Picked up my moldboard plow today :)

[allenlook]

Yippee! Finally got time to make the drive south to TM and picked up my moldboard plow today

Too bad it's over 100 miles, I always enjoy seeing Tom and rummaging around the Cub*Mart, but I had the kids along today and couldn't rummage nearly as much as I like to!

Also had the pleasure of meeting Mrs. TM today. Great folks!

Now I get to hook up the plow to the Cub and start plowing - only problem is I've never used one of these things! I only need to plow three furrows, each one 10 feet apart, and each one 65 feet long. (Three rows of grapes in Geneva Curtain system.)

Is there anything to it besides dropping the plow and trying to drive in a straight line

[Scott]

you need to set the depth with depth conrol lever and then pretty much drive in a straight line

[Joey]

Allen:

How wide of a row are you planning to make for your grapes? Here in Hammond at the research station, we have rows 20 feet apart for grapes on Geneva double curtain. The trellises are 20 feet apart when they are in the center of the rows. When the grapes have a full canopy, we need room for the mower or a tractor and wagon to pass down the row. Fifteen feet could be wide enough, but we had rows ten feet apart with a double strand wires over and under and it was too close for us My question is, could you use a Cub plow to make wide rows? If so, what's the best to go about moving that much soil?

[John *.?-!.* cub owner]

Allen, you first pass, before the wheel is in a furrow will not normally be very deep, you may need to make 2 to get deep enough.

[allenlook]

Joey,

I was planning on double-strand only at the top, but it's good to know that 10' is too narrow, I was going to do 15' based on the increased height of the wiring system to keep the sun on all the rows.

[400lbsonacubseatspring]

Allen,

The biggest error in logic I made in using my plow for the first time was mounting it on top of the drawbar instead of under it. It seems to "fit" better on top, but actually belongs underneath. The P.O. had it mounted on top, so I figured I'd do the same, without checking photos, etc.

Once I got that figured out, it worked like a charm.

-Tom

[allenlook]

400,

I hooked mine up on top too, but it worked fantastically!

I've never had that much fun on the Cub! It was really cool watching the ground fold over once I got the right wheels in a furrow

The Cub hunkered down and pulled that sucker right through the clay I've got over on the West side of the property. Now the only problem I have is I've run out of stuff to plow!

[Joey]

Allen:

Got pics of the plowed rows?

[Hengy]

Man... you guys are bringing back GREAT memories for me!!!

I spent hours on top of my uncle's Cub (Ol' Betsey) plowing with the fast hitch plow (at least I know what it is called now!)...

We had about an acre plowed up and planted Corn, tomatoes, green beans, etc.

What fun it was to plow with the Cub. It was also fun to disk the garden once the plowing was done! Betsey pulled really well, and it seemed that the job was always done too soon. The only major instruction that my uncle gave me (aside from keeping the rows straight) was to always start moving with the tractor before dropping the plow... Is this the correct instruction, or doesn't it matter?

I think that my uncle would have kept Betsey longer had he known about all the attachments that would have eliminated all of that "hoeing" of the corn and beans...

This is a GREAT site, guys... thanks for stirring up all those memories!!!

I gotta get me one of those Cubs now...

Mike in La Crosse, WI

[Matt Kirsch]

Depends on how easy the going is. In hard-plowing ground, the Cub may not have the power to start out with the plow sunk in.

[TOOLMAN]

Mike The WisconsinCubMan
As Larry Theable Cable Guy would say " Get Er Done"
Hope ya find one soon Tony

[allenlook]

I dropped the plow before moving on most of the rows because I was trying to line them up, and trying to make a small, square garden with the minimum of manual work on the edges.

The plow doesn't have down-force (it hangs from a chain on the rear rockshaft) so starting out from a standstill or when already moving doesn't make that much difference as far as I could tell.

Of course, I have a grand total of 30 minutes or less dragging a plow behind me, so 99.44% of the list members could tell me that I'm 10 pounds of poop in a 5 pound bag

[400lbsonacubseatspring]

Well.............

The substantial weight of the plow provides enough "down force" to "suck it down" into the ground when moving ahead. The depth control lever changes more of the attack angle than the actual plow depth, so I know this must be true.

In some soils it is possible to drop the plow precisely where you would like to begin, and it will suck right down. In others, as George W., EJP, and I have mentioned, sometimes it is helpful to make a pass or two in the opposite direction at the beginning and end (the other beginning) of the row, to provide something for the plow point to "catch" on, in order to have it suck down better.

Me, my soil is a heavy red clay that turns over like a vegetable peeler through a bar of baker's chocolate. I don't have very nice starts or stops unless I do infact plow the opposite way in the beginning and the end of the field. It gets pretty bumpy working like that, especially on the side of a hill, but one's nerves get better as you do it more often. I have to make adjustments to the depth control frequently, as sometimes the cub will bog down so deep, it'll stall the tractor, and other times, it'll just skim the top..but that's the soil around here for you.

My first few plowing experiences on the sides of the hill had me just about ready to jump off the tractor, as I had her on 2 wheels on more than one occaision, when plowing right-side down. Now, I take an extra Tranxene or two before I start, and figure, she might wobble, but with that plow anchored in, she probably won't go over........(It's purely a matter of faith, boiz......I've taken to singing hymns when plowing right-side down.... )

One of these days, I'll find me a two way (hillside) plow, and then God can tend to other matters while I'm plowing.....LOL

I even came up with one more verse to the several hundred out there for the Mariner's Hymn:

Eternal Father, Strong to Save,
this stupid farmer from the grave.
Please help me make this right-side run,
then I'll be fine, the rest is fun.
Please hold us upright with thy hand
For those in peril, turning land.

[Don McCombs]

Tom,

Here's your two-way plows.

http://www.farmallcub.com/phpBB2/viewtopic.php?t=12631

[400lbsonacubseatspring]

Don,

Thanks,

I contacted him right away.

I hope he still has them.

-Tom