14 ft disk worn?

[BertZegers]

I bought a 14 ft disk with 2 rows for my 80 hp tractor. How do I know when the disks are worn?
I want to use it to go over the corn stocks right after the corn is combined to cut the stocks so they don't plug up the cultivator.

What do you think?

Bert

 

[gwdixon]

Most disc blades have a stamp on them that indicates their original diameter. Check to see how much metal is worn off.

The real measure is if the disc axle drags in the soil. If the axle is pushing soil then it is time for new blades. That drag also puts an unnecessary strain on the tractor.

 

[TerryR]

Do disks really wear that much? When I was growing up we used them for decades and I don't recall ever replacing the blades. But we were working adobe clay soils in the Sacramento Valley, so maybe it's more of an issue with other types of soils.

Terry

 

[jeff9366]

If you change one disc, usually because of it being worn, change the same disc on the opposite side of the gang to keep the draft forces symmetrical so your harrow will pull straight.

 

[flusher]

Do disks really wear that much? When I was growing up we used them for decades and I don't recall ever replacing the blades. But we were working adobe clay soils in the Sacramento Valley, so maybe it's more of an issue with other types of soils.

Terry

With drag discs without wheels like my 7-ft offset disc, you're making constant left turns at the end of the straight runs so the wear is worse on the two outside discs on the left side. With wheel discs (aka transport disc)and 3-point hitch discs you have the option of lifting the rig out of the soil while making turns and minimize wear on the pans.

 

[TerryR]

We didn't have wheels on our disks, I suppose in part because the tractors we pulled them with (IH TD-40s) didn't have hydraulics. I don't remember how we turned them. Maybe in the direction that caused them to lift out of the ground by themselves??

Terry

 

[flusher]

We didn't have wheels on our disks, I suppose in part because the tractors we pulled them with (IH TD-40s) didn't have hydraulics. I don't remember how we turned them. Maybe in the direction that caused them to lift out of the ground by themselves??

Terry

One of my old Minneapolis Moline P3-6 grain drills has a pair of trip clutches operated from the tractor seat by a pull rope to raise the disc openers out of the soil prior to making a turn at the end of a row. Pull the rope once and the clutch cycles to raise the openers. Pull the rope again and the clutch cycles to lower the openers into the soil.

Trip clutches were used on vintage moldboard plows towed via the drawbar (like my old IH 2-14 Little Genius plow) to raise and lower the plow when making turns.

My old Towner 7-ft offset disc has a trip mechanism that adjusts the angle between the two axles. Pull it once while moving forward and the angle between the axles increases to the operating setting. Pull it again while moving forward and the angle changes to zero (axles are parallel) so you can make a turn without straining the discs unnecessarily.

I don't recall seeing a trip clutch mechanism on a pull disc that raises the pans out of the soil, but I figure these things exist.

The advent of rear remote hydraulics on tractors in the late 1940s eliminated the need for these mechanical gizmos.

 

[Gary Fowler]

I have never worn a disc out to where it needed blades replaced. Sandy soils might wear them faster. I would say that the disc would need to be replaced when they get so small that they wont cut to the depth needed. Cutting depth is limited to the distance from the bottom of disc spacer hub to outside edge of the blade. I would think that a minimum of 6" cutting depth is needed for good disking action.

 

[930ck]

We replace disk blades when we can't disk at the proper depth, running as deep as the spools is hard on gang bearings.

 

[Gale Hawkins]

I bought a 14 ft disk with 2 rows for my 80 hp tractor. How do I know when the disks are worn?
I want to use it to go over the corn stocks right after the corn is combined to cut the stocks so they don't plug up the cultivator.

What do you think?

Bert

Since you will be hacking the surface for the most part worn blades may work OK. A disc is faster for sure but I like the look a bush hog does and in our chase protects from having erosion as bad.