Restoration of an old disc, any advice?

[HCJtractor]

This old disc has been parked for decades, and the property owner would give it to me for use preparing foodplots. First of all, these pictures are poor, as I only had my telephoto lens, and I need to drag it out of the briars and take some better shots. Any ideas as to what brand? Is this called a transport disc? I assume it needs all new discs, bearings, tires, and wheel bearings, and hydraulic hoses and a cylinder. But if it is a decent one, it should be a fun project. My 3 pt. hitch disc is worthless, even though it is a pretty good one and heavy. Shouldn't this type be more effective? Worth the effort in restoring it?? What do you guys think? I will pull it out and check it more closely, but it looks decent.

 

[Ford tractor]

You will have a much better disc if you get that one up and running. But you won't pull it with a compact tractor...

 

[flusher]

This old disc has been parked for decades, and the property owner would give it to me for use preparing foodplots. First of all, these pictures are poor, as I only had my telephoto lens, and I need to drag it out of the briars and take some better shots. Any ideas as to what brand? Is this called a transport disc? I assume it needs all new discs, bearings, tires, and wheel bearings, and hydraulic hoses and a cylinder. But if it is a decent one, it should be a fun project. My 3 pt. hitch disc is worthless, even though it is a pretty good one and heavy. Shouldn't this type be more effective? Worth the effort in restoring it?? What do you guys think? I will pull it out and check it more closely, but it looks decent.

Yep, it's a transport disc (aka wheel disc). Can't tell the brand from your photos. It looks pretty heavy so I hope you have a big tractor to handle it. Can't see the hydraulic cylinder in your photos--it's the driver to raise and lower the wheels. You may have to rebuild or replace it. The pans (i.e. the discs) look pretty rusted so you'll probably have to replace them.

Here's my wheel disc--it's an old Minneapolis Moline KA-1300 made by Krause. Got it from my tractor dealer for $600. It's 13 ft wide. The outer pans were pretty messed up so I cut off two pans from the ends of the 4 axles to get it down to 10 ft wide so I can pull it with my Mahindra 5525. It pulls OK in dry soil, not so well in soft soil (that 5525 only has a 54 hp engine).

 

[Boeing]

Flusher,
What's the screen/shield behind your seat? Plexiglas for flying stones?
haven't been hit yet but always a little wary.

 

[HCJtractor]

You will have a much better disc if you get that one up and running. But you won't pull it with a compact tractor...

my tractor is M 6800 Kubota 4 WD with loaded rears, so I think it should pull ok. Do you agree? (it's a 68 h.p.)

 

[MtnViewRanch]

The best advice that I can give you is that when you purchase the new disk pans-blades, get the thickest ones that they sell for the size that you need. There is usually several thicknesses available and you would be best off with the thicker ones. If you do this right, this will not be a cheap rebuild, very well could end up being over $2000.

 

[Farmwithjunk]

my tractor is M 6800 Kubota 4 WD with loaded rears, so I think it should pull ok. Do you agree? (it's a 68 h.p.)

Maybe....Maybe not....

Depending on weight of the disc, and to some extent the soil conditions, an offset disc of that width (guessing it to be 8' to 10') can pull the guts out of 100+hp tractors. Offsets are (were) most commonly used as a primary tillage tool in tough soil conditions.

You can of course, "gauge" the depth with the transport wheels/hydraulic cylinder by using stops on the cylinder.

 

[franklinute]

I am 99% sure that this is an Athen disc or bog. I have one that is almost identical. The manuf. co is located in Athens, TN and should still be in business. I bought parts for mine about 3 years ago. These implements are made to workup rough ground. The weight and the angle of the axle make these cut in hard ground. I have an 8' cut that I pull with a 80hp tractor and it is a good load. My 65hp tractor 2 wheel drive will pull it but no more than 1/2 depth. If you can grease it, put decent tires on and get the hydraulics working even with old blades this thing will cut some ground. Even if you put new blades on the front which do most of the cutting you will have a wonderful tool.

 

[flusher]

Flusher,
What's the screen/shield behind your seat? Plexiglas for flying stones?
haven't been hit yet but always a little wary.

It's a piece of expanded steel that I got from my local steel supplier. It's attached to the ROPS via hose clamps (don't want to weld or drill into the ROPS--it's a piece of safety equipment that you don't want to inadvertently weaken). Protects my backside when brush hogging.

 

[kf4uda]

I am 99% sure that this is an Athen disc or bog.

It sure looks like an Athens to me as well.

Athens Plow - Model 127/167 Pull-Type Offset Disc Harrow

You will be lucky if it is. Athens makes some nice heavy equipment. I bought a used Athens 156 chisel plow and discovered they make the same plow today. I contacted them and was able to buy the parts I needed to put the plow back into original condition. I think your tractor will pull it depending on the type of soil but you will be needing that 4 wheel drive. If your rear tires aren't filled I would be thinking about filling them. The chart in the Athens link above should give you some ideas of HP required based on the width of the disc.