Antique Plow w/out Coulters

I've never used a moldboard plow. There, I said it. Growing up on the farm in SE PA, my family only used a chisel plow because of the shale ground that was being worked.

I am looking to buy a plow for behind my antique tractor for fun. I ran across one for sale, but it doesn't have any plow coulters. In reading up on this, the soil I would be "working" in for fun would not be the thick, clay like soil of the Midwest. Therefore, its possible these were removed long ago and for the same reasons I would probably remove them if I was using this plow.

From experience, what are some factors that help determine the need for / lack of need for plow coulters?

Cutting up trash (cornstalks, etc) to fit through the plow frame without plugging up the plow.

Paul

I've found that coulters are best suited for use in "ground busting". That is on well established sod. The coulters can slice the sod and roots to eliminate the tearing by the plow's beam and the inevitable plugging of the plow. Beyond that, they will make for a nice looking furrow. Other than that, they tend to get in the way and even make for more trouble than anything else.

Hi, I always use a coultered plow. When plowing
trashy ground we pulled a chain that went under
the furrow as tractor went forward It tucked the
long stuff under keeping the plow from plugging.
Ed Will Oliver BC.

This has been my experience too. Our soil is too loose and stalks are usually too damp to cut with coulters anyway, then when the plow plugs they just make it harder to unplug. Very few plows in my area have coulters.

An old plow isn't going to plow todays corn stalks with or without coulters. On newer high clearance plows we have had better luck plowing corn stalks without coulters. As others said they do help in plowing sod and cut a cleaner furrow doing grain stubble. Coulters shouldn't be that hard to find if you decide you need them.

If you do put coulters on it try to find a set of disk coulters. I have several plows and will take the one with disk coulter over the flat coulters. The disk coulters through the trash over before it gets to plow beams.

Here in our 'country'(western Colorado) 99% of plows dont have colters.Of those few that do,it's only the rear
bottom.I.ve never owned a plow with colters in 40 years.I plow everything from 'virgin' sod to corn stalks to
bean ground. For a fun plow day,dont worry,you probably wont need em,or miss em.Drop your plow in the ground
and have fun!

Coulters were often taken off plows for various reasons. They were kind of hard to handle and store and I think a lot of them ended up going for scrap, thus there is often a shortage of coulters in many areas. Just my opinion.

Most of the time coulters worked fairly well to cut trash to prevent a plug up but....if it didn't cut enough of it and it started to plug up and you didn't catch it in time, you had a REAL plug up. A plugged plow with coulters was a bear to dig out. Not impossible if the dirt was dry but if at all damp...not fun.

60 plus yrs ago there was pride in plowing when you were done no trash on top and ground was level. Therefore coulters and joiners were used now we have found out plowing is even not needed and we are doing manytimes better job of producing food. Never under estimate the AMERICAN FARMER he can and will produce more and better food as the need arises

I've never seen a disc Coulter. What are they like and where would I find them? Are they installed the same.
Dave

if you're plowing something like an existing hay field, the coulters will give you a nice slice through the sod layer and a nice sharp line.

... of course, where you're just playing, and if you're not taking pictures, and you don't have an audience judging your plow skills - I'm
not sure it really matters. The sod's going to give way either way.

If you're soil's anything like around here in MA, you're going to hit so )#(*$# many rocks anyways that a nicely sliced sod layer is going
to be the least of your concerns!


is it a "trip" plow? In other words, when you hook into a refrigerator sized rock, does it have some means of releasing? If not - go
slow!

and one final word - nobody tells you this because it's funny when somebody else smacks their head on the steering wheel but I'll be
nice and warn you: While plowing, hitting the clutch is equivalent to stomping on the brakes!

It can surprise you - especially if you're going at a good clip. What's easy to forget is that the tractor's doing a LOT of work to move
you forward - and that plow is nothing more than a big anchor trying to stop you. Press the clutch and there's nothing moving you forward,
and a whole lot of force stopping you. So be prepared for that!

Ed,

I love your part of the world! Got a good friend in Summerland and have been to that area several times. Anarchist Mountain is a great adventure in an under-powered motor home that doesn't have air brakes.



Stan

bcdave: They have a rigid mounting so they work just like a disk blade. The throw a dirt trench just like a jointer would but without the issues jointers have. I have a set on one White plow I have. They do make covering trash much easier. White/Oliver had them as a factory option. There where aftermarket companies that made them for other plows.

In cornstalks coulters can be a help or a hindrance. I do not like handling coulters, they are floppy and awkward especially the bigger coulters on the newer high clearance plows but sometimes a person has to play with them. I have plowed under tough long stalks where using a coulter was the only way I could get them through. The coulter sliced the stalks so the stalks wouldn't hang up and start dragging on the cutting edge of the moldboard. In dry short stalks I have had to take the coulters off to allow more clearance for the fluffy trash. Using a coulter means less wear on the leading edge of the moldboard. A lot of farmers in this area used a coulter on only the rear plow bottom to make a nice clean furrow to follow the next time around. The rear bottom doesn't tend to plug as often because there is all kinds of room for the trash to go on the land side.

Good post today. I also have a three bottom Massey trip plow that I've never tried. Like Deltared posted, a lot of the remaining mold board plows in this area (south West Alberta) have a disc Coulter on the rearmost bottom. No corn or beans in our area, all small grains and pasture. Will be fun to try out, have to find a spot where the neighbours won't see it! :wink:

ONE THING EVERYBODY IS NOT MENTIONING IS THAT WITH PROPERLY ADJUSTED COULTER'S IS THAT THE SHINS OF THE FROG WILL NOT WEAR NEARLY AS BAD AS NO COULTER'S OR BADLY ADJUSTED COULTER'S

You will be fine without coulters. A couple said below the main reason for coulters was to save the leading edge of the moldboard, or shin on newer plows. Plus, it helps make a clean cut for the furrow, thus the reason a lot of people left them on the rear beam. As Delta said, drop it in the ground and have fun.

On another note, if you can take a wire wheel on a grinder and buff up the moldboards first, it will make scouring a whole lot easier. Have fun - Bob

Just a plain and simple reply. Read all of the others and I found that they will just make a nice clean looking job if everything is set up correctly. Satisfaction and pride of a job well done! Almost a text book or picture post card kind of finished field. Right guys?

Many older plows don't have a lot of trash clearance. a properly adjusted colter cuts thru any trash to assist in it clearing the plow. Depending on soil conditions it helps hold a vertical furrow wall. I always use them, works for me.

Wearing out shins on an antique plow? Is that a concern? Seems like a lot of wearing metal isn't available on some older models, I'd maybe pickup a 720 or something else more modern that all the wear bits are available for if doing serious plowing.

I've got an old overum spring trip plow that you can't get wear parts for, it's saved for gardens and mucking around on small patches. My kverland goes in the ground for real plowing.

kEN , WHY WEAR OUT SOMETHING WHEN WITH THE PROPER COULTER ADJUSTMENT THE SHINS WON'T WEAR NEARLY AS FAST IF AT ALL ??

My dad never took the counters off no matter how much the plow plugged. He didn't like to see the shins wearing and replacing shins cost money. If the plow plugged too much he would disk the stalks again on a dry day but the colters stayed on. It cost more than the price of shins to disk again but that didn't matter.

I would never try to put a plow in the ground without coulters.

I think Yetter made the first disk coulter and they used a standard 16" disk blade. The arm the coulter mounts on is bolted rigid to the shank and that is a must. Will not work if loose. To start adjustment you use the turn of the offset in the shank to get the angle of the mounting arm, then the hub is bolted to that arm with 3 bolts, middle is a round hole, other 2 are slotted so it can be twisted to get perfect alignment. That does the job a jointer was supposed to do but didn't. It keeps the trash from building up on front side of beam.I think it was Tractor Supply that one time sold a disk blade type of coulter that had a spring to hold it in alignment bu if you hit a rock it would give some to pass the rock through, the Yetter rigid would not do that and you would have to beat the rock out. I have had to do that many a time. I think the Yetter coulters came out in late 40's, I know Dad had them before I was old enough to drive the tractor and I was born in 1943. The only plows we did not have them on was a Deere 3 bottom mounted sold new with a 2020 tractor and a 4 bottom Massey Ferguson semi-mounted. Had them on multiple 2 and 3 bottom plows before in both 3 pt and drag type. Lentz made a 2 flat blade coulter to do the same thing with one blade set as a standard factory coulter when working but had a second coulter set at an angle that did the same thing as the concave part on the disk blade unit. There were I think other makers of those disk blade type of coulters but I do not know anything about them. That spring loaded that I think was TSC the center of the blade mounted different so was not easy to replace a dammaged blade like the Yetter was. Had the Yetter coulters on at least 5 plows at the same time. And still have several laying around yet altho no longer farming. And I did have a chisel plow for a time and when was no longer farming a highly eroadable farm sold it as I did not like the work they do.

It is Amor impossible to find a 3pts plow here that still
has the coulters. Most have been removed. Pull type plows
it is rare to find one without coulters.

I have no idea why.

There has never been a kverland plow in this area and most farmers and even dealers would ask what are you talking about. Never heard of something like that. It was only from this site that I heard of them.

The 3 point plows are probably newer type models that parts like coulters are same as the semi mounted plows. the pull type are probably older units with a different type smaller coulter. So when one has gotten loose and lost of the bigger semi mount plows the coulter was grabed off the never used any more 2 point to put on the semi mount.

On our clay, without a coulter you're going to have a roll of sod stuck between the point and beam. I've seen pictures of people plowing sandy looking ground w/o a coulter, but the "plowing" they do ends up looking more like the field was subject to an artillery barrage. If you're plowing sod, I'd want a coulter and maybe a jointer too!

Thanks for the information. I plow with a Massey 2 bottom trip plow and a Case DC4 in the ANTIQUE CLASS. I'll have to check the rules. I have skimmers on it now and that works unless the trash is very thick. I will be checking on them.
Dave