Disc Won't Dig

[Chuck Mi]

I have an old IH 10" wheel disc that will only dig about 2" in my heavy clay. The adjustment screw on the tongue is long gone so I"m trying to set it deeper by attaching the tractors drawbar to the top most hole on the disc tongue. In that way the front set of discs dig and the rear disc just barely go into the ground. I"ve thought about adding weight to the rear on the disc top frame.
Any suggestions on how to get this baby to go down to at least the disc axles would be greatly appreciated. Thanks.

 

[Joe(TX)]

Most discs are not made to dig, only to smooth after plowing.

 

[Wesley Stephens]

you can make a disc cut more by putting more angle on the gangs, but you don't want it deeper than the axles anyway. a disc won't really cut deep in hard soil anyway though. you probably will have to go over it several times. you need to make sure also that the angle you have it set to matches your speed. if you don't, you will either throw dirt out or bed it up. if the front gangs are throwing out dirt and the back ones aren't pulling it in, you will leave depressions in the field.

 

[Ole Shovel]

Fix the leveler or sell it and get you another disk. I may be wrong but thought a disk sliced not dig. Put more weight on it not level or trying to go too deep with it in wet or dry hard soil and just going to tear something up and be welding it back together because you forced it to do something it was not designed to do. If it doesn't pull straight and smooth it's either your soil conditions are wrong or you have it set wrong that simple.

 

[Billy NY]

Someone else just posted about this, I think it depends on the soils, I mean the big 637 JD disc I pulled behind a JD4440 recently, was heavy enough to do that, but you would have to let it down gradually. It's hard to say due to soil conditions etc. but I can't see a small 3pt disc doing that, my 7 foot'er won't go much lower than that on sod, maybe something that has been worked up the year before or much better if just plowed. You could add some weight, but like was said, could end up tearing something up, there can be a lot of forces at work in hard ground once you get those disc's in, I repaired that big modern disc for the farmer because someone did just that, and did not lift it in time in a turn.

Try a bunch of passes and see, might just have to plow it 1st, mine 7'-0" sure does a nice job after it's been plowed, kind of a pain without doing that first, having wood bearings, no way I would weight that one down.

 

[Mark]

what are wanting to do with the disc? Let me guess...create a 'food plot'?

A disc harrow......was designed to harrow the soil.....smooth it out after being plowed. The idea is to break up the soil/clods and level it out. In the spring, when the soil is fairly loose, you can 'rough up' the unplowed ground a little, to sow grass seed.

A disc sure isn't a primary tillage tool.

 

[john_Bud]

Two things make a disc work -- angle and weight. Increase the angle and add some weight.

Get a 3 bottom plow and run that first - life will be much easier!

 

[John Harmon]

Won't do it in hard ground,plow the dirt first.At least 6-8 Inches then maybe you can bury the old disc to the axle. The thing is from the before WW2 era.The blades as well as every thing else about it probably are wore out.It will at best do a half way job.

 

[John Harmon]

I was just being sarcastic,Sorry. Lots of good info down below.

 

[RobMD]

That's perfectly normal. You've answered your own question - hard clay. The ground MUST be plowed first, then it will disk PERFECTLY.

 

[Hugh MacKay]

Chuck: Call the scrap man, you've got a worn out old disk. Then go take some courses on what farm equipment is desgned to do.

There are disks designed to do what your trying to do but they weigh 500 lbs. per blade, 30" diameter blades 1/4" thick at the hub. A good one will cost $10,000.

 

[Anonymous-0]

Grounds to hard, you need to plow it first or wait for a rain. Sounds like you want to destroy the disk anyway, adding weight, attaching it to the tractor in weird combinations!!??

 

[Dave H (MI)]

Chuck, all kidding aside, BEFORE you trash that thing and if you decide to move to something different, send me an e-mail. It is just about the size and make I am looking for and if it is in any kind of decent shape it WILL work on my soil. It's even the right color!