Disc plow?

[flusher]

I stumbled across this attachment while trying to find out something about the old 6-ft offset drag disc that I got from my neighbor.

Has anyone out there used a disc plow? What advantages, if any, does it have vs other types of ploe (mouldboard, chisel, etc)?

 

[Slamfire]

They are turning plows, and generally were attached to sulkeys during the horse drawn area. They were popular in places where the soil was less rocky.

 

[Egon]

They work well for turning under stubble as they will cover more width than a plow for the same amount of drawbar HP. They also work well for breaking up turned sod.

The discs were usually larger than those of a regular disc. In some places they were preferable to the disc till tractors with lots of HP arrived.

 

[Farmwithjunk]

There's a great deal of confusion between offset disc's, disc tillers, and disc plows.

Offset disc's are a Vee-shaped disc, and not the double chevron shape of a standard disc harrow. Generally, they're very heavy, with wider spacing between blades, and made for primary tillage, generally around stumps, roots' rocks, or rough ground where a conventional plow would struggle. Sometimes an offset disc is referred to as a bog disc or a bush & bog disc. They were intended for clearing ground where heavy roots existed, or to aerify muddy ground.

Disc tillers were a rarity in most areas. They were primarily used in wheat country. They had large disc blades, but were arrainged in a single row, usually angling back away from the tractor. They were used to turn under crop stubble and residue. They required less HP per foot than a moldboard plow of the same width. Sometimes they were used AFTER a moldboard plow as a first pass before finishing with a conventional disc. They were good at breaking up turned sod when used in that fashion. A disc tiller usually didn't work the soil nearly as deep as a disc plow.

A disc plow is a primary tillage tool. They took a LITTLE less hp per foot than a moldboard plow, but not significantly less. They were good at dealing with sod, heavy soils, and burying heavy crop residue. They worked better in some soils than others. The disc that did the plowing was usually quite a bit larger diameter than the blades on a disc tiller.

 

[Egon]

Disc tillers were a rarity in most areas.

Actually they were very common in some areas where large acreages were involved. In these areas discs were a rarity till tractors with well over 100 HP became common. They started to fall out of use in the 60's with the advent of articulated tractors.

 

[flusher]

Thanks to all for the info. It cleared up a lot of my confusion regarding varieties of disc implements.

On the same subject, I'm reading a book by Tim Egan entitled "The Worst Hard Time". It's a history of the 1930s Dust Bowl region. According to Egan the farmers in that region were able to plow under millions of acres of native grass in less than a decade because of two things: better tractors (e.g. Fordsons) and something called a "one-way disc plow".

Anyone out there have a photo of such an implement?

 

[Soundguy]

I've seen nice disc plows for an allis G or an IH cub.. both were probably bigger plows thamn either could pull had they been normal moldboard plows..e tc... were mid mount as well.

soundguy

 

[Egon]

http://www.krauseco.com/about.htm

Some information on the history of the disc plow. In our locality they were referred to as Tillers.

About the largest I saw would have been around 12 feet. Out International H pulled a 6 foot one as did the Allis B. We had a small farm of only 1/2 a section.

 

[flusher]

http://www.krauseco.com/about.htm

Some information on the history of the disc plow. In our locality they were referred to as Tillers.

About the largest I saw would have been around 12 feet. Out International H pulled a 6 foot one as did the Allis B. We had a small farm of only 1/2 a section.

Thanks for the info. At 100 acres per day per tractor I can see how millions of acres of prarie could be plowed in a few years. That gives me a lot more respect for those little (comparatively speaking) 1920s vintage tractors like the Fordson.

 

[Egon]

100 acres per day per tractor is a touch of overstatement for the days of the Tiller.

Fordsons were not really the tractor of choice in the area I was familiar with.

 

[flusher]

100 acres per day per tractor is a touch of overstatement for the days of the Tiller.

Fordsons were not really the tractor of choice in the area I was familiar with.

OK. Massey-Harris?

 

[Gizmo36]

I still like the disc Tillers , but they only go down about 4in . still use one today,

 

[diyDave]

In brief, the difference between a disc plow and a disc tiller is that on the tiller, the discs are on an axle, with a bearing at each end, and maybe 2 more about every 4-5 blades on the big ones, whereas on a disc plow, each individual bottom has its own bearing, and they are pretty big, too. The advantage is that a disc plow will roll over a rock, or cut through a 3" tree root. Hence their other name "new land plow". If you are looking for a picture, try the old allis web page. I have a 3 bottom Allis Chalmers (Athens) disc plow that I use every couple of years- it pulls real easy in conditions that a moldboard plow won't. If you do a google search, use the words fire plow, disc plow, or new land plow. I know there is a company in Texas, or somewhere out west that still builds them as fire plows.

 

[flusher]

In brief, the difference between a disc plow and a disc tiller is that on the tiller, the discs are on an axle, with a bearing at each end, and maybe 2 more about every 4-5 blades on the big ones, whereas on a disc plow, each individual bottom has its own bearing, and they are pretty big, too. The advantage is that a disc plow will roll over a rock, or cut through a 3" tree root. Hence their other name "new land plow". If you are looking for a picture, try the old allis web page. I have a 3 bottom Allis Chalmers (Athens) disc plow that I use every couple of years- it pulls real easy in conditions that a moldboard plow won't. If you do a google search, use the words fire plow, disc plow, or new land plow. I know there is a company in Texas, or somewhere out west that still builds them as fire plows.

Looks like the thing I have is a disk tiller since there are 4 or 5 discs ganged together with a bearing on each end of the axle shaft.

 

[Slamfire]

I think the Fordson was better suited to the farmer with less than 100 acres. Even then he'd need a good kidney belt.