WD 45 a Plowing Machine

[John T]

I remember yearsssssssssss ago the old timers tellin me a WD 45 with a correct WD snap mounted plow pullin 3 bottoms could plow circles around say a Farmall M or a John Deere A or an Oliver 77 etc sooooooooooo at the Elnora Tractor show last week here comes a dressed out WD 45 with FOUR wheel weights on each side,,,,,,,,,,the wrap around plus FOUR more weights on the front,,,,,,,,and a 3 bottom AC mounted plow. Theres a well dressed M with a 3 bottom pull plow and a few other tractors in the field and I watched them all plow a good bit AND IN MY OPINION THAT WD 45 SMOKED THE COMPETITION. I figure its the mounting and the balance and a few other reasons why it can out perform a pull plow set up and it was fun to watch and how "manly" that WD looked with 4 (or maybe it was even 5 ??) wheel weights on each side plus 4 or 5 up front wooooooooooo hooooooooooo

John T
 

[S.C.]

I remember Dad helping a buddy of his one spring getting some ground turned over. Dad was using his wd-45 with the three bottom plow and his buddy was on a massey 270 with a mounted three bottom and Dad was running circles around him. He couldn't believe that old tractor could plow that good. That 270 is about 55 horsepower and 10 to 15 years newer. At the time the 45 still had the 4 inch bore sleeves and pistons too. His buddy wasn't too impressed with the 270 after seeing that. At the time it was just a couple years old.
 

[JMS/.MN]

WD45 has the Traction Booster system, adding weight to the tractor"s rear wheels as needed. Can outplow a heavier tractor. Successful Farming magazine did a story on it in the 50s.
 

[Bob Bancroft]

The plowing ability of a WD45 with a mounted, or semi-mounted plow, doesn't surprise me. The challenge here was getting the old AC plow to work well in various soils and conditions.
Even though the tractor had the hand clutch release, Dad was constantly checking the plow beams for bolts that had just started to shear.
If the tractor you saw was weighted perfectly, it should have had more weight on the land wheel than on the furrow wheel.
In the spring of 1966 a JD 2510 with a JD145 3x16 semi mounted plow took over plowing duties. Wow! Trip bottoms!
 

[Jim Phelps]

Well I never plowed with a WD but we raised about 30 acres of Tobacco and used a CA wide front to turn over all the ground using a SC 2-14 plow, it was light enough to haul behind a truck but fast enough in the field to really get the job done, old man across the road at one field could not believe how fast it could move.
 

[red ranger]

Yes, they were, a straight WD would pretty well make an M look stupid, both on 3-14s.

But, unhook the SC plow, throw the drawbar back under it, hook onto a 10" wheel disk, or any other tool for working down plowed ground, and the M took the lead.

When I was born, dad had a WD, and an M, WD was for plowing, planting, cultivating, hay, pulled the 60 AllCrop, and where needed on other odd jobs.

The M helped plow, worked down most all of the ground, helped with hay, and carried the 2MH picker, (except when it sank).
 

[wolfman]

Yep per.
 

[BushogPapa]

We had two WD-45's..one Dad bought new in '57 and mine I bought from my Grandad.
Dad;s came new with the Semi-mounted 4x14 and mine had the fully mounted 3x14..
Plowing with them should be done in 2nd gear, but mine (with the 3x14" could pull it in 3rd..but that was entirely too fast..and..checking fuel consumption, either way I used more gas per Acre than Dad, using the 4x14"..
I eventually found a 4x14" for mine and we had a great matched pair..
For Discing, we put Duals (14.9x28")on one WD-45 and matched it to the IH #37 Disc/Harrow and wheel slippage was never a problem after that..
Always, first time over, we used the JD "B" and 8' Soul Surgeon (Drag) to settle and firm up the soil..didn't bring up nearly as much residue that way..
AC plows can turn Sod in mile long ribbons and that makes working the ground a real Pleasure, the 1st time over..!!!!

Ron
 

[BushogPapa]

We had two WD-45's..one Dad bought new in '57 and mine I bought from my Grandad.
Dad;s came new with the Semi-mounted 4x14 and mine had the fully mounted 3x14..
Plowing with them should be done in 2nd gear, but mine (with the 3x14" could pull it in 3rd..but that was entirely too fast..and..checking fuel consumption, either way I used more gas per Acre than Dad, using the 4x14"..
I eventually found a 4x14" for mine and we had a great matched pair..
For Discing, we put Duals (14.9x28")on one WD-45 and matched it to the IH #37 Disc/Harrow and wheel slippage was never a problem after that..
Always, first time over, we used the JD "B" and 8' Soul Surgeon (Drag) to settle and firm up the soil..didn't bring up nearly as much residue that way..
AC plows can turn Sod in mile long ribbons and that makes working the ground a real Pleasure, the 1st time over..!!!!
Later, I got to using a single Dual on both WD-45's, for plowing and that was good...
Ron
 

[JohnDeereM50]

If you use all Snap-Coupler implements the WD45 needs no extra weight added at all. Allis-Chalmers made anything you could think of Snap-Coupler.
 

[bg/mo]

I can see where he needs the extra weight, with our 45 and snapcoupler plow set as deep as it will go tractor is clawing for traction.
 

[JohnDeereM50]

Traction Booster in working order?
 

[Allis Dave]

I have a wd-45 with 3 weights on the land side and 2 on the furrow side. I pull a 3'14 semimount plow with trip bottoms and I still have trouble getting enough traction many times. I wonder if the semi-mount plow transfers less weight to the tractor because I'm only picking up half the plow with traction boost.
 

[rustyfarmall]

Isn't a WD45 new enough that for a fair comparison, it should be pitted against a Farmall 400 or 450, or a John Deere 60, 620, or 630?

Putting a WD45 in a competition with a straight Farmall M or JD A isn't even a good match.
 

[Engineut2]

With mine...I have even removed ALL the spacers from the spring clamp, so the Main spring is compressed as far as it will go and I Still haul back on the Hand Clutch lever, to help keep the front as low as I can..and that IS with the Hydraulic lever DOWN, all wheels Loaded and a RR Iron across the front ( In Jack-Wax )..still in 2nd Gear, tho..!


Clyde..