Let’s Go Plowing—rolling Dirt!

[PeacemakerJack 10,738]

So...last weekend we did some plowing at Dan Achto’s brother’s Place.  Once again to get this thread back on topic of being an informational help to those looking to turn earth with a Furrow Plow, I made some observations:

 

First—we found out in a hurry that an excessive amount of tree roots can greatly hamper your style while looking cool and plowing.  Nothing like cruising along at a steady 4mph only to be slammed to a halt by hooking a big tree root!  If you are mapping out a garden, be aware of trees in the close proximity, also remember that most crops do well in full sunlight.  Too much shade and you may not get the results you want.  Plus the roots can be a bear to deal with!!!  The field that we were plowing at Achto’s was formerly loaded with medium sized trees and was now a mess of roots just below the surface.  Thankfully our tractors didn’t have the weight or power because we would’ve all probably ended up with bent plows!

 

These pics show the smaller roots that would ball up and cause you to have to get off and clear them out.

Not as prohibitive as heavy grass and soybean trash like my above post from last fall but still something to deal with.  

 

This doesn't have to do with you tractor setup but if you know it is going to be a windy day and the field will be dry, be sure to wear glasses of some sort.  Dust in your eyes can really take a lot of the enjoyment out of the whole plowing scene!😉

 

There have been some questions about lack of lift on the 300 and 400 series Horses with the manual lift.  That has always been a problem with GhostRider.  If you are unfamiliar with these tractors, they have a second rockshaft in the rear of the tractor.  The lift cable goes from the mid rockshaft to the rear rockshaft, then a chain is hooked to the Brinly adapter rear hitch.  I’m still not sure where the problem is (apparently I wasn’t paying as much attention as I should’ve been in geometry class) but somewhere in that whole setup, the lift potential is lost.  So, I by passed the rear rockshaft and was pleased with the results...

The end of the cable is threaded and so I added a connector and then a long clevis.

The original Brinly adapter hitch works fine for most applications and occasional use but for a dedicated plow mule jerking a 12” Brinly through clay, it isn’t strong enough.  After a couple of years of use, I had racked mine to the land side about a half inch to an inch.  So, I thought to myself that I had an over abundance of blade rear mounts on the shelf, time to use them! I picked up this cobbler together tiller hutch and have been using it with much success.  Kevin built me an awesome one that I can’t wait to use but I have a couple of details to science out with it yet. 

 

Now I get full extension from plumb to ground  all the way up to lifting suck point a full 4” clear of ground surface.  

 

Another note of importance: it has been said already but I must reiterate it here.  Make sure that the left hand stop bolt it properly adjusted and the jam but tightened.  I was noticing that the Punisher wasn’t giving as clean a furrow wall at the end of the day as I like to see when soil conditions are that perfect. As i was taking the rig apart and loading up, I noticed that the left bolt had backed towards the tractor several turns and the plow was swinging tail towards the furrow wall.  When that happens the tail scratches the furrow wall breaking out clumps of dirt causing them to fall into the bottom of the furrow, plus it makes the plow harder to pull.  As described above, you should set that bolt out to the point that when you shove the plow as far as it will go the left or land side, the main beam of the plow should be straight in line with the center line of the tractor.  The right hand bolt can be left a little loose if desired—I’ve seen great plow dogs deal with that right hand bolt both ways with success.

 

One more point and I’m done for now.  Dan’s buddy Joel is new to plowing just like I was about 8 years ago.  He asked me to take a round on his Simplicity.  

It is a fun little tractor but everything is backwards from the Wheel Horse controls and so I was all screwed up!  Anyway, as I plowed I noticed that he had way too much suck point for the depth he was plowing. The heel of the landslide was about 2-3” off the bottom of the furrow which is doing what I call “chisel pointing”. I also noticed that he didn’t have that left hand bolt tight enough so the plow was swinging wide left.  I stopped him and we made a couple of quick adjustments and he was enjoying his plowing experience even more.  

WHAT’S my point?  Take time to help those that are new to the hobby with graciousness.  Not only will you build friendships but they will be much less apt to give up and walk away from it altogether when a few minutes of kind advice and help could make all the difference!

[Pullstart 62,792]

I picked up a couple plows yesterday in a haul.  They appear to be a 9” and 6”, both with modified draw bars.  Neither will fit a Wheelhorse at the moment, but I think they will eventually!

 

 

[PeacemakerJack 10,738]

Thanks for the detailed pics Kevin.  The larger plow should make a real nice middle weight plow for 8-10hp tractors.  I have two of that style but with a conventional Brinly C attached to the draw bar end of the plow.  I really like the way that they draft behind a tractor.  That little plow has a sod bottom on it and you’ll have to see if the beam is long enough to get the plow far enough behind the tractor.  If not, you might have to build your own beam that will extend the moldboard farther back.  That would be a super fun plow behind a little 6-8hp round hood. If it plows like dad’s 8” Bolens sod bottom, it will plow a really clean furrow.

 

Thanks for the 

[RandyLittrell 3,877]

@PeacemakerJack Your Brinly hitch on Ghostrider is pretty interesting and I may need some more info in the future. I have quite a few brinly hitches for my cubs and it looks like it would be pretty easy to modify one like you have. 

 

 

[PeacemakerJack 10,738]

Anything you need for drawings, pics, or dimensions, I’d be happy to supply them @RandyLittrell whenever you request.  I can’t say for sure because I got this one already fabbed up, but it looks like someone took part of a WH tiller Mount and a CC style Brinly hitch and combined them.  Then added a little gusseting and a lift arm and they were in business.  It attaches to the rear attach-a-matic in about 20 seconds once you have the lift cable deal sorted out.  Just contact me if you ever decide to build one...

[PeacemakerJack 10,738]

Sometimes we learn more from our mistakes than anything else.  It is ideal when we learn from the mistakes of others, and that is the purpose of this post.  It is easy to say that I must have experienced it all because of “all of the plowing” that I have done.  However, today I ran into a problem that I have never experienced with GhostRider...

 

My Uncle Bob hosted his annual farm day today. He always leaves some wheat ground for us to plow under with our GT’s. He doesn’t have ideal soil for GT work (heavy clay) but occasionally we get just the right moisture content and it turns fairly decent.  TODAY WASN’T ONE OF THOSE DAYS!  We have gone through a dry spell for a couple of weeks and this morning ended up with a heavy rain shower.  Plowing this afternoon was interesting.  Jim @WHX24came over and made a few rounds on his Rat Fink plow mule before the old cable succumbed.

I stopped to take this picture of him plowing but then couldn’t get moving without burning the belt.  That’s when I looked down and realized that the muck had packed into my fender pan so tightly that it was wedging the wheels.  In effect it was creating a massive mud brake on both rear wheels.  

 

So what is the lesson to be learned?  

 

If you are going to use a 300/400 series WH to plow, make sure that you are using WH spec wheels or space the wheels out far enough.  GhostRider has my very FIRST set of AG tires mounted on Cub spec rims.  It puts them only about 3/4” from the sides of the fuel tank.  With all the plowing that I’ve done over the years, I have never run into the problem I encountered today.  Because the surface was so mucky, yet had straw chaff on it, after awhile of the tires spinning—it packed mud in so tightly I could hardly move the tractor.  I ended up taking it up to my uncles shed and removed the rear wheel to expose about 75-100 lbs of mud.  It had packed the area around the shifter as well.  Lesson learned.  Time to do what I should have done years ago, switch to WH rims or run wheel spacers. I like the cub spec rims because the WH cast weights tuck nicely into the back side of them.  

 

Once I got that squared away, I got back in the saddle and plowed for about 2 hours.  Not great plowing like we find at the J&C ranch but it was still Fun to get some seat time!  Thanks Jim for coming over to play in the mud with me👍🏻

Remember, soil conditions play a huge part in the success or failure of the GT plowing experience. 

[WHX?? 48,780]

1 hour ago, PeacemakerJack said:

 

So what is the lesson to be learned?  Yah quit using cub crap! 

 

If you are going to use a 300/400 series WH to plow, make sure that you are using WH spec wheels  GhostRider has my very FIRST set of AG tires mounted on Cub spec rims.  Lesson learned.  Time to do what I should have done years ago, switch to WH rims.. yah ya think?!?! 

Seriously Jack if I'd known it was this kinda shindig I would have planned a bit different. I was plowing like a mad dog in this stuff but yes I had a mishap. Going to start a thread in events...  I'm sure the fellas might like to see some other  I got.

Edited August 9, 2020 by WHX24

[Greentored 3,201]

Lets wake this thread up, as its coming to that time of year to play, I mean work

Battling this clay concrete garden, trying to be better prepared this coming spring, so getting lots of plow time, turning in shredded paper from the shop, weeds, leaves, and soon a bunch of political promises (horse s**t) will be added and rolled under. This was test #2 with Hoss and the hotrodded K321 I built, testing the new belt/idler system and low/high rpm power. Obviously gonna need to fab up a belt guard, which I plan to over the winter when she comes apart for paint.

As for the plow, it looks to me like its chisel pointing pretty bad, and although I have the landslide set a bit high, it appears to pull higher as it digs. On that note, its not digging great right now, this ground is tough!

I also notice that my share has a very pronounced 'downward curve' on the tip, and dont notice this on other plows. Perhaps some of the reason this thing doesnt like to suck in very well? Whatcha think?

 

 

[Greentored 3,201]

@PeacemakerJack thoughts? 

Hesrd rumors of guts bending the lip down for more suck, but this appears to be at such an angle it’d almost ‘push’ the dirt versus cut and pull deeper. 

[WHX?? 48,780]

Not right at all Green. Let's see what Jack says but the way I see it you can get a replacement from Brinly or try and bend that one back to proper. I don't think that was done by a tree root or big rock. Those encounters will stop you cold. I would smith it back to proper. 

My guess is a PO of that plow was fishing for answers for a bad hitch setup. 

Speaking of which what are you running for a hitch? A Brinly hitch is always preferred but many of us get by with this. 

I told you before and I'll say it again don't try and mix hot rodding and plowing... it don't work unless you say hold my beer and watch this! 

Edited September 16, 2020 by WHX24

[PeacemakerJack 10,738]

2 hours ago, Greentored said:

@PeacemakerJack thoughts? 

Hesrd rumors of guts bending the lip down for more suck, but this appears to be at such an angle it’d almost ‘push’ the dirt versus cut and pull deeper. 

 

That definitely looks a little too pronounced of a bend.  The most aggressive bend of any of my plows is the Punisher.  I’ll try to remember to take a picture of that for comparison.  

 

The key to remember is to adjust the amount of suck so that that the “heel” (the bottom of the landslide at the end opposite the suck point) is about 1/2” to 1” off the bottom of the furrow if you were to stop during a pass in the middle of the garden. If your landslide heel is up 2-4” then you have too much suck in the adjustment or something else is out of whack in the geometry of the setup.  OR...the ground is just too hard.

 

You may want to look into ordering a new plow share as Jim mentioned if you feel like you can’t get the proper adjustment...

[Greentored 3,201]

Appreciate it fellas, and apologies for the terrible text which I just noticed, WOW ha! Promise I was sober- it was sent from the 'field' on my phone.

@PeacemakerJack as you have pointed out over the course of educating me in this thread, high heels and chisel pointing have been an ongoing issue. This thing wont even think about sucking in without an extreme amount of 'heel up'.  Granted, this clay is tough- it did a decent job in the spring, but this past weekend as seen in the video, there were times it was buried and digging great, and other times be cutting 2-3", if that.

@WHX24 yes sir, running a Brinly sleeve hitch, however, need to fab up a plate so the plow can be hooked up and moved to the right side hole and still be snugged up.

You're not gonna stop giving me hell about a hotrodded, pulley swapped plow machine, are ya?  It really, truly does a proper job in high range 1, half throttle, maybe 3mph. No, I cant deny making a couple 5-7mph test passes, but that is a handful, makes a terrible looking furrow, not to mention hard on the equipment and as mentioned before- a sure way to get lynched at a plow day HA! I just love being able to stick it in high range 3rd and putt around at 5-6mph just off idle and listen to that Kohler thump!

If someone doesn't get a plow day going out here on the east coast, think I'm gonna have to plan a 2000 mile round trip to join you fellas one day and learn a thing or 10 from the pros.

[WHX?? 48,780]

2 hours ago, Greentored said:

giving me hell about a hotrodded, pulley swapped plow machine, are ya

Nope 

[Greentored 3,201]

Fixed. She’s diggin that hard Carolina clay now! No doubt into ground that hasn’t been seen in many years! 
PS @WHX24 this’ll make ya happy😂 methinks she’s got too much gear. Most of the plowing was being done in low 3rd and high 1st, and I’m tired of playing the pulley vs slip game and tossing belts. 
Now I didn’t say stock, but a lot less than the current 100% increase. 

[Pullstart 62,792]

Great work Scott!

[Greentored 3,201]

11 minutes ago, pullstart said:

Great work Scott!

Thanks buddy! Gotta get as much practice in as possible so I can join you all on the next plow day and not make a s**t show out of it ha! 

[PeacemakerJack 10,738]

Looking Good man!  You just need to plan an exodus up to the JC Ranch one of these years for Plow Day!  You’d love it!!!

[WHX?? 48,780]

'Bout time you listen to the pros Green. 

Now build a dedicated plow mule, dedicated hot rod, dedicated mower, dedicated trail tractor, trailer queen & throw in a couple  of round hoods for tub pullers & a couple of blackhoods just for the halibut! 

Edited September 23, 2020 by WHX24

[Greentored 3,201]

12 hours ago, WHX24 said:

'Bout time you listen to the pros Green. 

Now build a dedicated plow mule, dedicated hot rod, dedicated mower, dedicated trail tractor, trailer queen & throw in a couple  of round hoods for tub pullers & a couple of blackhoods just for the halibut! 

Got most of those bases covered except the black hoods (just cant get excited about them) and a true hotrod. Got a deal to pick up a pair of 856s and one is pretty beat up with a stuck engine- would be a good candidate. My buddies are on me hard to do an axle flipped low rider, but I'm thinking more 60's gasser style with something wild shoehorned under the hood- maybe a big Onan/Briggs twin, or twin Kohlers!

[cschannuth 3,816]

23 minutes ago, Greentored said:

Got most of those bases covered except the black hoods (just cant get excited about them) and a true hotrod. Got a deal to pick up a pair of 856s and one is pretty beat up with a stuck engine- would be a good candidate. My buddies are on me hard to do an axle flipped low rider, but I'm thinking more 60's gasser style with something wild shoehorned under the hood- maybe a big Onan/Briggs twin, or twin Kohlers!

I think if you get a black hood with a metal seat pan you’d grow to enjoy it’s weird look. It’s an acquired taste but I think the older ones look pretty menacing and the twin Briggs is a monster. This was my Dad’s  

[WHX?? 48,780]

Just now, cschannuth said:

It’s an acquired taste

So true, I never got worked up about them till I owned one. First thing was to swap out the pan to metal. Only bad thing is steering is somewhat awkward but that could be fixed with gear reduction. 

Love the way that tractor is set up Craig  Gotta be a dirt plowing beast! 

[Pullstart 62,792]

 

 

Something about sitting at the helm, that makes it feel danged tough.  Though my Briggs Twin don’t like me, I’m not convinced it should be written off yet.

 

 

 

[Greentored 3,201]

7 minutes ago, cschannuth said:

I think if you get a black hood with a metal seat pan you’d grow to enjoy it’s weird look. It’s an acquired taste but I think the older ones look pretty menacing and the twin Briggs is a monster. This was my Dad’s  

Oh, it'll probably happen eventually. I mean, if people can embrace MY weirdness, I should embrace the black hoods weirdness

...and ANY opposed flathead twin is an automatic double thumbs up in my book!

[PeacemakerJack 10,738]

I couldn’t stand the look of Blackhoods when I first joined the forum and started to familiarize myself with the various  models.  Then I came across the superC.  Granted, I still don’t care for the rear end look especially if it doesn’t have the optional 3 pt or the rear PTO.  However, there is something about the way that they are built.  The dash layout reminds me of the 70 series Case agricultural tractors.  I spent many hours driving an 870 Case in the fields as a teen.  

 

@cschannuth‘s rig is really sharp, especially in its plow clothes—both pics above count.  

 

Acquired tastes...even if you never do own one or like them, that’s ok.  Variety is the spice of life they say!  

 

@cschannuth when are you coming up to the JC PD to turn some earth with us.  We could use a sharp Blackhood like that in the fields 

[cschannuth 3,816]

7 hours ago, PeacemakerJack said:

 

@cschannuth when are you coming up to the JC PD to turn some earth with us.  We could use a sharp Blackhood like that in the fields 

Thanks. i would love too. I have a lot to learn about proper plow set up.