What to drag behind a disc?

[5030]

Thanks for the link and pictures. This looks really good. 12 feet is too wide to get through my gates, so I'm looking to see if they have a ten foot one.

The Furest I have you can set up in many different widths and configurations, depending on your needs. The steel mat segments interlock with each other so I can make it wide (12 feet in my case) or narrow and long 4 feet x 16 feet or anything in between by leaving sections off and the one I have will fit through a narrow opening or around trees as it will slide around objects while being pulled. They also market a frame where you can use a 3PH to elevate it. I didn't get that, I just pull it behind and finally I see Tractor Supply is offering them now. I believe Fuerst was the original and everyone is now copying a good design. The tooth sections are I believe hardened and tempered steel. I know mine has basically no wear after using it for years and buying it used at a farm auction and we have abrasive sandy loam here that eats up wear shoes on anything the has ground contact. In fact I have to hard rod everything or I'm replacing wear shoes constantly and today, none of them are a cheap date. I did opt for the poly shoe protectors fot the disc bine wear shoes and they work pretty well (like farmers with combines have and The ones on JD headers are bright yellow of all colors, mine are dark red and install involves removing them individually (there are 12 individual shoes and drilling the shoes and adding them using counter sunk hex (Allen head) cap screws) but so far they seem to be working well. They are pretty soft and I really don't notice any reduction in pull resistance either. Everything else gets hard rodded SMAW, or wire rodded with Stody or Lincoln hard wire and the hard wire as well as the welding rods are pretty expensive to purchase.

 

[scootr]

I stared at my junk long enough to think I already had a good drag. It was heavy and indestructible with a round front edge that would not dig in and a stout grading blade on the rear... All I had to do was flip my bucket over and tow it behind the tractor. Actually worked pretty good lol. For a no cost one time use, I'm happy.
And this Giant Crane came by to see if I kicked up and snakes or gophers... lots of gophers.

 

[Lineman North Florida]

I use something similar to this. We call them a Do-All.

View attachment 834383

Hard to beat the finish that a do-all with rolling baskets puts on harrowed ground.

 

[EddieWalker]

Very creative. Looks like you got great results from it too!!!!

 

[scootr]

Very creative. Looks like you got great results from it too!!!!

I was surprised how well that worked. And pleased I did not make or buy something for this one time use...hope this helps somebody else needing to smooth a large area.

 

[California]

This would be slow for a large area, but I've had good results back-dragging the area after digging out stumps with the backhoe and driving over the fill to compress it. Bucket down and floated, with bucket curl adjusted to grade like Scootr described above. And while going backward, swerving can move material sideways toward low spots.

This is where apple harvest bins are lifted onto the truck so it has to be level, or at least smooth.

 

[scootr]

I made something out of the stuff lying about. Don't laugh, it was free
Buddy gave me an old dozer blade...
Worked good on a freshly disced field to smooth it out for mowing next year.
It actually buried a bunch of the under 6" rock. The bigger stuff still on the top will have to be gathered but now you can see them a mile away.
Note the heavy rear channel is lower than the blade.

 

[scootr]

Just made a pair of cylinder safety locks using scrap L metal. 2 pieces laid over each other making a U shaped lock. I prefer the bucket raised to clean the air filter etc.
These will make it safe.

Pictures later.

 

[kneedeep]

I used to pull a piece of chain link fence with 3 or 4 tires wired to it.

Now I use a 4 bar spike harrow that came off a Do-All.

 

[Doz]

A 2’ piece of expanded metal like catwalk material works great I use a piece behind my tiller welded a couple arms attached with some chains when I lift up the tiller the rear chains are longer so it dumps off anything that’s on top at the end of the run!

 

[Doz]

Just made a pair of cylinder safety locks using scrap L metal. 2 pieces laid over each other making a U shaped lock. I prefer the bucket raised to clean the air filter etc.
These will make it safe.

Pictures later.

 

[Fields_mj]

What to drag behind a disc to flatten the ground?
I've been looking around and raking my brain on this.
I want to add something behind my 6x7 Towner disc to smooth the ground for future mowing of a feral field.

I've heard of people using old railroad ties or telephone poles.

I've also seen where guys have made their own cultipacker by filling a piece of plastic culvert pipe with concrete and fashioning an axle of some sort for it. They seem to work extremely well.

I don't have a disk myself, and I don't really do any tillage. If I need to prep a seed bed for a food plot, I use a couple of RR ties that I drove some 1/2" rebar into for rippers (after mowing it down to almost nothing of course). Its not the most efficient design, but it works for my limited needs and I've got less than $50 in it.

 

[Sly B.tch]

What I use to drag behind my tractor to smooth out the dirt is a 10” I-beam 10’ long that is attached to the rear of the tractor by chains. If you shorten one side you can get an angle so the dirt will flow to one side Found the I-beam in a junkyard In their scrap pile. Paid just the cost of the steel. At the time I bought it it was $25

 

[flaing]

What to drag behind a disc to flatten the ground?
I've been looking around and raking my brain on this.
I want to add something behind my 6x7 Towner disc to smooth the ground for future mowing of a feral field.

About the best and simplest thing we used on the farm is a drag harrow, and maybe a solid beam on the rear.

 

[scootr]

About the best and simplest thing we used on the farm is a drag harrow, and maybe a solid beam on the rear.

A friend gave me a very heavy old cutting edge and I cobbled together a drag which worked good behind the tractor, see post #42 and 47 for what I ended up using to smooth the field.
I've been going out and picking up the big rocks in preparation for mowing. This field serves as a hunting ground for hawks, eagles, cranes, owls, and an occasional coyote. There is a abundance of moles and squirrels out there. Plan is to keep it mowed once or twice a year with the brush hog with the chain conversion. And hopefully avoid any more discing out there.

 

[Indiana haymaker]

What to drag behind a disc to flatten the ground?
I've been looking around and raking my brain on this.
I want to add something behind my 6x7 Towner disc to smooth the ground for future mowing of a feral field.

I used a couple of old rail road ties wrapped in a piece of chain link fence, worked great

 

[Bluesky9]

For twenty years, I used a 11 foot tandem John Deere disc and pulled a 12 foot piece of 6 inch "I" beam behind it. I welded two chains to the beam and attached to the rear of the disc. It worked great to smooth as well as break up any large clods. When changing fields, I would pick up one end and place it on top of the disc; then the other end. Tractor was a Deutz 6806 (68 hp) .

 

[MMC]

For twenty years, I used a 11 foot tandem John Deere disc and pulled a 12 foot piece of 6 inch "I" beam behind it. I welded two chains to the beam and attached to the rear of the disc. It worked great to smooth as well as break up any large clods. When changing fields, I would pick up one end and place it on top of the disc; then the other end. Tractor was a Deutz 6806 (68 hp) .

All of these responses have merit, depending on the job and the money invested. I will say as an old guy that Kentucky tobacco ground in the past was prepared with a lot of different things being drug behind a (disc) harrow. Anything that's heavy and reasonably flat does the job. For many years we just used railroad ties in triples or fourples tied together with whatever was available. Sometimes with weight on top. Best (as mentioned) was an old set of steel steps cut down to drag size. Just put something out there that's flat and heavy. And put weight on top as needed (your choice).

 

[Lena]

What to drag behind a disc to flatten the ground?
I've been looking around and raking my brain on this.
I want to add something behind my 6x7 Towner disc to smooth the ground for future mowing of a feral field.

The man that farmed beside us years ago. Had 4 or 5 eight foot 4x4 he had drilled corner to corner. Ran steel rod through each end. It worked great and wasn’t too heavy. I have saw some drags made to heavy and they wound up collecting dirt on top which can only be cleaned by taking the tractor to the back of the drag and pulling it backwards which will cause the drag to upset and dump the dirt off. Time consuming for sure

 

[Wesleyoats]

Turn your blade around and drag your field after you disc it. Just let it run free to each side and it smooths out the field well.