Got the plow out for the first time since 2018

Will Herring · Oct 22, 2020

Put the plow on the old Allis WD tonight and spent about an hour playing in the dirt. Here's a short video and some pictures:

Short Video: https://youtu.be/ghNzouuPqtk

I just can't seem to get that front share to shine up well. Need to plow a few more hours with it, but may need to encourage it with my angle grinder and wire cup brush again...

1946 BN IHC · Oct 22, 2020

How about using a flap pad with medium or fine grit or a sander with similar grit?

Will Herring · Oct 22, 2020

(quoted from post at 21:38:05 10/22/20) How about using a flap pad with medium or fine grit or a sander with similar grit?

Never tried one of those, but I have a nice angle grinder so a flap wheel may be a good way to go... The knob cup brush has worked well in the past, but it never gets it super shiny.

Fine grit instead of coarse grit seem to be the way to go?

jal-SD · Oct 22, 2020

Any sandy ground close by that needs to be turned over? Sandy or gravely ground will get them to shine up. Once you get them shined up, paint them with flat black paint. We use the least expensive we can find (think dollar store). Do not be stingy, give it another coat as soon it's just about dry - it'll take two cans for a three bottom. (We've even used a whole can per bottom if we do the frogs.) When you get ready to use it again, you'll be surprised at how quickly it'll shine up.

fastfarmall · Oct 22, 2020

Yep, thats how i do it too !!

ss55 · Oct 22, 2020

Would graphite paint work for off-season protection? It might scour a little better too until the whole moldboard gets polished.

David G · Oct 22, 2020

Is that a log house?

Will Herring · Oct 22, 2020

(quoted from post at 21:51:50 10/22/20) Any sandy ground close by that needs to be turned over? Sandy or gravely ground will get them to shine up. Once you get them shined up, paint them with flat black paint. We use the least expensive we can find (think dollar store). Do not be stingy, give it another coat as soon it's just about dry - it'll take two cans for a three bottom. (We've even used a whole can per bottom if we do the frogs.) When you get ready to use it again, you'll be surprised at how quickly it'll shine up.

I've got about 2-3 gallons of a bucket of old grease that I use some cheap 99 cent paintbrushes in to paint it at the end of the "plow season" (after I hit the dirt off with a quick blast from my angle grinder with the knob brush). Never tried paint, but given how much luck I've had with some cheap rattlecans, that seems like a decent idea. Not much sandy or gravelly soil to be had here sadly, mostly dirt and clay around here.

(quoted from post at 22:17:52 10/22/20) Is that a log house?

Yep, though it's been going downhill for the last 20 years and is pretty worse for the wear.

Majorman · Oct 23, 2020

We have some land which is "black" made up of soil from marshes that have been drained. I got into trouble with one of my customers for sending home a new Ransomes plough with paint on the mould boards, I was told in no uncertain terms to clean it off otherwise it would still be there when the plough was traded in 10 years in the future.

We had other farmers who farmed soil close to the sea on the coast, the soil looked like small "plates" that slid over one another and the shine on plough bodies was just like glass with no scratch marks. This was on re-claimed land immediately behind the sea wall.

I paint my plough bodies with gear grease which seems to hold on better in our climate.

Butch(OH) · Oct 23, 2020

I shined up quite a few old plows and
have three tips. Forget the wire brush
and fine sand paper. Use a 36 grit disk
on a flex back, no it will not scratch up
the hard as glass moldboards. By the time
the rust is knocked down so is the points
on the grit and it will polish, one disk
for each moldboard, just try it. Stop
often and clean off the plow, use a 2-4
lbs hammer and give the back side of the
moldboards and cover boards a good whack.
Plowing along with stuck dirt just
prolongs scouring. Last put the plow in
the ground as deep as you can pull it,
shift down if need be, deep will scour much
quicker than fast and shallow. Good luck
with it.

caterpillar guy · Oct 23, 2020

All that grinding does is wear the plow parts out faster. Just scrape the dirt off a few times and keep plowing it will shine up just fine. Dad used to keep plows greased when I was a kid. Then sometime in the past it was forgotten. We have not coated a plow since. They will, on some fields take a bit longer to clean up and scour. But with in a few rounds will be shiny like a new penny.

tomstractorsandtoys · Oct 23, 2020

Maybe your soil will shine a plow but here in WI you can not plow without first having a clean shiny plow bottom. My farm in MD you could pull a plow out of a fence row after setting 20 years and in one or two rounds have it shinning like a mirror but not here. Tom

tomstractorsandtoys · Oct 23, 2020

Looks good and makes we want to hop on and plow a few rounds. My first tractor was a WD. I had a plow for it but never used it but did plow lots of acres with a series II D15 and two bottom. Tom

INCase · Oct 23, 2020

plowed with a WD45 and 3 bottom like that for a neighbor a few times.

he plowed in squares switching between out to in or in to out every other year.

as soon as the back wheel hit the dead furrow going 90deg to the row you're on hit the lift and the right brake at the same time and spin her around but slow down and ease the front tires over the dead furrow you just made, then as soon as the rear tire hits the same dead furrow drop the plows, give her gas and go to the next. more or less do the opposite plowing in to out.

in Delaware sandy soil plows shine up real fast. they do here in norther Indiana too as the soil here is light but not like sothern DE ground. Neighbor got mad at me one time when i parked the tractor/plow in the barn and didn't clean all the dirt off the shares.

Adirondack case guy · Oct 23, 2020

I have been doing a bit of plowing also. In spite of the much needed rain.

Loren

TomA in CA · Oct 23, 2020

I had black clay soil that would never scour. Spent a lot of years shining moldboards in order to plow. Finally tried graphite paint. Applied to rusty moldboards started scouring immediately, by the time it wore off moldboards were shining. Graphite paint sticks well to rusty and sticky soil slips on it, try it.

Will Herring · Oct 23, 2020

Majorman -- Wow, that's crazy about the vast differences in soil types. Need a bit of aggregate in the soil to scour it up it seems like. I definitely use grease to paint mine, it holds good for multiple years in the shed.

Butch(OH) -- I am going to go pick up a flap disk this weekend. It's pouring rain today, so I've got some time to play with shining it up with some elbow grease. Good to know about deep and slow. I could go down to 1st and put it in a bit deeper.

caterpillar guy -- I grease mine and it seems to hold for a few years of non-use in the shed. This plow came to me not being used for probably 30 or 40 years, so I need to get an initial deep layer of rust off, then I hope to not have to manually grind on it again.

tomstractorsandtoys -- Seems like the first share just will not shine, maybe it doesn't get as much pressure as the other two. But yeah, the soil here seems hit or miss on scouring. It was fun though!

INCase -- That seems like an interesting plowing method. Fortunately I have a lot of room to play with so I can do straight runs, as I have no clue on how to contour plow or make headlands or finish off a field... I need to do some plow days and have someone show me the ropes haha.

Adirondack case guy -- Looks fantastic!!

Will Herring · Oct 23, 2020

(quoted from post at 10:46:00 10/23/20) I had black clay soil that would never scour. Spent a lot of years shining moldboards in order to plow. Finally tried graphite paint. Applied to rusty moldboards started scouring immediately, by the time it wore off moldboards were shining. Graphite paint sticks well to rusty and sticky soil slips on it, try it.

Interesting, I have never tried graphite paint... That sounds awesome. I had always thought it was for protecting while shedded.

Meangreen · Oct 23, 2020

Interesting, I have never tried graphite paint... That sounds awesome. I had always thought it was for protecting while shedded.

There's some stuff at my local farm store, I believe it's called Till Guard, that I use. Looks like you are spray painting the plow black when done, but comes right off as soon as it goes in the ground. I've seen a lot of guys paint on a heavy grease as well. I tend to shy away from it because it seems to find a way to get all over me.

Just had my M and trip plow out last weekend for the first time in a few years. Was a lot of fun!

Meangreen · Oct 23, 2020

Will - I miss read. I use the paint stuff when I store the plow.

Another old trick I have seen done is get an old, softer brick. Take it and rub it all over the moldboard. The soft brick will leave the orangish color behind and then go plow. I watched an old boy do this one time and I couldn't believe how quickly we got an old rusty plow to shine up.

Paul from MI · Oct 23, 2020

I just use whatever kind of spray paint the wife has left over, always seems to work for me.

Will Herring · Oct 25, 2020

Meangreen -- Interesting, I'll have to see if I can find that till guard anywhere... And I do have some old orange clay bricks that are soft around in the shed I am sure. Could give that a try.

Paul from MI -- Given how poorly cheap spray paint seems to stick, this seems like it would work well.

Will Herring · Nov 1, 2020

Well folks, at first glance, it seems like the flap disc worked well! I did a bit of test plowing today after an hour with the flap disc and it did not stick to the share anymore, just the little curly flap at the top!

Got the plow out for the first time since 2018

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