Trenching Teeth - Extended Picture

[Patiofarmer]

I just made shank lengtheners to drop my 2 center ripping teeth down to 10.5" and 12" deep. My idea is to make 2-3 passes over the same spot and loosen the dirt with them to dig a 12" wide x 12" deep trench.

I'll still have to remove loose dirt with shovel... but it should beat picking by hand.

I may have to run 1-extended tooth up the middle of the trench also to "break" up the mound in the middle. Or I might bolt 2 teeth to one extender bar which would be more like 3" wide to loosen that center area. I was also thinking that the back-to-back teeth might be a good setup to do narrow sprinkler pipe trench loosening.

The teeth will clear surface of the ground by 2.5 inches once installed, but I'll have to back the tractor up 2 ramps a little to raise the rear just enough to slide them into the square tube in the box blade where they rest.

Patiofarmer

 

[weldingisfun]

Don't be too surprised if your extended teeth get bent.

 

[AchingBack]

Unless money is an object, if you will be doing much trenching; I suggest a middle buster.
Howse Middle Buster — 3-Point, Category 1 | Cultivators + Tillers | Northern Tool + Equipment

 

[two_bit_score]

or a backhoe

 

[Patiofarmer]

I wondered about the shank of the teeth bending, but I plan to take it easy and only go down a few inches at a time. My soil is sandy here but does get hardpacked... so I'll wait til after a rain if I find it's too much for the teeth. I only

I looked at middlebuster, but cost is an issue. These "bars" cost me $50 total... so I'm only out a few bucks if they don't work.

I'd love a backhoe, but I've already pushed the wife far enough for a while. I got a better tractor than I budgeted for originally, and I may have to build a work shed for it... AND wife's car is outside right now while my tractor is in her garage. So I have to cool it for a while unless I want to sleep with my tractor

 

[jpm1]

Hey Patiofarmer! whats wrong with sleeping with the tractor? I've done it a few times by accident, if you get tired of listening to it, just turn the key off. How about the wife? Oh by the way, don't take the wife to seriously, Ha HA. Just kidding, good to hear the tractors in the garage though. Good luck on your new shed and Happy New Year!

 

[Patiofarmer]

JPM1

That's pretty funny jpm1
Thanks for the good wishes too.

I just hope this Mahindra holds up half as long as the wife has.

I married her 36 years ago... for $12 marriage license.... which is about what...36cents a year so far I guess.

Now to be fair, she has cost me more than that in her "attachments"! And she has more than a 3 point... she'll make the same point an infinite number of times

What more can a man ask for... a good wife and a good tractor. (Except maybe a nice auger and b.hoe setup)! Oh well, like the wife-in good time.

Patiofarmer

 

[radman1]

I wondered about the shank of the teeth bending, but I plan to take it easy and only go down a few inches at a time. My soil is sandy here but does get hardpacked... so I'll wait til after a rain if I find it's too much for the teeth. I only

I looked at middlebuster, but cost is an issue. These "bars" cost me $50 total... so I'm only out a few bucks if they don't work.

I'd love a backhoe, but I've already pushed the wife far enough for a while. I got a better tractor than I budgeted for originally, and I may have to build a work shed for it... AND wife's car is outside right now while my tractor is in her garage. So I have to cool it for a while unless I want to sleep with my tractor

Your a wise man.

I think your plan will work. Just take it slow. Breaking up the soil first will make digging much, much easier. I think you could even have used a single shank and made a few more passes. A single shank may work better because the trench is only 12" wide. Your 2 shank spacing is probably going to be almost that wide. With 2 shanks, and multiple passes, it will be more difficult to not get the trench too wide. Remember, the soil on the outside of each shank will also be broken up and result in a wide trench later when you try to dig it out with a shovel. Consider a short "test" strip with 1 shank before you try 2.

When I have used a dedicated ripper in the past and going 12" deep, the amount of ground disturbance from 1 shank can reach out over 12" on the surface. I would try 1 shank and multiple passes first.

 

[Patiofarmer]

Radman1

I used the tooth yesterday, and it worked exactly as you predicted. I used it to break up the top 10.5" for some fruit tree holes.

I backed the backend of tractor up on plastic ramps to hike it enough to insert the extended tooth. I couldn't use the 12" deep setting because as soon as I came off ramp the tooth dug in about 1.5 inches. I designed the tooth knowing that this might happen at the 12" setting, which is why I also had the plates drilled to give me 10.5" deep because I knew the tooth wouldn't drag at 10.5"...and it worked great).

I slowly dropped the tooth down and made multiple passes to break up the top 10-11" for a 16" dia. hole ...5 of them.

I also made a test pass on trench, and it worked great too. It is like you said, the dirt on top breaks up "wider" and then the bottom of the trench narrows down to about 1.5" or so. but for sprinkler lines it should be perfect.

I might try to to modify the design a little more later (when time allows), so that I get the one tooth centered so that it doesn't "tug" at the one side of the 3 pt so much. But I just took it slow and it worked nonetheless.

It beat picking the top 11", I'll tell you that much.

I was thinking, I could still use the deeper tooth to get full 12-13" by just using the shallow setting first... then (while backend of tractor is over the ditch-just) lower the tooth. While over the ditch... I don't have to worry about the tooth dragging.

Patiofarmer