Virtual Ploughing Tuition

[Cordiale]

Good Evening fellow ploughmen, I hope you are all keeping well in these difficult times.
As no one seems to be posting much on here and there is no physical ploughing taking place, I thought it would be nice if some of you more experienced guys could shared some of your tips and tricks with some of us less able chaps. Perhaps you could take us through all the stages, Opening, Start, Finish, Ins & Outs and maybe explain some of the secrets to producing a good plot.
Who knows with some good advice maybe there won't be the pee'd off farmer saying he won't hold another match because of less than ideal workmanship. But more to the point it will hopefully keep us talking ploughing through these unprecedented times.
As an aside why does the score sheet mark general appearance, surely this is marked in the various aspects. I remember once last year, I didn't score particularly well in any aspect, (hence no prize card), yet I was awarded as many points as the winner for general appearance. Why?

 

[MrNoo]

Fortunately I have kept some land back to plough to stop me climbing the walls! Actually have a ploughman going today to have a go.
GA seems on the whole a bit of a con, a way of massaging the results to suit. Call me a cynic but it happens.
the split and firmness are oft used for that manner too, in some areas this is rife and others not too bad. But then this is a whole can of worms in itself!!
There are some really good match ploughmen on here and no doubt will be along soon to contribute.

 

[yellowbelly]

I found this very interesting.........

 

[Cordiale]

I found this very interesting.........

Yes I agreed it is interesting to watch, but it would be far more helpful if it had been filmed in real time and some commentary to explain how and why the adjustment were made.

 

[Fergie Ploughman]

I also think general appearance is pointless, all the aspects are judged individually, the person who scores the most wins. Never understood why we need a “general” mark as well, apart from the judges opportunity to ensure the right plot wins??

Firmness is a very debatable one and impossible to judge from the headland (some judges manage it though!).

I’m sure Roy won’t mind, but his website is a great source of info https://stokesoftongnorton.weebly.com/plough-settings.html

Also http://www.ploughmyfield.com/How to plough.htm which is one of the FOFH lad’s website is a good source of info, with top man Mike showing us how it’s done...

I’ve gone straight in with old classes, unsure which type of ploughing you’re interested in.

 

[MrNoo]

Firmness is an interesting one and I now make a point of walking all the plots in my class, not just on the furrows but between them too. I have a friend who does the same and afterwards we compare notes and then look at the score sheets.
Some judges are spot on, score reflects the work, match after match if they are judging you can be sure it's right. Others are not so good, Even before you put the plough in the ground you can tell who will have the highest firmness scores!

 

[Cordiale]

I also think general appearance is pointless, all the aspects are judged individually, the person who scores the most wins. Never understood why we need a “general” mark as well, apart from the judges opportunity to ensure the right plot wins??

I’m sure Roy won’t mind, but his website is a great source of info https://stokesoftongnorton.weebly.com/plough-settings.html

Also http://www.ploughmyfield.com/How to plough.htm which is one of the FOFH lad’s website is a good source of info, with top man Mike showing us how it’s done...

Yes I have seen all those web sites Fergie, and yes they are informative to an extent, but what I was hoping for was some extra detail like push the front board out, pull the back one in. How best to make tidy is and outs, and maybe getting the top boys questioning each other as to the best way to do things in their opinion, In order that some of us also rans can take something from it, and improve or ploughing.

 

[Cordiale]

Firmness is an interesting one and I now make a point of walking all the plots in my class, not just on the furrows but between them too. I have a friend who does the same and afterwards we compare notes and then look at the score sheets.
Some judges are spot on, score reflects the work, match after match if they are judging you can be sure it's right. Others are not so good, Even before you put the plough in the ground you can tell who will have the highest firmness scores!

Mr Noo, how many judges actually walk the plots across the middle to judge firmness, and also the work always looks different one end to the other, so you see both sides in the middle.

 

[TrickyT]

Mr Noo, how many judges actually walk the plots across the middle to judge firmness, and also the work always looks different one end to the other, so you see both sides in the middle.

A good judge should walk through the middle of the plots to get a better overview. If you are still at your plot near the end you can often see them doing it. I have also had them walk through my plot while I am still ploughing it.

General Appearance like others have said, can be used to manipulate the results. I have seen several score sheets where the ploughmans highest score has been his general appearance, not quite sure how that comes about?

This is quite informative.

As for tips, some ploughmen will be more forthcoming that others.

Trevor

 

[TrickyT]

A very interesting and informative video.

Straightness, the cardinal sin in competition ploughing is crookedness, if you cannot drive straight you have no business in the field.

Second to that is paired work or coupled work. If you can see those on the finished plot as pairs or couples that is ghastly, you have committed a ghastly sin.

Competition ploughing is a bit like flying an aircraft. The difficult bit is the start and finish.

Looks like its time for me to find a new hobby, anyone for golf?

Trevor

 

[Fergie Ploughman]

Yes I have seen all those web sites Fergie, and yes they are informative to an extent, but what I was hoping for was some extra detail like push the front board out, pull the back one in. How best to make tidy is and outs, and maybe getting the top boys questioning each other as to the best way to do things in their opinion, In order that some of us also rans can take something from it, and improve or ploughing.

Re moving boards - mine are set and forget, I spent ages setting them to replicate the measurements of a well known person in my class. I check they’ve not moved regularly, but apart from that, I never move. I understand the obvious reasons about twist and push, but I don’t profess to understand when I should mess about with them. I have contemplated pulling the front board in for the penultimate run, but apart from that I never bother.

With ins and outs, one important thing to remember is that it’s not just the entry egress bit, it’s the tidyness of the first meter or so, mainly don’t couple/pair it.

I think the main thing for match work is total attention to detail from start to finish. Check, measure, check, measure, all the way through. You should get parallel and starlight for the first few runs on your neighbours plot. There is no excuse to not finish at the correct width. My guilty sin is not being shallow enough in the last few runs, I have to force myself to shallow off! If you‘re shallow straight and the right width, the finish should be easy? ......not!

 

[Ley253]

To be honest, you could not see much in the Danish vid, I did pick up one or two faults though, the second run of the split had not cut back close enough to the first rippling, leaving a step with visible grass half way down. Also the work is quite paired Here is a grassland split done at Sarn, the centre rippling is not quite right, but that was down to the very stoney site.

 

[spindle]

Good Evening fellow ploughmen, I hope you are all keeping well in these difficult times.
As no one seems to be posting much on here and there is no physical ploughing taking place, I thought it would be nice if some of you more experienced guys could shared some of your tips and tricks with some of us less able chaps. Perhaps you could take us through all the stages, Opening, Start, Finish, Ins & Outs and maybe explain some of the secrets to producing a good plot.
Who knows with some good advice maybe there won't be the pee'd off farmer saying he won't hold another match because of less than ideal workmanship. But more to the point it will hopefully keep us talking ploughing through these unprecedented times.
As an aside why does the score sheet mark general appearance, surely this is marked in the various aspects. I remember once last year, I didn't score particularly well in any aspect, (hence no prize card), yet I was awarded as many points as the winner for general appearance. Why?

Park that old Fiskers up old timer and start using your Ransomes TS64 with the TCN boards on or the YL183s, don't ask this lot on here they are not going to reveal all their trade secrets you might be competing against them one day oh and by the way shave that fuzz off your face? the scientists say it harbour's the Chinese virus

Good Evening fellow ploughmen, I hope you are all keeping well in these difficult times.
As no one seems to be posting much on here and there is no physical ploughing taking place, I thought it would be nice if some of you more experienced guys could shared some of your tips and tricks with some of us less able chaps. Perhaps you could take us through all the stages, Opening, Start, Finish, Ins & Outs and maybe explain some of the secrets to producing a good plot.
Who knows with some good advice maybe there won't be the pee'd off farmer saying he won't hold another match because of less than ideal workmanship. But more to the point it will hopefully keep us talking ploughing through these unprecedented times.
As an aside why does the score sheet mark general appearance, surely this is marked in the various aspects. I remember once last year, I didn't score particularly well in any aspect, (hence no prize card), yet I was awarded as many points as the winner for general appearance. Why?

 

[Cordiale]

Park that old Fiskers up old timer and start using your Ransomes TS64 with the TCN boards on or the YL183s, don't ask this lot on here they are not going to reveal all their trade secrets you might be competing against them one day oh and by the way shave that fuzz off your face? the scientists say it harbour's the Chinese virus

Not so much of the old timer, you cheeky coconut!
I was only trying to tease out the secrets so it would assist you knobheads!!!!
Seriously though as we can't go and do some physical ploughing, and there wasn't much activity on here, I was trying to generate a bit of interest and debate.

 

[Cordiale]

To be honest, you could not see much in the Danish vid, I did pick up one or two faults though, the second run of the split had not cut back close enough to the first rippling, leaving a step with visible grass half way down. Also the work is quite paired Here is a grassland split done at Sarn, the centre rippling is not quite right, but that was down to the very stoney site.

what's wrong with this one then Harry? Are you saying that the back furrow on the second run is too far to the left? Enlighten us please.

 

[Cordiale]

A good judge should walk through the middle of the plots to get a better overview. If you are still at your plot near the end you can often see them doing it. I have also had them walk through my plot while I am still ploughing it.

General Appearance like others have said, can be used to manipulate the results. I have seen several score sheets where the ploughmans highest score has been his general appearance, not quite sure how that comes about?

This is quite informative.

As for tips, some ploughmen will be more forthcoming that others.

Trevor

Are you one of them Trevor? I mean one of those that won't divulge their secrets?

 

[MrNoo]

Are you one of them Trevor? I mean one of those that won't divulge their secrets?

He doesnt have any!! Except he does have a skill that would produce paired work with a 5 furrow plough!!! Lol
We both plough in the Fergie Class, while the basics of board set up/pitch/angles and tweaks etc would apply to all ploughs there are quite a few unique Fergie tweaks.
It is shunned to mod them but they were mass produced and certainly have a wide tolerance re manufacturing back in the day, more now due to age, so a mix and match approach with components, holes enlarged or elongated etc etc and you can end up with a handy little plough, in the right soil type you can give Vintage Mounted boys a run, think I've won 3 Vintage Mounted matches using the Fergie so far.
A good set of worn boards go best, some trim the tails but I havent bothered as mine are pretty worn, the best ones have a decent flat bottom to the lower board edge, Trevor will tell you about that aspect!!
Boards seem to differ markedly, I have 4 boards in the shed and not one of them is the same as any of the others!
Lower board edge, landslide bottom and share wing tip correlation have quite an important part to play with them and they like a bit of lead to land.
I know they are shunned but they are good fun, people in the class are great and they're simple to get around and I am sure if you can plough well with a Fergie a Ransomes shouldnt be too hard to get on with.
I've just built up a Robin on YL183's using some of the tweaks I have learnt with the Fergie but have yet to try it.

 

[TrickyT]

I don't have any secrets. I was a self taught 'office' ploughman who did everything by the Ferguson book as that is the class I plough.

I invested in a ploughing lesson and it opened my eyes. I then met up with a fellow Ferguson ploughman and with their help for the first time actually checked over my plough, to find it was no where true or square.

The biggest thing I can say is to 'know your judges'. Each judge likes something different and not all will like your style of ploughing.

I was always under the impression to keep both the opening and finish very shallow as that was what judges expected. But quickly found out that was not true. Several times I had a shallow finish for the plough to come out on the final run, yet those that had a deep finish were not scored down.

I don't think there are many 'secrets' in ploughing, most people have watched others for a long time now, so any tips or tricks would have been quickly spotted and duplicated.

As the wife says to me, you only have to go up and down in a straight line for a couple of hours, how hard can in be. Yet I can count on one hand the number of times that I have been happy with my straightness, especially as there is no one else to blame for it.

Trevor

 

[MrNoo]

I don't think there are many 'secrets' in ploughing, most people have watched others for a long time now, so any tips or tricks would have been quickly spotted and duplicated.

Plenty of secrets in set up though.

 

[TrickyT]

A good set of worn boards go best, some trim the tails but I havent bothered as mine are pretty worn, the best ones have a decent flat bottom to the lower board edge, Trevor will tell you about that aspect!!

I wouldn't say its a secret, but I followed the set up on the Stokes of Tong Norton page and made sure that the boards were all parallel, square and level. However, I never checked the underside of the boards. One board had an much larger 'under belly' that the other. A quick trim with an angle grinder and they are both exactly the same shape.