Chisel Plow

[flINTLOCK]

Any suggestions on a reasonably priced spring loaded chisel plow for a 40 horse NH. Doing food plots for deer. I'm only planning to cut about 4-6 inches deep to avoid bringing excessive rocks. When I try that shallow depth with my spring tine harrow, it constantly kicks up rocks and dirt, hitting me and my partners in the head.(kinda funny to see a buddy get pelted sometimes). It's just not good for that shallow a cut. A trip shank chisel would not kick up debris like that. I'm looking to break up the ground a bit before discing. Too rocky for mouldboard plow or tiller unfortunately. At that shallow a cut I imagine I could pull a 7 shank maybe. Any thoughts??

 

[jenkinsph]

I don't think I would consider over a 5 point since you may have other uses where you would wan't to go deeper. Don't think your 40 hp tractor could pull a 7 point very well and would then be a limited use implement to you until you doubled the tractor size. I used to pull a 7 shank with my 4020 (95 pto hp) and the tractor knew it was back there, I have never used a 40 ph tractor to pull a chisel plow so maybe others have more experience and insight.

 

[plowindeeper]

I bought a 13 tine old Jd one and chopped 2 off each side and pull 7 in mostly gumbo ground.My tractor is a 48hp

 

[jenkinsph]

I bought a 13 tine old Jd one and chopped 2 off each side and pull 7 in mostly gumbo ground.My tractor is a 48hp

If you wound up with seven points and started with 13 points I would think you removed three per side.


Scott Furr Implement Co. in Magnolia or Brookhaven MS? used to make all kinds of claims for his DO IT ALL which was for the most part an S tine field cultivator similar to the 72" one that Deere offers currently. We had one back in the 1970's and it worked pretty well I have to say and it seems like it would work well for the OP's uses.

 

[plowindeeper]

Chopped 2 foot off each side. Removed 3 shanks from each side for a total of 6 shanks removed. It would not pull it (nearly to the bar) if ground the ground had not been worked before.
When I first bought it I moved all tines to the rear to rake brush with after dozer work and piles burnt. Scatter piles with loader to shake them out. Rake out with chisel rake. Id rake the open areas at about 2 1/2 inches.

 

[kf4uda]

flINTLOCK, I think you are going to have a tough time pulling that 7 shank with your tractor. I pull a 7 shank with my 75hp and I wouldn't want any less tractor. I am plowing a little deeper than you though. Good thing is that you can do simular to plowindeeper an drop some shanks until it works for you.

plowindeeper, that is a good idea on the "chisel rake". It has never occurred to me to do that. But thanks to you, it has now.

 

[sweettractors]

Tillage

Above is a link to some 5-7 shank chisels with Business shipping or terminal pickup included in the pricing for PA. Ken Sweet

 

[plowindeeper]

My Chisel is a JD small bar 2"x 2" Solid bar very light and low mounted hitch that will I-Match. I couldn't pick up my cousin's Ford 7 tine or F-I-L Graham 7 time so it also would depend on the plow..

 

[Fossil Farm]

If you have access to a disk or disk harrow with notched disks, you may want to give that a try before buying something, or purchased a used one at auction. Since you are using it for food plots rather than production and have a lot of rocks, you may want to get a decent used one first instead of spending premium on a new one that will just get beat up on all the rocks. Set on an aggressive angle, it may get you a decent seedbed for food plots. A 3 point hitch one would allow you to adjust depth a bit easier too if the ground is uneven on your 40 HP. A 5 foot to 6 1/2 foot should work with a 40 HP and be able to be road worthy if that is needed. Good luck.

 

[Fossil Farm]

Forgot to mention - depending on the type of vegetation you have, you will have to go over the same area a few times with the disk harrow to get the seedbed you want. Bush Hog has some small chisel plows (all purpose plows they call them) and they are rather light (under 400 pounds) and even the 5 shank suggests a 35 HP minimum tractor. The 7 shank suggests a 49 HP minimum. Both are under 5 feet wide. As others stated, any chisel plow requires a lot of horsepower to do a proper job. True ag. chisel plows are much heavier too.

 

[plowindeeper]

Went down and looked at mine b4 dark and it only has 5 tines on it. I thought it had 7 So at on time or another I dropped 2 more off it.

 

[gwdixon]

Have you considered a box blade with scarifiers down for what you are doing? It would go to about the depth you want and then you'd have a box blade as a bonus.

Using a box blade in a checkerboard pattern will really bust up the ground in preparation for discing. It generally won't pile the sod or rocks either in my experience. Long, hay type, grasses will clog it but they will with a chisel plow, also. Mow first and let it dry out to avoid that for the most part.

You have a LandPride 72" box scraper so you may have the right tool at the ready.

 

[flINTLOCK]

Thanks for the input guys. I currently rely on the notched angled disc for tillage. Hard to get more than a couple inches deep. I have used my box blade scarifiers like chisels with some success. May have to try that some more. Thanks again.

 

[sixdogs]

You aren't going to pull very much of a "chisel" plow with 40 hp. I'd go back to the spring tine and re-think things.They pull easier and with multiple trips do a great job. If you are getting rocks in the the face, slow down. You could easily pull one of those lightweight Dearborn/Ford/MF cultivators that were designed to be pulled by the 9N/8N Ford. Picture attached. Oh, remove the rolling coulter and crop shields in the unlikely event you find them.



I used one of these with an 8n as well as a 4wd 40 HP 2110 Ford and it did a wonderful job, especially with the chisel type point shown in the photo.I have had one on a 75 HP Deere. I dug big (75 lb ) rocks with them and have owned several. With repeated passes you can go six or more inches deep and the tines can be rearranged to suit your fancy. Note: there is a spring shank and a rigid shank and I'm speaking of the spring type. A so called chisel plow will be too heavy for you to pull and you'll wind up making multiple shallow passes with fewer tines than the Dearborn type cultivator.

I have used cultivators and chisel plows and rippers on all kinds of stuff for decades and, if I could pick only one for a 40 HP tractor with home and light agricultural use would go with the Dearborn. in fact, I don't own one at the moment and have my eyes peeled.