Spring plowing Surprise

[wolc123]

I wanted to go walleye fishing this  morning, but the neighbor kid decided to go to some college drinking party instead.  I have about had it with turkrey hunting, after 3 times out at sunrise without hearing or seeing a bird.

Fortunately, the ground has finally dried up enough for me to start my spring plowing.  I was able to get 3/5 of it done this morning.  I still have a couple more acres to do, but that spot was still too wet. 

I had a very close call on my left rear tire this morning.  I have been worried about the right side, original, calcium-filled rear rim.  It is badly corroded, with exposed rubber tube around the stem.  Luckily, I spotted that shed antler on my previous pass. 

Maybe I can get another year out of the 70 year old rear rims.  I won't be loading the replacements, and that will mark the end of the old 8n's usefulness on the plow.

I was wondering if that buck had survived, and it is good to see that he did.  I got a picture of him last July when he was 2 (last picture).  I think I saw him a month ago.  He should be a very stout 3-1/2 this season, so hopefully my plots will keep him around.

 

Edited May 15, 2021 by wolc123

[helmut in the bush]

Nice

[Nomad]

Nice find . Here’s one off the farm I hunt ,he was happy to find it not in his tire . I Didn’t realize they are weeks behind due to wet ground , they wanted to plant 1400 acres of beans and 800 of corn, but will fall far short !

[Lawdwaz]

29 minutes ago, Nomad said:

Nice find . Here’s one off the farm I hunt ,he was happy to find it not in his tire . I Didn’t realize they are weeks behind due to wet ground , they wanted to plant 1400 acres of beans and 800 of corn, but will fall far short !

It's not too late to teach you how to drive a tractor..........

[Nomad]

30 minutes ago, Lawdwaz said:

It's not too late to teach you how to drive a tractor..........

I’d do that ! Looks cool . This is the one that pulled me out, a couple weeks back .

[Lawdwaz]

26 minutes ago, Nomad said:

I’d do that ! Looks cool . This is the one that pulled me out, a couple weeks back .

BEAST!!

[wolc123]

25 minutes ago, Lawdwaz said:

BEAST!!

That is a beast.  I am hoping my biggest one (43 hp, 4wd) will have enough pull to bring down my old barn in the next few weeks.  I plan on using a 1/2" wire rope and a snatch block to double my pull force.

[Lawdwaz]

5 minutes ago, wolc123 said:

That is a beast.  I am hoping my biggest one (43 hp, 4wd) will have enough pull to bring down my old barn in the next few weeks.  I plan on using a 1/2" wire rope and a snatch block to double my pull force.

I’d be happy to offer up the pulling power of my Tacoma or a magazine full of 375 H&H solids.   (Hopefully you say “both”)

 

[wolc123]

They are calling for rain tomorrow, so I got the 2 acre "antler" plot planted with RR corn today.  I  hoping that pays off during the holiday ML season this year. 

I left a spot in the back for a little turnup/radish plot.   I also got in about 1/2 acre of sweetcorn.  I have a nice truck cap blind overlooking that in the gap to the left of the tractor.  That will be my North wind hunting spot.

I have about 2 acres yet to plow this spring and I hope my right side rear tire makes it thru that.  It made it thru today's planting with no trouble.  That antique Ford tractor is better than my newer, larger 4wd JD tractor on the plow and way better on that corn planter.  It is quieter, lower to the ground, and you can get on or off easy from either side.  That helps a ton when you are checking seed and fertilizer, or clearing jams.

A chain came off the sprockets on the planter, as I was finishing up the sweetcorn.  I put it back on and stretched a spring a little farther on a tensioner pulley.  It made it thru the 2 acres of RR corn with no further trouble.  I will have to pick up a new tension spring from the hardware store, prior to planting the next batch.

[wolc123]

Another surprise today, when I was able to finish my last two acres of spring plowing without blowing out the right rear rim on my 70 year old tractor.  Hopefully,  it makes it thru a little more planting and some cultivating this year. 

I will try and find a used tire and rim, in a little better condition, prior to next spring. If I dont find that, then I will probably go with a new set of tires and rims.  That will cost about $1200.  I won't load them, which means this might be the last time it is used on a plow.

 

[escpen]

Could you use rim guard to load your n we rims / tires so you can still use the machine for plowing?

https://www.rimguardsolutions.com/beet-juice-is-better/why-its-better/


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[wolc123]

1 hour ago, escpen said:

Could you use rim guard to load your n we rims / tires so you can still use the machine for plowing?

https://www.rimguardsolutions.com/beet-juice-is-better/why-its-better/


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Not loading the tires will make that old tractor better at a few jobs, including dragging logs out of my wood lot (less rutting),  and operation on soft sod, so I won't bother.  Plus that stuff is very expensive.  

I will use my other tractor for plowing. It lacks hydraulic draft control, so it is tougher to maintain uniform plow depth. It does have loaded rear tires, 4wd, and about double the weight and hp, so it does ok on the plow. 

 

[wolc123]

After I finished plowing, I cleaned all the dirt off the plow and parked the rig in my pole barn.  The following morning, the right rear tire was settled down flat.  It is up on a jack stand now.

My current plan is to try and pick up a non-running Ford 9n, from a nieghbor.  He claims it ran 2 years ago, but he can't get it started now.  It still has a 6 volt battery in it, and it wont crank over.  It has a loaded right rear tire, with some corrosion starting around the stem, and an unloaded left rear with a new rim.

He is currently asking $1200, and said he will try to get it started this weekend.  I told him I would give him $900, if he cant get it running, which he seemed willing to consider.

If I end up with it, I will replace my flat right loaded rear with the rusty rim loaded rear from the "parts" tractor.  That will likely get me thru a few more years of plowing.   Eventually, some winter when things are slow, I will fork over $120 for a new rim, and $40 for a tube.  I will put those in my old right rear tire and try to get that "parts" tractor running.

That is plan A.  If that dont work out, plan B is to get a new rim and tube now. I will run one loaded and one unloaded tire for a few years like that guy did.  Breaking down those 70 year old tires/rims ain't that fun, so I hope plan A works out. 

I could use that tractor this year for some more corn planting, and I need it for cultivating and spraying.  I cant adjust the wheel spacing properly on my larger tractor to fit between the 36 in spaced corn rows.