Trippy trip plow doesn't seem to trip for me...

[allwet]

New to plowing. But game to try. We have loamy sand here in this part of Michigan & I found one rock on my place once, but that was back in the 90's.

Actually pulled this plow out of my side field where it had sat for 20 years unused. See picture #1 below (just after my first try). Greased it up & hooked it up to my TN65 (overkill HP - but I wanted to see how it worked before I tried out the 8N with her...). Found a serial number on the main frame "P012572". Not sure what type or brand it is...

First pass: I couldn't get it to "bite" into the soil very well - adjusted the handles up & down to find the lowest settings & it would only go 1 to 2" in or so at best.

Then I pulled the rope & nothing happened. No trip. I did get off and figure out I needed to lower the handle on that side (left facing forward) and the plow dropped a bit, but not "trip" like I see on the YouTube videos of folks using these kinds of plows. It did bite in about 2-3" on both plows & when I went faster (5th gear & 1/2 throttle) I could see some soil & grass 'turning'. Tractor was too big (wide) to properly put the one side down in the furrow.

After scuffling up a 1/5 acre patch a bit, I stopped & looked over the mechanism. See pictures #2 and #3. Seems the catch was 1/2 way in between the stops... (Sorry don't know the right terminology...) And now she don't want to move (easily without me forcing...).

Any suggestions for how to troubleshoot? Should I take off the hub & have a look inside?

Now that it is half-way around - I can't get it back to the "road setting" I found it in. Certainly not without lifting the whole frame... It seems to be half-tripped & I can't pull it without scuffing things up with the plow points.

Appreciate any & all comments.

 

[gwdixon]

Hate to say it but it appears the whole piece of equipment should be broken down to nuts and bolts, cleaned, sandblasted, painted, greased, and reassembled. To get that in working order is going to be a long-term project.

You may consider selling it as "yard art" and using the money to buy a 3 PH plow.

 

[milkman636]

I remember using one of those to plow when I was a teenager. My dad had an old Sears trailer type plow that I learned to plow with. He started me out with it because it was easier to control depth and not bog the tractor down.

if it is not dropping into the ground my guess is that you will have to lift the thing off the ground and try to figure out where it is hanging up. You might want to check drawbar heignt to make sure it is not running nose-up. Also you can offset the drawbar sideways into a different hole to get the furrow wheel to drop in behind the tractor tire.

You might want to hold off on putting a new dress on her until after you are sure that you are getting along. Start with the simple adjustments, muscle, and grease.

 

[jobguy]

Check to see if the trip-hub is full of sand and or rusted inside. That is what was wrong with mine. I cleaned, lubed and it worked fine.

 

[allwet]

Thanks folks for the comments. Appreciate the constructive ideas.
Probably should also give a little more background on why I am even messing with it... Planning to put in a few acres of bushes & the land around here is so dead flat that in the spring and after heavy rains there is a lot of puddling, despite the sand. Trying to see if I can plow in opposite directions and make a small "raised bed" row without a lot of working up the soil etc. Will be starting with a hay field. Plan to RoundUp it after second cutting and then need to bust the sod & get the "raised beds" formed. I also have a box blade to do final shaping on it. (& hope to have a tilt mechanism soon to help shape... waiting on a shipment.) EDIT: See the picture below to get an idea of the bushes (no raised bed on the 100 I planted this year) and the hay field behind...

Regarding the next troubleshooting steps:
Not so many moving parts on her and its in good order for having sat a long time. Coulters spin & wheels turn... Not much else other than the trip mechanism on the wheel. Can't be too complicated...

Will disassemble and see what we find. Expect the same you saw jobguy.

Thanks also on the advice for the drawbar height & swing, milkman. Hadn't thought of that adjustment yet. My TN65 sits higher than my 8N - maybe the overkill on HP isn't helping so much on alignment.

 

[allwet]

Looking around the 'net a bit, it seems that this plow might be a McCormick Little Genius #8 plow? Anyone able to confirm that for me? Thanks.

 

[Sonny580]

Its a very old Mc cormick plow for sure,---we had a bunch of them where I grew up and I pulled many of them over many acres of ground every year---- Notice the PO# ? ---dead give-away for Mc.! thanks; sonny 580

 

[MasseyWV]

Trippy trip, that sounds like... nevermind. :laughing: