Mouldboard plowing wth CUT

sjhulsmn · Jan 28, 2012

I recently saw a Craigslist ad listing a Dearborn (sp?) 3 point 2 bottom mouldboard plow. The plow does not have any wheels - just the frame, 2 bottoms and coulters. Asking price is $450. The paint is rough and the mouldboards are rusty. The plow looks straight and is complete with coulters. I am guessing the mouldboards are either 12" or 14" in size. I think the unit could be cleaned up pretty well. My 2 questions are: What do you think is a fair price for this plow? Could either a JD 1070 or cab JD 3720 pull this plow without too much difficulty?

Both tractors are 4WD and both have unloaded turf tires. My soil is basically sandy loam with 6-12 inches topsoil and the land is relatively flat. There are a lot of rocks from tennis ball to basketball size and the occassional big 500+ pound rock just below the surface. Thanks for any input.

beenthere · Jan 29, 2012

Should be able to pul that plow with those tractors. Traction may be a problem but tire weight can be added as well as proper adjustment for ground engagement will be important.
Lacking on one or both tractors may be draft control. This is important so the3 ph will lift slightly if the pull exceeds traction capability. Loss of traction causes spin out which drops the tire and also drops the plow deeper. If you have to manually lift the 3 ph to compensate, plowing can be a pain trying to find that sweet spot manually.
Just saying, as you may not enjoy plowing with these two tractors if they are not equipped. But getting them to plow well is very satisfying too.
Search on mouldboard plows (also moldboard) on TBN as there has been discussion in the past along with pics and how-to set up and adjust these plows.

Does the Dearborn plow (good plows by the way) have a land wheel that runs in the fresh furrow?

Reg · Jan 29, 2012

Somewhere else on this forum you can find setting instructions for spacing your rear wheels so that the right hand one plops down nicely into the previous furrow.
I think you should chase those threads down first and then figure if your right hand rear tire can be spaced out far enough for a 2 bottom plough.
A member who posts under the user name "Farmwithjunk" has written quite extensively on this and if anything he says about ploughing disagrees with what others have said.... I would think it through and if still in doubt don't believe the other guy (-:

My first guess is that turf tires on a compact tractor won't have enough space between the inner sidewall of the right side rear tire and the centerline - BICBW.

beenthere · Jan 29, 2012

If the Dearborn plow is not the economy model, then it should have the crossbar that allows adjustment to place the plow in the correct path behind the tractor. If like some of the newer plows, they can come without that adjustment possibility.

Here is a pic of a Dearborn plow.
Plowing Instructions For The DEARBORN MOLDBOARD PLOW

sweettractors · Jan 29, 2012

Before you plow, setup your tractor so you have 23 1/2" from the center of the tractor drawbar to the inside right rear tire. 25" for 2-14" plows and 27" for 16" plows. Ken Sweet

Reg · Jan 29, 2012

sweettractors said:
Before you plow, setup your tractor so you have 23 1/2" from the center of the tractor drawbar to the inside right rear tire. 25" for 2-14" plows and 27" for 16" plows. Ken Sweet

Thanks Ken,
I had forgotten that you also respond to these questions (-:

I was trying to say that a compact with turfs probably isn't going to HAVE 47 inches between its inner sidewalls - axle too short, tires too wide.
So it becomes a crab ? (-:

sunnyside360 · Jan 29, 2012

sjhulsmn said:
Both tractors are 4WD and both have unloaded turf tires. My soil is basically sandy loam with 6-12 inches topsoil and the land is relatively flat. There are a lot of rocks from tennis ball to basketball size and the occasional big 500+ pound rock just below the surface. Thanks for any input.

I'm familiar with the 3720 cab with loaded R4 tires since I own one. I cannot make it work with the 2 bottom Ferguson plow I have due to traction. Power is not a problem.

Also, years ago I had a 45 hp Massey Ferguson 4WD cut with loaded turf tires (5000 lbs?). This also had difficulty handling the same 2 bottom plow due to traction. Again no problem with power.

Soil conditions is a big factor. My soil is similar to yours except I don't have 500 lbs rocks. Biggest rocks I have is maybe 10 - 15 lbs -- not many of them.

sjhulsmn · Jan 29, 2012

Thanks everyone. Just the kind of info I needed. Think I'll pass on the plowing idea. Using a 3 point tiller looks like a better option to me at this time.

beenthere · Jan 29, 2012

Amen to that.

flusher · Jan 29, 2012

sjhulsmn said:
I recently saw a Craigslist ad listing a Dearborn (sp?) 3 point 2 bottom mouldboard plow. The plow does not have any wheels - just the frame, 2 bottoms and coulters. Asking price is $450. The paint is rough and the mouldboards are rusty. The plow looks straight and is complete with coulters. I am guessing the mouldboards are either 12" or 14" in size. I think the unit could be cleaned up pretty well. My 2 questions are: What do you think is a fair price for this plow? Could either a JD 1070 or cab JD 3720 pull this plow without too much difficulty?

Both tractors are 4WD and both have unloaded turf tires. My soil is basically sandy loam with 6-12 inches topsoil and the land is relatively flat. There are a lot of rocks from tennis ball to basketball size and the occassional big 500+ pound rock just below the surface. Thanks for any input.

With that thin topsoil, I'd use an offset disc as the primary tillage implement. You don't want to flip the soil with a moldboard plow and bury the good stuff and bring the bad stuff to the surface.

Here's the disc I use on my gravely loam soil that is pretty thin ~6-10 inches of good soil over clay. It's an old 6.5 ft wide Towner offset disc with 20-inch dia pans. The white things are concrete weights (120 lb each) to get the disc to bite better.