Marveltone
Veteran Member
- Joined
- Jun 20, 2010
- Messages
- 1,485
- Location
- Somewhere north of Roseau, MN
- Tractor
- Fordson Major Diesel, McCormick Deering W4, Ford 1510, John Deere L111
Okay, a little quick history first.
Late last summer, I bought a '57 Fordson Major to do the bigger jobs my little Ford 1510 couldn't; specifically more ag related tasks like field work and haying. Early this spring, I bought a very used Kewanee 130 disc from a local retired farmer for $200, in hopes that the Fordson could handle a fairly heavy 11' disc in moist, loamy soil. One of my well-meaning work cohorts told me, "I've been farming all my life, and that little Fordson will never pull that big of a disc. Get a 7 or 8 footer."
Challenge accepted.
First, we had to completely disassemble the disc to replace some of the spools and half the blades. We repacked the wheel bearings, welded a few spots on the frame, rebuilt a bearing cover and put better used tires on it. In short, made it usable again. This project has consumed a goodly portion of the summer (between more important projects), but I feel it was well worth it.
Today was our proofing session. I have a small, odd-shaped two acre portion of my field that is too awkward for my renter to plant with his big equipment, so I decided to save it for myself as a tractor playground. This will give me something to learn on now so that maybe next year I can actually do something productive with it. Over the course of the summer, the weeds have taken over, so Now is the time to stir them up before they go to seed. A perfect test platform for the disc! It has been raining for most of the day, so the soil is really a bit stickier than I would like, but I decided I'd jump in and see what happens anyway.
I ran the Fordson wide open in 3rd gear for a bit, then discovered it did even better in 4th. The tractor had no problem at all in the dryer spots and really dug in where it was more moist and sticky, but never seemed to struggle. I made one pass over the entire plot, looked it over and decided to make another series of passes at a 45 degree angle from my first passes to chop up the weeds even better. Even in the soft, second pass, I could keep it in 4th gear (5.25 mph) without a problem.
I think I found a good match!
Joe
Late last summer, I bought a '57 Fordson Major to do the bigger jobs my little Ford 1510 couldn't; specifically more ag related tasks like field work and haying. Early this spring, I bought a very used Kewanee 130 disc from a local retired farmer for $200, in hopes that the Fordson could handle a fairly heavy 11' disc in moist, loamy soil. One of my well-meaning work cohorts told me, "I've been farming all my life, and that little Fordson will never pull that big of a disc. Get a 7 or 8 footer."
Challenge accepted.
First, we had to completely disassemble the disc to replace some of the spools and half the blades. We repacked the wheel bearings, welded a few spots on the frame, rebuilt a bearing cover and put better used tires on it. In short, made it usable again. This project has consumed a goodly portion of the summer (between more important projects), but I feel it was well worth it.
Today was our proofing session. I have a small, odd-shaped two acre portion of my field that is too awkward for my renter to plant with his big equipment, so I decided to save it for myself as a tractor playground. This will give me something to learn on now so that maybe next year I can actually do something productive with it. Over the course of the summer, the weeds have taken over, so Now is the time to stir them up before they go to seed. A perfect test platform for the disc! It has been raining for most of the day, so the soil is really a bit stickier than I would like, but I decided I'd jump in and see what happens anyway.
I ran the Fordson wide open in 3rd gear for a bit, then discovered it did even better in 4th. The tractor had no problem at all in the dryer spots and really dug in where it was more moist and sticky, but never seemed to struggle. I made one pass over the entire plot, looked it over and decided to make another series of passes at a 45 degree angle from my first passes to chop up the weeds even better. Even in the soft, second pass, I could keep it in 4th gear (5.25 mph) without a problem.
I think I found a good match!
Joe
