1618 disc setup?

[ToolManRick]

I need some advice on the setup of a 1618 disc harrow. I recently bought it and one side was setup different than the other. If you drew lines on the floor where the discs touch the floor would the front and rear discs be inline or offset?

I'm thinking the fronts and the rears should cut in the same furrow with the front discs rollin the dirt outwards and the rears rolling the dirt inwards. I guess offset would provide better mulching, but I need to get good depth.

In the past I had somebody plow and disc my garden, but now I have this handy tractor.

Any advice is appreciated.

Thanks,
Rick

 

[Indydirtfarmer]

The front gangs will throw dirt outwards. The rear gangs need to be able to collect that dirt, and return it to the general area where it was originally, or you end up "ridging". The rear gangs should be 7" to 9" out past the line of the front disc blades, making the combined width of BOYH rear gangs a foot to 18" wider than the front. The exact measurement has to do with the ANGLE you have the gangs set at. The more severe the angle, the farther out you set the rear gangs. In a perfect world, you want the rear disc blades to follow in between the fronts, so they cut the ridge that the fronts left UNCUT....Make any sense????

I've been farming most of my life, and that's how I've always set up any disc I'm using. (I'm assuming that disc has a 7-14" spacing???? Or is it 9"? The 9" would neccesitate an even wider rear width). John

 

[Indydirtfarmer]

That should read 7-1/4" spacing(?????)

 

[ToolManRick]

That makes a lot of sense to me. I'm probably going to re-disc the garden in a week or so and in the mean time I'll reset the rears as you suggest.

Thanks for the input!