Lets See Your Plow!

[TBigLug]

Yeah, I know. I’m on the plow tangent again since I got to get the dirt in my blood again this year. So lets see your plows!

[TBigLug]

Plow number one is grandpa’s old John Deere. Bought new by his dad some 70 odd years ago. 16″ bottom with a plastic moldboard. Currently inoperable due to a missing key holding the lift to the handle. This one is grandpa’s favorite.

[TBigLug]

Second plow is grandpa’s old walking plow. 14″ bottom. Oliver 99 I believe. Needs longer handles since I’m just about walking on my knees to hold on. I love this thing but I need to work with my horses more to keep the left hand horse from crowding my filly out of the furrow. My favorite.

[TBigLug]

Our last plow is one that we borrowed from a friend when grandpa’s plow broke the first time. It’s a John Deere 200 (?) footlift with a 14″ bottom. Nice plow but it’s a little tipsy. Grandpa has a hard time running the lift. His knees don’t bend very well. Plows pretty narrow too. If anyone has any experience adjusting these lemme know!

[grey]

I’ve had little experience with sulky plows, but don’t you move the tongue to one side or the other to adjust the width of the slice you take out?

My plows are all buried in the barn under heaps of jun… er, I mean, terribly valuable posessions.

[TBigLug]

You can adjust the eveners left or right to “supposedly” adjust how far in or out you plow. This plow just doesn’t seem to want to plow the way it’s adjusted. I’m putting wider eveners on it and that will push it in a little bit but the thing runs cock-eyed all the time. Not the worlds greatest design. I wish I had the money to get a new White Horse sulky.

[grey]

Do both spoke wheels articulate (dolly) or is the larger one fixed? Could the articulation need greasing? I think those bearing surfaces get all packed with dirt and the wheels develop a mind of their own. I have helped some friends get their riding plows ready for spring use and it always involved yanking that smaller wheel off and greasing the heck out of the axle and the pieces that hold it on.

[TBigLug]

The large wheel is fixed. The small wheel turns but only with an adjustment lever and the rear wheel is steered by the tongue. About twice a year we pull all the wheels off and repack them with grease. It’s funny, if you look at Pioneer’s “NEW” footlift plow and this old John Deere (from the pictures since I’ve never seen one up close) looks almost bolt for bolt the same! lol

[Plowboy]

Opposite of what looks logical if you move your evener further towards the land it will take a bigger bite.

[Carl Russell]

I came across these photos that I took this fall to add to this thread.

[dominiquer60]

I have a single horse Syracuse Chilled Plow, according to the 1899 Syracuse Chilled Plow Catalog, it is either for a very light to light horse given its 8″ measurement. We got it working well for being a squirrely single plow, I am having the point worked on and I can’t wait to have a pair of cattle old/large enough to use it at home. I am surprised that I don’t have a picture of it, but I know Carl has a picture that he took at NEAPFD when our plows were used for a workshop. Would you be so kind as to post that photo Carl? Thank you in advance.

Erika

[Carl Russell]

Sure thing! Erika’s is the one in the foreground.

Carl

[Robernson]

Believe it or not I have a horse drawn plow. But you don’t want to see it until I get handles and a new moldboard for it….but it is an Oliver!:D
I got it for free along with a walk behind cultivator (also needs handles) Found them both in an old shed and was told to take ’em if I ’em. So I did…:)

~~R

[near horse]

Hey Big John,

That JD model 200(?) is the plow I’ve just been looking at today. Tipsy seems to be the nature of lots of the sulky plows and it’s not too far to fall. I thought you could “angle” furrow wheel in a notch or 2 to get a bigger bite from the plow – worked for a quick response when my furrow horse decides to drift on me. Then I get him back where he needs to be and we’re good.

Do you think a new Whitehorse is a better choice than a redone oldie like these JD 200’s? If so, I’d rather spend a little more $$ and get something I won’t be battling with!!

What do you think?

[jac]

Hi Geoff. We priced up and eventualy bought a Pioneer plow.. After both plows were spec’d up the same, Pioneer came out cheaper than Whitehorse
.. though not by much.. I would just like to say that our choice of a new plow was based on the scarcity of sulkies over here and I like the kv bottom.. Also both companies were very helpful and friendly.
John

[Author]

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