Old Taylor Way 8' 3ph disk, is it good or should I pass on it?

   / Old Taylor Way 8' 3ph disk, is it good or should I pass on it? #1  

tmdupre

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Location
petal, ms
Tractor
2014 LS U5030 55hp open deck
I found a old 8' 3 point hitch Taylor-Way disk. It looks really old, but its not something I will use a lot to begin with. The blades and bearings all look good. Some problems I noticed are two of the bearing brackets are twisted a little. Will this cause a problem or is it something that can be fixed easy with a torch by straightening out? Two of the beams that the disk hang on are bent some. Again, is this a problem. He is only asking $600. Not a bad price for a 8' disk compared to a newer one. Does anyone know anything about this brand disk. Is it worth $600? I'm including pictures that I took of it. Thanks for your help in advance.

Tom

whole disk rear.jpgclose up middle.jpgtag.jpgleft side rear bent.jpgRight side front bent.jpgbearing bracket good 1.jpgbearing bracket good 2.jpgbearing bracket bad 1.jpgbearing bracket bad 2.jpgbearing bracket close up bad.jpg
 
   / Old Taylor Way 8' 3ph disk, is it good or should I pass on it? #2  
A Disc Harrow has to pull straight and all the pans must turn evenly.

This one appears badly bent and unlikely to return to true.

I would pass even at $200.
 
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   / Old Taylor Way 8' 3ph disk, is it good or should I pass on it? #3  
If I needed a disc and all I had was $600 I would buy this one. I would work on getting the price down some though. I could straighten everything out but that is as much or more work than just manufacturing new replacements for what's bent. If you are handy with fixing and enjoy it then this would be viable project.

From what I can see there is nothing wrong with the functionality of the disc. Because of bent parts it might not do things perfectly but it will still work. I know I'm disagreeing with the above poster but I'm calling it the way I see it

This is what I consider to be a perfect situation to buy an implement cheap. You don't really have a lot of use for a disc but you'd like one. Offer him what you think is a reasonable price for it. If he takes you up on it you have a disc and if he doesn't then keep on looking.
 
   / Old Taylor Way 8' 3ph disk, is it good or should I pass on it? #4  
It is obviously aged considerably from outdoor exposure (pitting of the steel) and I wouldn't expect the pretty yellow paint to stay on unless the whole thing was sandblasted to white/near white metal to remove all the rust. I doubt that was done due to cost to do. The bent bearing carrier will need to be refabricated as I doubt it could be straightened and it is bent too much to allow the bearing to roll in an unstressed condition. This fix might be easy if you can just cut off the weld at the bottom of the angle, align the lower section and reweld. It would mean taking that gang apart and removing the bearing carrier for easy working but still not a major issue.
The same is true of the front right gang carrier box tubing as that would be nearly impossible to straighten although the disk will likely work ok with it bent. If blades are all good and no spacers are cracked or broken bearings all good, it might be worth $400-500. It doesn't look to be a very heavy built disk and might require some added weight to the frame to get it to cut deeply.

By the way, the only true way to check bearing is to lift the disk and see how easy the gangs spin and listen for a dry bearing (slight grinding noise). Sometimes a bearing can get extended life if it is just dry but still tight by injecting grease into it. You can buy what looks like a hypodermic needle with a grease zerk on one end made for this. You can sometimes insert the needle into the rubber seal of the bearing or if your bearing are like the ones on my old disk, drill a 1/16" hole in the steel outer seal and pump the bearing full of grease using the needle gizmo. I did all of mine like that and they are still good after 5 years of occasional use. They were all pretty dry of grease. Pump in some grease then spin the bearing to distribute, then repeat till you have it fully greased.

If the rusted, pitted and bent steel is of no issue to you, then it might be a fair price if you could get it for $500 or less.
 
   / Old Taylor Way 8' 3ph disk, is it good or should I pass on it? #5  
I agree with the others. Certainly, I would want to lift it and see how the gangs turn under no load. If they spin freely, then the disc would probably work adequately for occasional use without any repairs or costs. But if it needs bearings, or if discs start breaking, the cost can add up. But certainly nothing on it is not fixable, if you like restorations, and don't mind some work. But I don't think I would pay what he's asking, considering the age and bent parts. $400 would be my max, and even then, I would prefer a better one. I sold a newer similar sized disc in much better condition last year for $500.
But just FYI here's one in much worse condition I restored. But it was free, and I put about $2000 in it plus many hours of work. My point is, with work and $$, yours could look new, but wouldn't be cost effective.

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   / Old Taylor Way 8' 3ph disk, is it good or should I pass on it? #6  
I don't like the looks of that harrow. Frame is too narrow, too much force on the pans at the ends of those long arms. I also don't like folding discs. Needs to be rigid to cut properly. I'm in the 200 to 400 dollar club, as well. You can find a better built disc than that one for a little more money. 600 dollar asking price for a rattle can restoration of a bent disc harrow tells me to move along.

Good luck whichever way you decide to go.
 
   / Old Taylor Way 8' 3ph disk, is it good or should I pass on it? #7  
The 3-Pt tower is angle iron; why, oh why?

There are also but two gang hangers per gang, not enough for 20" pans. One likely reason it bent.

Also, the center frame member is small in cross section; too small to have six adjustment holes bored through it both front and rear.

I can't imagine what a task it would be to break free the components of this Disc Harrow.

Continue looking.
 
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   / Old Taylor Way 8' 3ph disk, is it good or should I pass on it? #8  
. . .
There are also but two gang hangers per gang, not enough for 20" pans. One likely reason it bent.

. . . .

You don't want more than 2 gang hangers per gang. We used to have a tandem disc (years ago) that had three gang hangers per gang. Seemed like one bearing was always going out. What we figured out is that when you have 3 bearings per gang, one of them is always in bind of some sort because it's almost impossible to get 3 of them aligned correctly.

For that reason, I'd never buy a disc with 3 hangers per gang. It's a recipe for getting a lot of experience replacing bearings.
 
   / Old Taylor Way 8' 3ph disk, is it good or should I pass on it?
  • Thread Starter
#9  
Thanks to all of you for your replies. I was leery of it after seeing all the issues, but wanted to hear some opinions of people who have more experience with older disc. The 8' was what got my attention, but it looked kind of light compared to what's out there. I think he is at his lowest price, so I'll probably pass. Thanks
 
   / Old Taylor Way 8' 3ph disk, is it good or should I pass on it? #10  
Thanks to all of you for your replies. I was leery of it after seeing all the issues, but wanted to hear some opinions of people who have more experience with older disc. The 8' was what got my attention, but it looked kind of light compared to what's out there. I think he is at his lowest price, so I'll probably pass. Thanks
Good decision. Keep looking. One will turn up that will be better.
 
 
 
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