Farmall B 3-Point hitch assembly

[buckbored]

Rather than make many mistakes and burn time, someone out there must have already fabricated a successful 3-point hitch assembly for a Farmall B? I have figured out how to get hydraulic power to a lift cylinder but need help on the actual hitch assembly fabrication. Any diagrams, plans, photos or other info would be much appreciated! Would need to lift a 700 lb cat 1 mower.

 

[fixerupper]

In my opinion you are asking way too much out your B.

 

[buckbored]

Well, I posted this to get opinions so, thank you. Honestly! You very well might be correct. But, I am old, stuborn and bull-headed. My thinking was if an A can have hydos, my B should be able to handle as well. Besides, don't want to just have a trailer queen show tractor. Figured a little mowing would be more good for it than parked in the garage. Guess I could find a pull-behind mower with no lift capability but that seems a bit unsafe. Live on a rocky farm. Will take you comment in advisement but still open to other input.

 

[BarnyardEngineering]

It's not the 3 point hitch, or the desire to use it on a mower. It's the SEVEN HUNDRED POUND mower.

For it to be that heavy, it sounds like a 6' rotary mower. Your B simply won't have the horsepower to run the mower in light grass, let alone pull itself and the mower through rugged terrain mowing much of anything. It is only 18HP with a fresh new engine and yours is likely less than that.

Lifting will be a problem also. You may be able to build a mechanism that can lift the weight but every action has an equal and opposite reaction. In other words your front end is going to come off the ground with 700lbs hanging so far back off the rear of the tractor. A couple of 35lb front wheel weights aren't going to cut it.

A 4' rotary mower is about all these tractors want.

All that said, I can't say as I've ever seen a 3pt setup on a B.

 

[Ken Hansen]

Not sure what 6 foot rotary mower is being talked about here but I have used a 72 inch belly mount, I think that's 6 feet where I went to school, for some thing like 30 years under my BN. Most of the time I mow in third gear.

It's not golf course type grass and some places it does grow in a bit thick and at time in those places need to drop to 2nd gear.

 

[kopeck]

I haven't been following what your trying to do with your B so I'll leave that part alone. That being said take a look at the lift setup for a B-187 plow. That would be a pretty good place to start.

I always though my BN would be a pretty easy tractor to retrofit a 3 point hitch onto. The PTO is in the right place and there's plenty of space and mounting points.

K

 

[Russ from MN]

You also don't have enough horsepower for that big a mower! I built a 3-point for a JD M and tried using a 5 foot
King Kutter on it. I could not lift the whole mower very well so I disconnected the top link and just lifted the
front, let the tail wheel carry the back. I didn't use it very much because it was short on power and I had a
bigger tractor.

 

[buckbored]

Maybe it would help to see what mower I have? An old TSC 72 inch finishing mower on 4 dolley wheels. See photo

 

[kopeck]

So here's my two cents...

First off is that mower really 700+ pounds?

Second is I think a 72" is too much to ask of the old C113 that's in your B. I ran a 60" Woods mover under my A and it's all it ever wanted. It would mow a mostly flat lawn well but longer grass and hills were taxing, especially with out a live PTO.

The little letter series tractors are wonderful machines and can work past their size regularly, I think that mower is a bit much though.

K

 

[BarnyardEngineering]

At least it's not a bush hog style mower so you won't be trying to mow heavy grass with it. It's also situated far closer to the tractor so you've got that much going for you.

Still a lot of mower for a B unless it's really hot rodded up but you've got nothing to lose if you fancy a challenge. The 3pt will still be useful on the tractor even if it turns out to not be able to run the mower.

 

[Janicholson]

This (and other) videos may give you inspiration. The tractor may just work fine, or you could add more power with a 124 engine kit. But
sharp blades, and keeping the front 1/2 inch lower than the back will be easiest on power. Keep the lift arms reasonably short but clear the
tires with the mower when up or down or turning. sway should be controlled with chains to allow some 7 inches or so of arm movement from side to
side. Good luck. It will not be a bush-hog. Jim
an example

 

[Ken Hansen]

Like I said before my BN has been running a Woods 72 inch mower for decades. Now I would not want to try mowing a lawn that has be let go for months, but for normal once a week mowing in central NY it does a good job. Sharp blades and proper adjustment of the deck is important!

I did rebuild the tractor with the, I believe 3 1/8 pistons so it may be a slightly higher horse power than a worn out stock motor.

I think if I had one of the mowers shown and was not sure if the tractor was going to handle it I would fabricate some crude mounts to attach it to the drawbar and do a test run. Then if it seems to be able to power the mower to your satisfaction work on something better.

 

[buckbored]

Your test hookup is a great idea! Thank you!

 

[Ken Hansen]

(quoted from post at 18:50:36 08/08/19) Your test hookup is a great idea! Thank you!

I'm thinking a couple four or five foot long pieces of angle iron with a diagonal brace between them would do the trick.

Might only be good for a straight path down the yard but if it's a section that has grass of the length you would normally be mowing it would give you an idea if the tractor will handle the mower.

And one more idea in place of hydraulics might be worth thinking about an electric wench to lift the mower. Something like this:
https://www.harborfreight.com/2500-...winch-with-wireless-remote-control-61840.html

 

[Frank H]

I've never had any trouble running a 72
inch finish mower behind an A. I had a Ford
mower I rigged up and it worked slick,
plenty of power with a 113 engine. No golf
course grass here but I don't know weekly
for certain. Build that 3 point!

 

[Frank H]

In my previous comment I somehow put know but it should have been now. As in I don't mow every week and the A had no trouble cutting.

 

[buckbored]

Thank everyone for your input! I have some minor maintenance issues to resolve on my B before I tackle the 3-point project but I do now intend to try to fabricate something that works. Great ideas from everyone from snowploy pump to electric winch. When I git-er-done I will post the results so stand-by. Photo of my B attached.