallel with the ground.

Try getting a 'plow' book. Many suppliers of books on the principals of plowing, The 8N owner's manual also covers this. Also read up on draft control versus position control on the 8N.

Hope this helps!
Patrick
www.n-tiques.com

• Novice Plower Here