Newbie question please

[Grandad Pig]

i am a complete beginner so please go easy on me.

I just bought this plough and was told by the seller it was a Ransomes FR and the stickers in the boards seemed to support this. But I have been searching the www for info on setting it up and am beginning to wonder if it is something else.

Sorry to be a pain, but can anyone identify it please?

I would be very grateful for any help.

Than you

Steve

 

[multi power]

It looks like a Ransomes to me
Now I'm going to open a massive can of worms, it's the wrong plough for your tractor
You should have a MF plough

 

[arcobob]

View attachment 805426 View attachment 805428 View attachment 805430 View attachment 805432 i am a complete beginner so please go easy on me.

I just bought this plough and was told by the seller it was a Ransomes FR and the stickers in the boards seemed to support this. But I have been searching the www for info on setting it up and am beginning to wonder if it is something else.

Sorry to be a pain, but can anyone identify it please?

I would be very grateful for any help.

Than you

Steve

It is a Ford plough made in Lemington Spa. They used Ransomes bodies and these are YL183s. It was designed as an alternative to the Ransomes TS59, for which is often mistaken, but never sold in such large numbers. In the competition ploughing world the Ransomes is way more popular because of availability and adaptability..

It looks like a Ransomes to me
Now I'm going to open a massive can of worms, it's the wrong plough for your tractor
You should have a MF plough

Why?

 

[Grandad Pig]

Thanks guys. Interesting. May I ask what is special, or desirable, about MF ploughs?

Just starting out having a go at match ploughing.

Steve

 

[Pennine Ploughing]

It is a Ford plough made in Lemington Spa. They used Ransomes bodies and these are YL183s. It was designed as an alternative to the Ransomes TS59, for which is often mistaken, but never sold in such large numbers. In the competition ploughing world the Ransomes is way more popular because of availability and adaptability.

this above

you have been lucky or informed about buying this plough, as you will have the best bodies available for the vintage class, you have a good usable plough there to start with, one that through time you will do some mods on it, but have a good basic plough to start with, one that will carry you though the novice class to vintage without getting another plough,
not wanting to find fault, but though time you want to change the skimmers, as them on it are not the best,

ps, you want nothing with a Massey plough on that tractor, ramsomes all the way, main differance with the FR is the bolts that hold the leg to frame is the other way round, but basically the same

 

[Pennine Ploughing]

It looks like a Ransomes to me
Now I'm going to open a massive can of worms, it's the wrong plough for your tractor
You should have a MF plough

no no no

 

[Grandad Pig]

Well. Thank you Pennine Ploughing, was starting to panic then

 

[arcobob]

Thanks guys. Interesting. May I ask what is special, or desirable, about MF ploughs?

Just starting out having a go at match ploughing.

Steve

Not much.

 

[Grandad Pig]

Arcobob, you are the third person to hint that MF ploughs are not as good as Ransome (or Ransome copies) but no one has explained why.

Any chance?

 

[arcobob]

Arcobob, you are the third person to hint that MF ploughs are not as good as Ransome (or Ransome copies) but no one has explained why.

Any chance?

The frames are lighter, not readily adjustable, likewise skimmers and discs. There is no depth wheel on an MF and the range of bodies is a fair way inferior. Just as a matter of interest is your 65 a MK1 or 2? It is an old chestnut I know, but your plough is really only suitable for vintage classes in its present form with YL boards. and as such is only a match for a MK1 tractor. A photo of the lower half of the engine will identify, the MK1 has a wedge shaped piece at the rear of the sump.
If by chance it is a MK2 you have a classic, not vintage tractor. The common preferred option would be TCN bodies on your plough and an MF plough would be useless in that class as a competitive outfit.

 

[multi power]

The Ransomes is no doubt the better plough, but a MF plough would look better on a MF tractor
And as for the depth wheel that is only for tractors with inferior hydraulics

 

[arcobob]

The Ransomes is no doubt the better plough, but a MF plough would look better on a MF tractor
And as for the depth wheel that is only for tractors with inferior hydraulics

So if you have a Ransomes plough you need a Ransomes tractor to look right. How do you use a Fisher Humphries, A Starr, Begg etc etc? Since when has apiece of agricultural equipment been a fashion accessory?

 

[arcobob]

So if you have a Ransomes plough you need a Ransomes tractor to look right. How do you use a Fisher Humphries, A Starr, Begg etc etc? Since when has apiece of agricultural equipment been a fashion accessory?

For match ploughing it is preferable to use a plough that follows the contours of the land and not the draft control of the tractor which reacts adversely to varying soil conditions. Top link sensing is not the best in any case.

 

[multi power]

So if you have a Ransomes plough you need a Ransomes tractor to look right. How do you use a Fisher Humphries, A Starr, Begg etc etc? Since when has apiece of agricultural equipment been a fashion accessory?

Well a Ransomes would suit a ford, isn't that what they were made for?

 

[arcobob]

Well a Ransomes would suit a ford, isn't that what they were made for?

No. Ransomes developed their lift ploughs in conjunction with Ford and perhaps to just as great extent, with Nuffield. Their link with Ford gave them financial and publicity advantages. Anyway your original assumption that this is a Ransomes plough is incorrect. It is a Ford and according to your theory should have Ford bodies. The only problem is Ford never made any.

 

[Grandad Pig]

The frames are lighter, not readily adjustable, likewise skimmers and discs. There is no depth wheel on an MF and the range of bodies is a fair way inferior. Just as a matter of interest is your 65 a MK1 or 2? It is an old chestnut I know, but your plough is really only suitable for vintage classes in its present form with YL boards. and as such is only a match for a MK1 tractor. A photo of the lower half of the engine will identify, the MK1 has a wedge shaped piece at the rear of the sump.
If by chance it is a MK2 you have a classic, not vintage tractor. The common preferred option would be TCN bodies on your plough and an MF plough would be useless in that class as a competitive outfit.

Thanks for clarifying, I guess Mr Ferguson would object to a depth wheel on principle, he put a lot of work into top link sensing.

My tractor is a late Mk2, I am a numpty where ploughs are concerned even though I spent 15 years as farm mechanic/tractor driver as all ploughing and combining was contracted out. Maybe I should buy a muck spreader, done a lot of that

 

[MrNoo]

Top link sensing on the Fergie is a pain in the backside, most match plots are at 90 degrees to the tramline so you would normally be faced with 2 sets and the first thing the plough does is try and lift up, it is amazing how much the hydraulics rise and lower on a normal run. I have in the past put my hand on the top link whilst ploughing and you can feel it. I have my spring wound up fairish but did wonder to disable it completely, not hard to do.
Fergie ploughs are alright but no match for a Ransomes, plus you can do more mods legally to a Ransomes, but I would reckon if you can plough well with a Fergie you should be able to plough with anything.

 

[Mydexta]

That plough has already had some work done to it, albeit not very well.

The handle for altering the front furrow is in the wrong place, it wants to be accessible from the tractor seat. It looks like it’s been put there as an after thought.

 

[Ley253]

Cross shaft is in wrong position, "ears" should be up and down. Thats tied in with the control handle. Cross shaft and connecting link were residing in the nettles not long ago! Get a copy of ransomes good ploughing all the info you will need is in there.

 

[Pennine Ploughing]

The Ransomes is no doubt the better plough, but a MF plough would look better on a MF tractor

and Margot Robbie would look better for a night out,
but you may have to wash your own clothes and make your own meals and bait