sixdogs
Super Star Member
- Joined
- Dec 8, 2007
- Messages
- 13,817
- Location
- Ohio
- Tractor
- Kubota M7040, Kubota MX5100, Deere 790 TLB, Farmall Super C
It seems the best things in life you just fall into. That's how I wound up with about 80% of this framework a few years ago. I knew I wanted a "cultivator" for a certain dedicated purpose but couldn't find what I wanted. It had to be around 8 ft wide and the right size tubing to accept the CIH Vibrashanks cultivator units that are fairly plentiful around here at auction. It also had to be shorter than normal so I could get on a trailer.
What I wanted was something that had very close shank spacing so I could use a light duty chisel on the end to break hardpan and do garden work yet also be able to use sweeps on the end to do total weed control on fallow ground. This is a little over 8 ft wide and I put 17 shanks on it. With straight chisels I can go down about 5 inches in the garden or yard and not cause compaction. It does a great job and doubles for use breaking the hardpan on construction sites, etc. I use on an 80HP JD 5520.
At the same time, by changing the chisels to sweeps I can get nearly 100% weed control so long as the grass is short and the ground has been worked before. Tall grass will not work and just knot up.
Anyway, here's the completed item with sweeps on. They do look close, and they are but the chisels look more balanced.
This is the imposing rear view.
This shows the shorter rear frame I wanted.
Here's the square framework it came with, The frame should really be a triangle with the side pieces slanted to better allow spacing. This leaves me with an irregularly spaced shank in the back row but that's OK. It tends to plug more often but I'm never in taller grass with these sweeps on. The cultivator "chisels" are OK in grass up to a point.
Guys with smaller tractors could pull a lighter but similar setup for garden use or whatever. Great for holding ground over the winter because it leaves coarse ridges as shown below.
Ground nicely broken up, ridged and near zero weeds. This is one of the most useful tools I have ever built or used. FYI.
What I wanted was something that had very close shank spacing so I could use a light duty chisel on the end to break hardpan and do garden work yet also be able to use sweeps on the end to do total weed control on fallow ground. This is a little over 8 ft wide and I put 17 shanks on it. With straight chisels I can go down about 5 inches in the garden or yard and not cause compaction. It does a great job and doubles for use breaking the hardpan on construction sites, etc. I use on an 80HP JD 5520.
At the same time, by changing the chisels to sweeps I can get nearly 100% weed control so long as the grass is short and the ground has been worked before. Tall grass will not work and just knot up.
Anyway, here's the completed item with sweeps on. They do look close, and they are but the chisels look more balanced.
This is the imposing rear view.
This shows the shorter rear frame I wanted.
Here's the square framework it came with, The frame should really be a triangle with the side pieces slanted to better allow spacing. This leaves me with an irregularly spaced shank in the back row but that's OK. It tends to plug more often but I'm never in taller grass with these sweeps on. The cultivator "chisels" are OK in grass up to a point.
Guys with smaller tractors could pull a lighter but similar setup for garden use or whatever. Great for holding ground over the winter because it leaves coarse ridges as shown below.
Ground nicely broken up, ridged and near zero weeds. This is one of the most useful tools I have ever built or used. FYI.
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