stabilisers on ploughs

tomlad

Member

Location

nr. preston

• Sep 29, 2014

• #1

morning all
can o worms subject I think !
I notices at my last match a few people with stays on there link arms ?
I always thought that a plough followed were it wanted to , not were a stabiliser held it ??

I have once used a stay to try and hold my david brown A type plough central , but it felt horrible , no plans to repeat.
what are other peoples thoughts ??

 

multi power

Member

Location

pembrokeshire

• Sep 29, 2014

• #2

no need for stabilisers for ploughing, plough should run straight n top link straight

 

P

Pennine Ploughing

Member

Mixed Farmer

Location

200 miles N,NW of New York

• Sep 29, 2014

• #3

you dont want stabilisers on a plough, the plough should follow its line of draft, and that dont mean the top link should run straight, if you have stabilisers on, its a bit like the tail wagging the dog

 

Henarar

Member

Livestock Farmer

Location

Somerset

• Sep 29, 2014

• #4

You only need them when you are learning to plough so you don't fall off

 

tomlad

Member

Location

nr. preston

• Sep 29, 2014

• #5

I agree with above / and that's what I thought
a bit of slack in both check chains eh.
nice man at last match was happily bosting about the turn buckle stays he'd made ,blah blah , helped him plough straight or summin ?

I thought if the two units we're paired properly you shouldn't need them but kept my mouth shut

as I say I tried it once /it was horrid , that D B plough of mine didn't want to be behind any of my tractors , oiled it up ,parked it furthest reaches of the shed .

 

Tonym

Member

Location

Shropshire

• Sep 29, 2014

• #6

Was that an early David Brown plough with the very narrow cross shaft and the furrow width adjuster that fitted on the left hand link arm? A friend bought one and it would dart about behind the tractor. I did some research and found out that the Early Cropmaster plough had a narrow cross shaft because the lift arms on the tractor were parallel not converging. The reason for this was Ferguson held the patent on the converging linkage and David Brown did not want to infringe this patent. I made him a standard length cross shaft and the plough then followed fine.

 

tomlad

Member

Location

nr. preston

• Sep 29, 2014

• #7

hi tony ?
basically I think ur right , I came to the same conclusions .
my plough is a 2 f 12" A type
i believe , but could be wrong ,
, designed for the early db prob 25 D ? they have straight arms , as you rightly say .
i don't think mine ever had the ratchet winder thingy, i have seen them, winder and a quadrant scale thing .
don't know the width of the cross shaft , it doesn't look narrow ,
i always thought it odd that the cat 1 pins seemed to be at a funny angle , to the shaft ?
they look bent , but I've seen many of these ploughs and they all look the same .
i own another A type , the pins are the same on that ( bought it for the ransomes coulter to go on another plough )
i got it to behave on my s dexta with the right rear at full narrowest setting prob 48" which is almost catching the mudguard and basically not nice , the plough was turning very nice furrows , but i parked it up and gave up .
on normal track setting for 12" work the front furrow is very wide 16 " ish
i decided that the plough should be behind the tractor which it was designed for , which i don't own. my dad bought and used the plough "back in the day " behind his early D B i think 25 D , on the farm, then moved on to bigger stuff.- the plough got parked up , i took on the challenge.
i prefer my fergie and ransomes ploughs
all interesting stuff tho init
regards tom

 

arcobob

Member

Location

Norfolk

• Sep 29, 2014

• #8

When the plough is in the ground it will go where it decides and you can`t stop it but until it is in the ground it is very reassuring to know that it is straight behind the tractor. Any thoughts ?

 

arcobob

Member

Location

Norfolk

• Sep 29, 2014

• #9

I have seen ploughs with very narrow cross shafts and it is impossible to set them to plough at the correct width on the front furrow, they always run central and therefore wide. I have seen people try to correct this with a stabiliser but this is a total waste of time. It appears that these ploughs were designed to run on tractors with a very narrow wheel track but what I don`t know. I once saw a plough that was claimed to have been converted from a trailer plough that had precisely this problem. Just a bad conversion I guess.

 

Shorthorn

Member

Location

Wilts

• Sep 29, 2014

• #10

I have seen a few at matches use a stabiliser on the final run of the finish.
Is that within the rules?

 

P

Pennine Ploughing

Member

Mixed Farmer

Location

200 miles N,NW of New York

• Sep 29, 2014

• #11

yes if you want to

 

tomlad

Member

Location

nr. preston

• Sep 30, 2014

• #12

to be clear the reason for the post was weather it was normal / common to use a stay while match ploughing , if it performed a role i am un aware of .
because i do see people using them
don't think i want to tho.


is it still dry all over the country ? not really rained here for month + my neighbours finding it tough to get the fine tilth for winter seeding

 

Tonym

Member

Location

Shropshire

• Sep 30, 2014

• #13

How a plough follows the tractor is all about wheel settings and geometry. If you feel you need a stabiliser you need to find the cause and fix it. A well set up plough will pull true and it will be easier to keep straight where a stabiliser will make it very sensitive to steering input which will in no way help you keep straight.

 

Timo@hattonfarms

Member

Location

Warwickshire

• Sep 30, 2014

• #14

Iv seen a couple with a hydraulic ram insted of a ckeak chain but is purely used to push the plough over to keep it square with the headland, and then is in float for the rest of the run

 

arcobob

Member

Location

Norfolk

• Sep 30, 2014

• #15

Hydraulic rams are strictly taboo for vintage or classic but you have the right idea with keeping the plough straight until it is dropped to the ground. The answer is very simple, just a telescopic stabiliser that unlocks and goes onto float when the plough hits the deck.

 

Tonym

Member

Location

Shropshire

• Sep 30, 2014

• #16

If the geometry is right the plough will sit in the correct position behind the tractor when it is raised and will lower in the correct position.

 

arcobob

Member

Location

Norfolk

• Sep 30, 2014

• #17

Only on level ground

 

Mydexta

Member

Location

Dundee/angus

• Sep 30, 2014

• #18

Harkness actually made an adjustable stabiliser, it bolts on to the wing bolts of the tractor and has a length of flat bar attached to a clamp at the end of the lift arm. It uses a ratchet style
Mechanism, The same as the front furrow width adjuster on a ferguson plough.

Will see if I can find some pics

 

Mydexta

Member

Location

Dundee/angus

• Sep 30, 2014

• #19

Sorry it's not a good photo but it gives the general idea

 

N

northoftheborder

Member

Location

Dumfriesshire

• Sep 30, 2014

• #20

Mydexta said:

View attachment 70658 Sorry it's not a good photo but it gives the general idea

Click to expand...

It's called a harness land lever. Very useful for positioning cultivator when weeding turnip or tattle drills on siblings.