Disc Hiller & Setting Lumite

[Baby Grand]

The Plant Manager was getting very frustrated trying to make 2 furrows, 64" apart
so we could lay a 6' wide sheet of Lumite down and bury the 4" ends.
I have been reading disc hiller threads and planning a build for over a year.
Yesterday was the day, but I finished too late in the evening to try it out.
It was in the low 90's, but thankfully not very humid. I think I lost around 7 pounds.

Originally intended for the PM's B5100, the hiller proved too much for it. Couldn't keep
pointed ahead as one disc or the other would grab and swing the front around, despite
having it in 4WD and a 100# weight hung off the front. The L3240 proved sufficient.

Here's what we have:









Construction was from a 6' section of old 2x2 tube that I have planned to use for this
project for some time. It's fairly thin walled stuff, so I'm not really satisfied that it will
hold up to much hard use. If it does fail, everything can be unscrewed or cut off and
reattched to a heavier walled 2x2.

Parts were cut out with oxy-ac and formed with my HF 4" angle grinder.
Lots of work for the drill press - I really need to get a heavier drill. Putting those
holes for the hitches thru steel was about all the drive belts could manage. The
Harbor Fright Silver & Deming large bits performed well, much to my amazement.

Welding was accomplished entirely with 3/32 6010 rod set on DC, running at between
45 and 60 amps, depending on the weld. It makes a tenacious, deep weld that may
not look pretty, and results in lots of spatter, but it is tough, tough, tough. Gave the
1/2" cold chisel a sharp edge and took off most of the spatter.

Pictures of setting Lumite to follow ....

[familyman]

I admire what you've done. Eager to see the results.

What is "Lumite", a sheet plastic?

[ENG18LT]

Where did you get the hilling discs from? I am building one as well and need to source the discs. Thanks in advance.

[Baby Grand]

Thanks for the kind words, familyman. Lumite is a woven plastic sheet that greatly reduces watering and weeding for our squash, pumpkins and mellons. Now that "we have the technology" I think we may use it for our peppers and beets, which have been very weeding intensive.

[Baby Grand]

Where did you get the hilling discs from? I am building one as well and need to source the discs. Thanks in advance.

The hilling discs were from ASC/Agri Supply.

[Baby Grand]

So here's the results, two furrows, correctly and evenly spaced, with the soil pitched to either side of the row:



After anchoring/backfilling one side the fabric the planting holes are burned in to desired spacing:





Then the sheet is flipped over, drip line is run & staked:



The sheet gets flipped back and back filled:







... and onto the next row ...

I can't overstate how much time and sweat this device has cut out of the job of creating the furrows and setting the Lumite. Now I just have to find some thick walled 2x2 for the inevitable rebuild. I'd also like to add a set of shanks with sweeps to break up the tire tracks.

Another improvement would be a coulter, or just a straight blade set in the direction of travel, to keep the whole assembly from shifting side to side. Some gauge wheels and a little additional weight would probably help, too.

[Wyobuckaroo]

BG
Nice job.
When you do your rebuild of the tool bar, here are a couple of pictures of the one I made.
It will take chissel tooth cutter, cultivator sweeps, 16" hiller wheels as hillers or one way type plow.

I am also thinking about some grader teeth and leveling fingers for driveway gravel.

Good luck
---------

[Baby Grand]

Now that's more of what I had in mind - built for ground engaging right from the start.
Nicely done. I really like the second row - that would allow me to put the discs on the
back row and shanks to take out the tire tracks on the front. Is that 1/4" wall tube?

I guess I have to get to the ATM and then go visit my local steel pirate.

[Don87]

Looks good.

If your plant manager wants this done a little quicker, the Model 90 or Model 92 here: Mechanical Transplanter Plastic Mulch Layers & Transplanters would save a lot of time and money in the long run as it can do everything in one pass (except make the holes). Or maybe you can get a few ideas from it.

[Baby Grand]

Thanks, Don - those are impressive units, to be sure! There's a farm up the hill from us that uses very similar rigs to set and pull up the plastic for acres and acres of squash, okra, eggplants, tomatoes, etc.

This project was originally intended to address the difficulty of creating two, evenly spaced furrows using The Plant Manager's "Little Bull" B5100, but as the requirements changed and the tractor size increased, I'm starting to think of other uses for it, so I want to keep it flexible for different set-ups. In particular, I think I could use it for furrowing and hilling potatoes and (with some major modifications) for making raised beds - possibly with it attached it to the back of the tiller.

I really think that putting gauge wheels on it so it can follow the soil in float, rather than using the 3pt to control height, would help even out the depth on both sides. The idea of putting a "keel" on it to keep it from shifting side to side is getting more traction every time I think about it. I have a 7' section cutting edge that The Plant Manager liberaated from the dump that could work very nicely for that purpose.