need hvy duty 3pt disc harrow suggestions

[stevenf]

I have gone and looked at numerous used disc harrows the last couple of weeks and all of them that are affordable also need to be completely overhauled by the time you replace all the disc and bearings on a used one you could buy a new one with all the pretty paint intact for a day or two.
What 3-point 8 to 9 foot heavy duty disc harrow would you recommend I'm going to use it on my 90hp M9000 so I'd like it to be as heavy as possible so that I have to have less concrete stacked on the back and the metal would help to hold it together in my rocky ground. I'm going to use it to put in 20 to 30 food plots twice a year a 100 yards or so apart they will be about 50' x 50' or less the reason other than price not to get a pull type disc is I need something pretty quick and easy and I'll be backing in between trees to small clearings with no room to turn around or maneuver much so connected to the 3-pt seems best.
Steve

 

[Keith_B]

Massey used to make the best 3PH disks. They were much heavier, had adjustment levers to change the angle of the disks to give different cutting action of the soil. My FIL has one that is about 6 1/2 feet, as it covers the tracks of his 4000 Ford. We have never had to add any weight to this disk, as it is very heavy without additional weight.

 

[sweettractors]

<font color="blue">had adjustment levers to change the angle of the disks to give different cutting action of the soil. </font>

Those are nice finishing discs and we have 4 or 5 used in stock, They do very well on tractors up to about 50-60 hp, however, Steve's 90 HP tractor would gut one of those the first day. I am pretty sure they only have a 7/8 inch round axle and 18 inch is standard blade size when new (usually 16-17 when used a while)--Most Athens, Taylor Way, Bush Hog, John Deere, Tufline HD series and Rome will do a good job--Ken Sweet

 

[WhiteRock]

What price range are you looking for?

 

[stevenf]

Whiterock, I'm trying to stay under $1,500 as that seems to be the point when rebuilding a old one becomes cost effective.
I found a 8' Hay King that seems pretty good its around $1,300 for a new one they have their gang arms underneath the frame on the new ones now which I see as a plus so the main frame is uncut heavy wall square tubing and they use a 1-1/8 square axle and sealed bearings. A bunch of the competition uses channel or angle, 7/8" round shafts and also have their gangs going thru the frame and that looks like a weak link to me although the price difference between most of them is negligible except for tuffline and for their heavy duty one its over $2,500 but they do build a heavy good looking product except they also go thru their frame for the gang mounts.
Steve

 

[WhiteRock]

The reason I asked was to see if Bill's Tractors might have something that would work. He carries Dale Phillips and usually has pretty good prices. I think he is also close to you. I have looked at these units in the Liberty Hill location and I think they would work for what we are looking for. The weight seems pretty good. I would have liked for them to have a stronger bearing arm.

They use C-channel, but the frame look pretty strong. How do these compare with the units you have been evaluating?

 

[stevenf]

WhiteRock I talked to Bill's seems like the wanted $1395 and they don't look near as good as the Hay King brand if you look at Hay Kings Web site their picture is an old one and the gang arms go thru the frame like everyone else's but if you go look at the current models they are much heavier and its all built out of heavy wall square tubing and since the arms are underneath the frame it sits the disc up higher they really are the stoutest I've found yet. I'm waiting until Monday to decide for sure and if my buddy doesn't almost give me the bush hog brand one that he's got I'm going to have the Hay King delivered or picked up by Tuesday. When I decide for sure I'll let you know but I'm betting my buddy wants at least $600 for his used one and if you price replacing all the discs and bearings which on his aren't sealed its almost as much as a new one. So you can bet that I'll probably end up with the 8' hay king one so in another couple of weeks I'll have a is it worth a s@#* report for ya as planting time is just around the corner for us here in Boerne.
Steve

 

[MMM]

Monroe used to make a quality disc called Tuffline. Also you can have the pans "rolled" on an old one and not have to replace them all.

 

[Soundguy]

Might try a farm auction. I've seen offset, and other large 10+' discs go cheap in some areas..

Soundguy

 

[sparkkky]

Got a 5.5' Tuffline with a square tube frame about 450lbs and it cuts my sandy loam real good.