Littlr Genius #8 INSTRUCTION PRIMER

[corvetttteguy]

I found out the old piece of equipment that came
with my farm is a Little Genius #8 2-14? steel wheel plow.
I plan on working on a corn field and would
like to give it a try. While there are a lot of
pictures around I see little information on what the
levers do.
Here is a description:
Two long levers. one steel wheel with drum and spring loaded
lever that can lock in to two settings on the drum. The smaller steel
wheel is smooth which rolls freely. A trailing steel wheel which does not turn.
Two plow shares that have small lower adjustment that looks
like a garden spigot knob.
I will try to get the rusty parts free and then try a run at my field.
I can move the right lever to different knotches, but the
other lever (on drum side) won't adjust.

I need a simple primer on what the levers are for and how to get the
plow shares to engage.

 

[Leroy]

That garden spigot knob is what holds the share on, right lever is tilt to level, left and one you say will not move is depth, those 2 knotches it part of clutch and one position plow is in transport, other in working position. Sounds like it is rusted up too bad to even want to try to use it. The wheel on back sounds like it is rusted sollid as well. And in that condition I dought the shares have enouse on to ever go in the ground if you can get it loosened up using an A/O torch to heat everything up. And shares for that plow would be over a $150 each. And I dought that the moldboards or landsides are usuable either with the condition you are saying. That plow is only yard art.

 

[Farmallb]

Get yourself a BIG can of Blaster. Spray it on all parts you think that move. The tail wheel will move if you jack the rear end up and move it. Same with the Lever. What are you going to pull this with? I have the same plow. Use it every year. Take your tractor and put it in a straight line so as to hook up the p,ow. Take a board and place it up against the right rear tire and back to the plow wheel. They should both be in line on the inside. If they are not, you can make adjustments on to the tongue to get it to that point. IF when you do make any adjustments, when done and it is hooked up to the tractor, stand behind it, Make the plow beams so that they are slightly aimed to the Left. that way, when plowing and the forces of the earth are against it, with whatever loseness in the plow, it should be plowing in a straight line the beams that is. The moldboard is the bigger part above the share which is held on by a rod to the hand wheels you mentioned. Make sure they are tight, which they probably are. IF the moldboard and share are rusty, it wont plow worth a darn. IF Its not pitted on the share and moldboard, use a wire brush and Blaster to clean it. Spray it, let it set an hour or more then brush, when done brushing, spray again. Do this till the share and moldboard are smooth. THEN, paint the shares with a water based paint, and when done plowing for the season, clean off the share and moldboard, and paint again. This will preserve the finish that the ground put on them. You will need a rope that goes from the rod on the wheel with the drum and connects to the tractor. This should be no more or less than 1in rope around 8ft long. You will need a TWIST CLEVIS for to hitch the plow to the tractor. DO NOT try to back up with the plow, as, although when new, you could do this, ive found when 80yrs old you can break the tail wheel. Grease it good, but only give the trip mech around 10 shots of grease. Good luck. There good plows.

 

[corvetttteguy]

If this rain ever stops here in PA I will take some pics.

I am guessing that the frozen lever on the drive wheel side may
only move when the plow is moving? And Would this be because the
drive wheel turns the gears that some how lift or lower the shares?
Is there a trip mechanism that I am missing?
The plow share and moldboards seem to be clean.

I am guessing that the foot long lever that engages
the drive drum requires a
rope that gets pulled by the operator to
raise or lower the blades.

I have either a 32 hp 7532 Cub Cadet R4 4x4 compact tractor,
and a 4600 John Deere 42 hp 4x4 Turf compact. Come this year
The Ford 841 I am restoring would also pull it.

I have removed the hitch coupling from the plow
as it looks like it may be shot. I could pull it with
a hitch draw bar or use the bar that came with my compacts or
swinging draw bar on the 841.

 

[300guy]

I had the same plow where the clutch was froze up and would not move along with several other froze items. I used the spray called Freeze Off to dissolve the rust and free things up. In about 2 hours I had the clutch parts loose and working. I use Freeze Off a lot with rust frozen parts and it works great!! I now use the plow and will have to use it a lot as I will be putting in 5 acres of food plots in my CRP.
The large long lever is used to control the depth of the plow. The shorter or right lever (looking from the rear of the plow) is used to control how level it plows. Both furrows as they are turned over, should be even. So if they are not, you would adjust this lever. That one you usually set and leave alone once you are plowing correctly. The depth lever you may have to adjust once in a while if you get into hard or uneven ground and the furrow depth decreases.

 

[corvetttteguy]

It stopped rainingm, but it snowed this morning.
Some pictures of #8