Dearborn Plow Purchase

[foggy1111]

So, I bought a Dearborn plow today.....and bought the one with the coulters. The guy that sold me the plow claimed it was a 14" plow and I never bothered to measure it.....until I got home. Well....turns out it has 16" bottoms......and I'm not too sure I will be able to pull this plow with my JD 790. Although I do have one of the older 790's with the bigger engine (30 horsepower)....I wonder if I have enough traction to pull this plow. Anybody know?

While it is a nice plow.....I dont think I would have bought it had I known it had these 16" bottoms. I thought being it was "Dearborn" that it was an older plow for the N's (i.e. I thought all the Dearborn plows were 12 or 14" bottoms).....but now I'm not too sure. FWJ.....can you straighten me out here?

 

[foggy1111]

The plow model # is 10-156 and it's definately a 2x16. Dayum. I have light sandy/loam soils....but after reading a bunch of old posts here on TBN regarding plow sizes......I'm pretty sure I bit off more than I can chew here. At least its pretty.

 

[Flatheadyoungin]

i just bought one just like that and the guy told me it was a 14"...now you got me second guessing it....

i think they used the same frame with different plows.....i could be wrong though...

looks good

i'll see if i can find the threads related to it.....there were some links to some good info.

http://www.tractorbynet.com/forums/attachments/143364-well-finally-picked-up-2-a.html

search for plows in the title listings....there's some links to good ole' ford brochures and how to set up your plow, etc....i need to hit the hay!

 

[Farmwithjunk]

I'd give it a go before I wrote it off as "un-pull-able". You don't have to plow at maximum depth. Try about 6" to 7" deep. Also, you don't have to plow with full width of lead bottom. Set the plow to where 2" or 3" of the 16" runs in the open furrow. (Behind the rear wheel of the tractor somewhat) You won't get an absolutely perfectly level plowing job that way, but, your tractor won't be pulling as much of a load, and a disc/tiller will level things out just fine anyway. So long as you aren't plowing tough sod ground, I'd bet you'll do OK.

 

[Farmwithjunk]

i just bought one just like that and the guy told me it was a 14"...now you got me second guessing it....

i think they used the same frame with different plows.....i could be wrong though...

looks good

i'll see if i can find the threads related to it.....there were some links to some good info.

http://www.tractorbynet.com/forums/attachments/143364-well-finally-picked-up-2-a.html

search for plows in the title listings....there's some links to good ole' ford brochures and how to set up your plow, etc....i need to hit the hay!

Same beams, different truss bars. (pieces between beams) The frame as a whole is 2" wider on a 16" plow as opposed to a 14".

 

[Ford850]

The plow model # is 10-156 and it's definately a 2x16. Dayum. I have light sandy/loam soils....but after reading a bunch of old posts here on TBN regarding plow sizes......I'm pretty sure I bit off more than I can chew here. At least its pretty.

A 10-156 is a 14" plow. Measure from beam to beam to check, center of one beam to the center of the other.

 

[BobG_in_VA]

A 10-156 is a 14" plow. Measure from beam to beam to check, center of one beam to the center of the other.

You don't measure at the bottoms, you measure between the beams. I'm betting its a 14". BobG in VA

 

[foggy1111]

I did measure the plow as suggested above before posting yesterday....and it is a 2x16. After posting I went to see an old timer I know and he suggested to do as FWJ said....not take a full cut with the lead bottom and hold back on the depth....which would be a good thing on the land I clear anyway. He really liked the plow I bought....as I do....now if I can just pull it.

I'll give it a go before taking the plow to a sale. One good thing....the soil up at my land should turn easy (sandy loam) and the sod isn't very heavy. Thanks for the replies.

 

[foggy1111]

You don't measure at the bottoms, you measure between the beams. I'm betting its a 14". BobG in VA

Bob.....I'd be careful with that bet. ....I did....and lost.

 

[jdfire]

If it doesn't work, you could always buy a bigger tractor.

Nice looking plow!

 

[foggy1111]

Flatheadyounin......as suggested, measure your plow from the left side of "beam a" to the left side of "beam b" for the bottom size. I hope you got the one you want.

It seems strange to me that Dearborn offered a 2x16 plow. I don't think Ford had a tractor that could pull one of those plows very easily. Were they making 'em for Ferguson Tractors or was the Major Diesel out at this time?

I was searching this site for an operators manual for the 10-156 plow. I think I understand how that drawbar works....and believe with a little T&E I can set it up....but some text and illustrations would be good. I thought I had seen a manual on here.....anyone know who has one?

That drawbar design is pretty interesting.....the bend positioned on the plow frame with a threaded rod to change the angle of the plow.....pretty good engineering to pull off that set up. Never gave it much of a thought in time gone by.

 

[Ford850]

A 10-156 is a 14" plow, so yours either had parts replaced to make it a 16", or the top brackets were replaced using brackets from a 14" plow. The Ford Economy 16" plow was 10-161. They used the same backets for both 14" and 16" plows, and added the serial number plate with model number to the appropriate plow. I do notice now that your picture shows this is set up as a 16". A 14" plow would have the brackets on the outside of both beams. Yours has one beam on the outside and one inside of the brackets. Anyway, all that makes no difference now. It looks like a nice plow, and since you have sandy soil I think it will do a great job for you.

 

[foggy1111]

A 10-156 is a 14" plow, so yours either had parts replaced to make it a 16", or the top brackets were replaced using brackets from a 14" plow. The Ford Economy 16" plow was 10-161. They used the same backets for both 14" and 16" plows, and added the serial number plate with model number to the appropriate plow. I do notice now that your picture shows this is set up as a 16". A 14" plow would have the brackets on the outside of both beams. Yours has one beam on the outside and one inside of the brackets. Anyway, all that makes no difference now. It looks like a nice plow, and since you have sandy soil I think it will do a great job for you.

Thanks for the post Ford 850...those model numbers you posted clear up allot.

Hmmmm......I think things are starting to add up here. The guy I bought this plow from (and I'm not to sure about this guy ) had four plows. He took two of 'em apart to get all the parts loosened up and greased for resto and paint.....then he put them back together (or so he claims). I wonder if he mixed some of the parts.

He still has the other plow which was taken apart and painted up like this one. I may take a ride over to his place and have a look at that other plow just to check it out. Perhaps this other plow has a 10-161 tag on it.

I feel like CSI Minnesota.

 

[07 LMM LTZ]

I was just given a 10-216 dearbourn plow I was wondering if you can get part for these plows it needs new shares and colters

 

[Diamondpilot]

I am not sure what the 790 weighs but I will tell you that my 28HP Jinma pulls my 2-16 King Kutter plow with no issues. I have AG tires, R1's, and with the FEL, filled tires, and wheel weighs it weighs 5,200#. I will pull my plow much easier than my Ford 861 but I do use the Jinma in 4 wheel drive.

I think weight and tires will make it a go/no go situation. You have the power.

Chris

 

[claridon]

I rebuilt a Dearborn 10-156 2 bottom plow and it's a 14" plow. It's also a good plow. I suspect your plow is/was a 14" plow also.
By the way, I like the idea of buying a bigger tractor (just to be sure you can pull it!)

 

[07 LMM LTZ]

Where can you get parts for a dearborn plows. I have a model 10-216.

 

[Ford850]

You can get shares and shins at your local New Holland dealer, TSC, etc. If they don't have them, they can order them.
Coulters are more difficult to find. There is someone who sells them as original parts but they were around $100 per coulter blade when I checked. Might be others out there.
There were a couple guys on here who bought coulters for modern equipment and drilled bolt holes to match their plows. You'll have to match the center hole size too. These modern coulters were $20-$30 if I remember correctly. You might be able to take your old coulter blade in to a parts counter at a dealer and they could find a similar match too.

 

[foggy1111]

So............Today I finally got to hook up to this Dearborn and I pulled it around nicely.....no problems. My soil is pretty light (sandy) so this is not for every 790 and soil condition....but it did a pretty good job. I have my loader on and fluid in the rears for extra weight....and I have R1's for tires.

I pulled the plow (it is a 2x16's) mostly in 3rd gear / low range and had the tractor in 4WD. I used a little 4th gear too...but the land I was plowing had allot of swales and dips....so it was a little easier to plow at a slower speed. I did spin the tires once as I was learning to adjust the depth (I got way too deep...and nearly buried the plow ).

I spose I was plowing about 5 inches deep (on average) but I could certainly go deeper (and tried it to be certain). But.....it serves no good purpose for me to plow deeply as I will just turn my poorer quality soil to the top and bury my better soil. I really dont have much land that needs plowing anymore this year....but I had an old grassy log landing which I can still work up.....so this was chosen to see if the plow was worth keeping for me. The plow turned the sod quite nicely and I can see that the bottoms are going to shine up real nice. This sandy soil does a quick scour on 'em.

For me.....turning the sod and breaking thru the roots on newly cleared land is the sole purpose of the plow....after that it's tiller time. But it sure is fun to plow.

 

[Ford850]

Foggy,
Glad to hear it's working for you. That sandy soil really does a quick scour job, and I wish my soil was a bit more sandy. I know what you mean about having fun plowing. It's tempting to turn and watch the ribbon of soil all the time, but that leads to some poor plowing results for me. I'm sure it wouldn't be as much fun if we had hundreds of acres to plow though.