Farmall 450 drawbar

I'm looking for a drawbar for a Farmall 450 with fast hitch and traction control. Doesn't appear that OEM or Synders have them. Anyone have any ideas where to look for either a new reproduction or good used?

Find a 1" by 3or4" piece of bar stock with a bend at one end from an old plow. Than find somebody that will loan you a drawbar or get measurements from it. Than at one of the bigger tractor shows talk to the blacksmiths and see if they will help ypu get the correct bends in your stock. That plow steel is good stuff. Where are you located? If you have any more questions please ask. I might be able to get measurements for you. Armand

Try external_link, put the part number in the search box.

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Here's an idea to get you started. I just did 8 bends on 1"x 3" hot rolled flat bar.

You really don't need a sample bar to measure. You just need to look at the parts book illustration and you can figure out the rest. In addition to a bender, you will need a welder and a drill or drill press. The illustration is available at the link below.
Caseih on line parts

That is a great idea. Gotta love that good old farm engineering!

Wardner: Thanks for the picture to illistrate my thoughts. What they say is true. A picture is worth a thousand words. By the way I never thought about using a woodsplitter as a forming press. Armand

Thanks everyone for the replys and ideas. I found a piece of 1" X 2 1/2" flat iron in my scrap pile today. I'm thinking that should be heavy enough for me as I don't plan to do heavy pulling with it. Looked at my W-6 today, and it's drawbar is 1" X 2 1/2". Wardner, did you bend the pieces cold, or heat them some? If anyone could give any dimensions or a sketch of the bends, etc for a Farmall 450 drawbar, I'd appreciate it. Thanks again!!

Tonnage of the press is affected by the thickness and width of the metal you are bending. My splitter puts out 25 tons using a 4" ram at 2000 psi. If you have a 5" ram, you will have about 40 tons at the same pressure.

Tonnage is also affected by the type of steel and and the radius of the bend. The radius is set by the spacing of the blocks attached to the ram. My blocks are set with a 2" space. The radius is tight for that 1" bar. You don't need it that tight. Neither do I but I am still learning. Those two bars were my first experience at machine forming flat bar.

At that spacing, tonnage is also affected by the wedge. I was using a formed angle over the wedge made from 1/8" thick steel. If you look carefully, you will see it in my previous post. Thicker than that is probably better but will need more tons. If you press against a sharp wedge, it will cause excessive marking and weakness on the bar you are bending.

Yes, I had to heat the bar. I wouldn't have had to heat it if the blocks were set to 3", possibly 4". My splitter can bend 1/2" x 3" without heat at the current block spacing.

You will need two offset pieces for your drawbar. The steel below is 5/8" x 3". Again I needed heat but not as much.

When you drill the blocks, put the holes slightly off the vertical centerline so that you can flip them for a different spacing.

Give the bending a try. You will find it is fun and it sure beats a hammer and a broken vise. If you overbend, flip the bar and nudge it gently from the other side. Send us some pictures.

Here's another picture showing what can be done with a log splitter. Stock is 1/2" X 3". These pieces are nearly equal to what an experienced operator can do using a press brake. Nobody would know the difference I did these today in about 10 minutes. I had to heat the 90 degree angles.

Thanks for all of your comments and help on bending. You really are doing a nice job of bending. I don't have a log splitter, but I do have a 20 shop press (a cheap model such as Harbor freight might sell). Do you think that would work for the bends I will need. Not sure I will get at it this summer, may be a winter project. But if we have more rainy days like we have been having, I may have time to attempt it. Thanks again.

Yes, your press should work with heat. Put the wedge on the ram and use something like beefed up channel welded to a heavy plate. Triangulate the flanges of the channel with flat bar. Or weld two angle irons parallel to each other to a plate. Have the corners sticking up. Should look like a "M" or upside down "W" .

Here is a picture of the drawbar for your tractor.

Wardner, I have an angle iron setup like you are talking about for bending lighter sheet metal. I will make a heavier one for this drawbar project, should work good. Thanks for the picture of the drawbar. Do you happen to have any dimensions (bends, lengths) for that drawbar. Or, do you know if a drawbar for a Farmall 300 would have the same dimensions. I looked at the CaseIH parts site for the 300 and 450 drawbars. Pictures look identical, but part # for a 300 is 368468R11, and for a 450 is 368475R11. The reason I'm asking about a 300 drawbar is that my brother (500 miles away) has a Farmall 300 with a drawbar like the one you sent the picture of. I could get dimensions from him of the 300 drawbar if they would work for a 450 drawbar. I'm wondering if the 300 drawbar may be made of lighter material, but the same length, etc? - and so thus a different part number? Thanks for all of your help!!

The 300/400 drawbar is totally different from the 350/450 because the hitch is totally different. I think the only parts in common are the latches on the sockets/sleeves. If he had a 350 hitch, you would be in clover. Even the 3.5"x 8" hydraulic cylinder is different.

I have a 400 drawbar. Not sure where it is though. It is made from 3/8" plate and formed up into a channel. It has a large "swoop" in order to clear the rear portion of the rear tractor frame when the small (2.5"x 8") depth control cylinder is retracted. (2 hydraulic cylinders on the 300/400 hitch) It probably won't work on a 450 but I never tried fitting it to the Traction Control Fast Hitch even though I have several of the later hitches. The 350 and 450 don't use that depth control cylinder so they can use a simpler drawbar. You and I would not be able to make the 300/400 drawbar. In fact, most metal fab shops would not be able to make it. IH used special dies for that part.

I am not a farmer and have no use for a swinging drawbar. I can't help you with angles and dimensions. But if I needed a 450 drawbar, I wouldn't hesitate to make one using the picture that I posted earlier. Dimensions should be self evident if the tractor is inspected and studied.

I am currently interested in this subject because I just built two Fast Hitches for my W-400. One for the rear and another for the front. The front one has required all this heavy-metal bending.

Can't sleep tonight so here is the 400 drawbar. The 300 has to be the same but maybe the gauge of the formed metal is slightly less at 5/16".

If I would stop thinking about running the IPTO to the front of my W-400 perhaps my brain would slow down.

The drawbar on my brother's 300 looks just like the parts catalog picture of the 450 drawbar you posted. I wonder if it is a 350 fast hitch on his 300. Anyway, I will see him this summer and will see about using his drawbar as a start for a pattern for bends, etc. Am sure I won't get to it until fall now. I had an extension that bolts to the 2 point cross drawbar that I put on today. That will get me by for now. Thanks again for all of your help and advice. I'm sure I can get one made this fall or winter.