IH #8 plow

Anonymous-0 · Feb 21, 2009

I have an IH #8 2-16 plow ground lift and slat bottoms. Should I cange it to solid moldboards & hyd lift or leave as is? Thanks, DTK.

Janicholson · Feb 21, 2009

Much depends on your thinking, not our opinion.
If you use it originality might not be important. I know no reason to change the moldboards unless they are worn out. Slats work well. Hydraulic lift is more precise and convienient. JimN

Deer Slayer · Feb 21, 2009

Why go thru all that work & expense; trade for model 60, 2/16's. Its a newer model with more clearance,& hydraulics...

Anonymous-0 · Feb 21, 2009

So what use do you foresee ? Slat bottoms pull easier in tough or sticky soil conditions, and a ground lift is only a problem if you're in someones 50 foot long garden.

Anonymous-0 · Feb 21, 2009

My viewpoint from working with those old rope pulls as a youth seems like it is sacriligious to change it to hydraulics. I agree it is not a good plow for gardens, but a rope pull plow is the way the good Lord meant for us to plow. Besides, what are you going to use that small metal tab under the back edge of the seat (on an M or H) which is for the rope?....will look funny with a hose strung thru it.
Progress back then was good, but it has got out of hand!
LA in WI the Grouch

mkirsch · Feb 22, 2009

If you either get the add-on hydraulic lift kit or make a careful copy, I see no reason not to. It can always be put back to original if a future owner decides he wants it.

#60 plows are tough to find. It took me years to find one within driving distance, and I paid way too much for my 3-bottom. Still looking for a 2-bottom (the one I have can't be converted, something I didn't know when I bought it).

Bob Kerr · Feb 22, 2009

I have a rope pull #8 and don't see anything wrong with it, it lifts quick and I have plowed several gardens with it that were 25 feet long. It takes one revolution of the wheel to pick it up. The only bad thing is don't wrap the rope around your hand or the seat. If the plow hits something and the coupler breaks loose, you can't stop the tractor quick enough to keep from getting yanked off the seat or breaking the lever off the plow. Some old timers used a pulley mounted on a fender to put the rope through so you could pull it back while facing forward instead of trying to pull it forward back handed. Try yours out before converting it, you might just like it the way it is.

Hugh MacKay · Feb 22, 2009

Bob: My dad used to have a big nut on end of the rope. He'd throw it over the 31 loader frame on the H, thus it flew by him when the hitch tripped. One day he was just plowing the family garden, threw the rope over his right leg. No obstructions in the garden to trip the plow hitch, or so he thought. Well the plow tripped and it was a meeting of nuts. Ouch.

Hugh MacKay · Feb 22, 2009

dtk: Slat bottoms were sold mainly in areas were sticky soils were a problem. The scour much better in sticky clays. If the plow is close to it's original home, maybe you best keep the slats. It will work well in all but the most sandy loams.

I would never convert a two bottom trip plow to hydraulics. They were an excellent design. If it were 3-4 bottom, yes I would convert it to hydraulic. Problem the big plows had was traction wheel sliding rather the lifting the plow. We had a No.8 two bottom close to 20 years, plowed in some quite greasy conditions and never had a problem with the wheel sliding.

Fixer · Feb 22, 2009

If you should get in a race on plow day, its always good to have a hydraulic lift so you can lift her up just a little in the tough places. I have a clutch lift going to a hydraulic. Just me Bernie Steffen

Bob Kerr · Feb 22, 2009

Hugh; a good friend of mines wife was plowing with one of their Ms one day. She had the rope tied around her wrist as she dropped it several times and had to stop to pick it back up and fish it out of the dirt she just turned, Well, she hit what was left of an old stump with the plow and she just barely managed to get her toe on the clutch as she was starting to get pulled off the seat. Stretched her out like on a "medival rack". She was very lucky! Talked to several people who did get pulled off the tractor and have seen several old #8 plows with welded up or bent over trip levers from when they had a good rope tied to the seat or something else solid. When I plowed with my #8 and the 10-20, There was a pully mounted on the fender on the left side. I used that but didn't tie a knot in the rope. When I plowed a small garden here in town one day with the F-12, I just sat on the rope tucked at the back of the seat, but was careful how I had it strung, didn't want to snag anything important if it flew out!

Janicholson · Feb 22, 2009

I'll ad that our solution to the rope thing is to put a 8" piece of #9 wire on the seat tab, Bend it into a shepards crook, but just enough to hold the knotted Rope. It pulls out each time, and is easy to rebend. Jim

IH #8 plow

Anonymous-0

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Deer Slayer

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Anonymous-0

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Anonymous-0

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