Oliver two way plow

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  • March 27, 2012 at 1:34 pm #43669
    Anonymous
    Inactive

    Hi everyone. Just brought home a old oliver no.23 two way and wondering if anyone out there has a similar plow. I need some help figuring out how to set it up and what is missing on it. The tongue is gone, and the sliding hitch is missing, along with the seat. Can’t find any pictures or info online to help me piece it together.
    Had some days of 30 C last week, dried out our fields enough to make me wish I had this plow going! Any help would be greatly appreciated.

    Stewart

    March 27, 2012 at 4:56 pm #73136
    Anthony
    Participant

    I have an Oliver 23 that I too need to get working soon and a picture of the sliding hitch would help me as well. I used it last year but it was a bit of a struggle some times. I saw BW Macknair has a part that might be of use for the sliding hitch: http://macknair.com/miscellaneousparts.htm second from the bottom. I have Lynn Miller’s plow book on the way in hopes that I can pick some things out to help me along. I’ll post a couple pictures of mine in case you might see something. If you can get some pictures of yours I can take a look and see what I can see.

    March 27, 2012 at 5:05 pm #73138
    near horse
    Participant

    Small Farmer’s Journal might have the manual for that plow (although the manuals seem to think we already know what we’re doing). Might check them out or search eBay using “horse drawn equipment manuals” – there’s somebody who has a whole pile that they copy and sell for about $10 each.

    If you’re really in a rush, we have a guy out here who uses a 2-way plow but only operates the right hand beam as if it was a 1 btm footlift plow.

    March 27, 2012 at 11:00 pm #73139
    mitchmaine
    Participant

    hello stewart,
    i can’t see what is or isn’t there on your plow, but i can say that the pole is only a stub pole attached to the plow. it is only about 3-4 feet long. the pole extension bolts on one side or the other of the stub pole and that is the adjustment for two or three horses. bolting on the inside of the stub pole lines the pole up with the center of the plow and that is the two horses set up. it uses two steel brackets about 4″ wide to bolt the pole to the stub pole with. handy to have but can be made.
    you can also make the hitch yourself. save some money. the tough part is coming up with the roller, but if you keep your eyes open, one will show up. i could post a photo of my nplow if you need.
    mitch

    March 28, 2012 at 9:28 pm #73140
    mitchmaine
    Participant

    stewart,
    i hope there is a photo of my oliver to see. if so, notice the stub pole. and the one bracket attached to the inside. the other is with the pole extension. which clamps on to the side of the pole with long through bolts. its on the inside, which is the two-horse side of the stub pole. without a diagram or photo to go by, i can see it would be easy to try and set your pole up where the stub pole goes, and it would never work well, no matter how hard you tried to adjust it. also, our home made hitch clevis. i beleive that the true (original) slider was just a figure eight link that slid across the hitch. but the roll is common now. if you see a two way plow on a stone wall here in maine, you just assume its a oliver, and find out later. thats how many there were around. and that means, to me, that it must have been a very popular plow. mitch

    March 30, 2012 at 1:34 pm #73137
    Anonymous
    Inactive

    Thanks Mitch-The picture is really helpful. I am removing the plowbeams now to free up all the rusted parts and get it moving again. I noticed that the beams are a little bent towards the inside of the plow. They both appear to be bent equally and the bend seems to line them up straight with the wheels on the plow. Are yours bent this way as well or do I have a plow that may not work right at all?Are there still a lot of these plows around where you live?
    Stewart

    March 30, 2012 at 5:36 pm #73141
    mitchmaine
    Participant

    hi stewart,
    if both beams are bent similarly, that’s a good sign. it would be tough to spring two beams to match. if they are bent inwards, meaning in over the moldboard,or actually apart from the other beam, then its a two horse plow. And your draft should be dead center on the end of the beam for a pair of horses.
    if they are bent inwards meaning towards each other as they are slung under the frame,which sounds more like what you are saying, then its probably a 3 horse beam. To hook two horses to that plow the clevis on the front of the beam should point outwards towards the wheels or over the moldboard, and the draft should be out to the end of that clevis.
    The economy for the last few years is poor enough that steel prices looked good, and lots of cast iron farm machinery got broke up for scrap, and the result is less junk(treasure). But I bet there are still a bunch of these plows dotting the stonewalls in back pastures where the junkers can’t see.

    March 30, 2012 at 7:01 pm #73142
    Stone Horse Farm
    Participant

    Hey guys,

    Stewart, it sounds to me like your beams are “landed” (set toward the unplowed land) or set for three horses. I, too, have a 23B. I got a manual for it from Farmer Brown a few years ago. I have enjoyed many days plowing on that machine. Mine have 14 inch bottoms with the jointers and the beams are set for three horses, though I have the clevises adjusted for pair use. I found Lynn Miller’s Plow book to be invaluable for setting the clevises properly. If the beams are parallel to the landside they are set for two horses.

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