Super A Cultivator Set Up Help!

[ColoradoNic]

Hello Y"all,

I am a vegetable farmer located in Northern Colorado and I bought a beautifully restored Super A for the farm a couple years ago. I am just getting around to trying to get it back into work besides looking pretty. It currently does not have any cultivator set up on it or mounting frames.

My goals for the tractor are to cultivate three row beds of crops with rows 18" apart. Due to our type of weeds here I will need to use sweeps and knives but hope to get to basket weeder when we get the perennial weed pressure down.

Questions are:
-I have found a universal mounting frame and rear set up with tool bars for about $600 in PA.
I noticed that pics of this show that is basically only set up for one row, can you mount a bar across the entire bottom so that you can put sweeps anywhere on the bed?

-is a square toolbar the only choice?

-The dealer mentions that he can either sell it with C springs or spring trip shanks. Do you need to buy these antique to work or can you find new?

-are the spring trip shanks essential? or only if in rocky soil?

-can you use modern clamps for the toolbar to put various tools on the tool bar or do you have to have the old ones?

any other insight and advice would be much appreciated! I hope to get her working this year in the fields.

Cheers,
Nic

Ft. Collins, CO

 

[D7fever]

If you use the factory cultivator setup on the super A, it is a one row cultivator, usual row spacing to use that is around 30 inches. I have not seen Super A's with anything other than the one row setup. That is not to say that you can't design something else.
Good luck.

 

[State of Jefferson]

I went through about the same thing you are, 3 years ago, only with a cub.

First off, you can find cultivators closer to you that PA. It will cost a fortune to have them shipped that far. I found a set in Oregon and paid $500. They are out there, you just have to look.

You "CAN" find or fabricate a "vegetable" cultivator to use on your A, I have only seen pictures of them, but I am sure they are out there. A's were originally designed as a 1 row tractor, with rows about 40" apart. That works well for things like Corn and potatoes. But, for narrow row veg. crops, you will need to find the veg. set-up. They basically consist of a couple of add-on bars that run laterally with shanks mounted along their lengths. Personally, I found that switching back and forth between wide and narrow cultivator set-ups took to much time, so I just planted everything at 40". Some growers simply have 2 tractors. One for wide, one for narrow. If you want to cultivate 3 rows, you will likely be better off with a B or a C.

Good luck, Ben

 

[T Epp]

The Super A was designed to cultivate one row, the least you could space rows I think would be 40" since that is the narrowest wheel width for the rear and 44" for the front according to the owner's manual. Standards,wedge clamps,etc. can be purchaced new as well as sweeps and any other type points,hillers,etc.

 

[Athol Carr]

The Super A could cultivate several different row spacings. They were one row for things like maize (corn) planted in 40 inch rows (the width of a horse). If one looks in the manuals you will find tools for many market gardening applications, 2, 4 and 6 row vegetable planters, A-452 4 row bean and beet cultivators using thesame front mounting frames as for one row just long tool bars attached instead of the short two pieces for 1 row in corn.

 

[CharlieNJ]

Nic, you view descriptions and pictures of the factory cultivator setups from the link below.
I suppose you could adapt other tool bars, but the square works well, and clamps and wedge nuts are still available, under $10 and $4. Spring trips are good depending on your speed and roots, rocks, and obstructions, but if C spring is good in clean soil, and still available new. Others here have given good advice. I wonder what your wheel spacing is now.
IH Mc

 

[ColoradoNic]

Ben and folks,
Thanks for the advice and info.

Ben or anyone know of any dealers that would have these Super A mounting frames laying around in the Rocky Mountain region, Great Plains, or Pacific NW?

It seems like it would not be impossible to retro fit something like the multiple row(beet and veg) cultivator set ups that they used to sell with these tractors. Anyone have experience with this, would it require welding and such, or could it be achieved with clamps to attach two tool bars cross ways under the belly? I ask because, gotta make this tractor set up that way, can"t buy another one and I plan to leave it set up for only three row crops.

as for the spacing, i feel like you get away with three rows on the bed at max wheel spacing(tractor currently set that way). You would only have 2 inches from between the two outside rows and the rear wheels. I guess you shrink that spacing to 16 or 17" to give a little wiggle room between tires and outside rows.

any insight?

Thanks!
Nic

 

[VAJerry]

Easiest way to do what you want would be to put a 3 point on the tractor then get a 3pt tool bar and put the sweeps on that. You can then adjust them to where you want them.

 

[Haas]

IH did make a factory multi row cultivator setup for the Super A. I have an old parts catalog that shows a 4 row beet and bean cultivator and a 6 row vegetable cultivator. Both use the same mounting mechanism as the normal one row cultivator. There is just a tool bar attached and the shanks are attached to that. The picture in parts catalog does not show the spring trip shanks, but special blade shanks instead although it lookes like the spring shanks could be used instead. If you get a one row setup, looks to me you could rig up a multi row setup with out too much trouble. The wheel center spacing can be set from 40 to 68 inches in 2 inch increments. So things don't work out perfect for 18 inch rows. You'll be crowding a little to straddle two rows. If you used 20 inch rows, it would work great.

 

[DeltaRed]

Hi Nic.I was raised at Wellington.Raised a few veggies with a 'partner'.We used a AC 'B'.Email me,I can tell you who to call.Steve

 

[Jim Becker]

This really isn't that difficult. Forget the 3-point suggestion or any other rear mounted approach, it defeats all the advantages of having a Super A. The ideal solution would be an A-452 vegetable cultivator. The hardest part is deciding and acquiring the right ground tools. Determine what standards you can use with them. Then find clamps that will connect those standards to your tool bars.

If you can't find an A-452, get a 1-row cultivator and add some tool bars to go across and attach to both sides. You need the 2 sides tied together to keep the whole unit ridged and work close to the rows. For 3 18-inch rows, set the rear wheels at 54 inches and you exactly straddle all three. Set the front axle so the front track lands under the track of the rear wheels.

Here is a picture of an A-452 cultivator, mounted on a Cub. It is set for 4 24-inch rows. The tread is set at 48 inches to straddle 2 rows and catch one on each side.

 

[gene bender]

I have two of the veggie ones for the A They had one for the B also. You could buy the regular one for the SA then get which ever bar you wanted to use for the shanks. Your bes way would be to get two regular cults so you would have enough shanks and holders for them. They used two tool bars up front then used rears for covering wheel tracks or a long bar to use more shovels if needed. They also had a veggie model for the C series one sold in calif and it went to Ohio.

 

[gene bender]

Have you ever cultivated narrow row crops with a rear mount you just cant see what you are doing. Now 40in rows thats different but hes talking 18in rows.

 

[gene bender]

Yes the one row was common but they also did make a veggie model that did several rows.

 

[riverbend]

I have never seen an A, Super A or 140 set up for one row around here. Most common is two rows with three not out of the question.

Guys are using the standard IH cultivator set up. I don't know the number, but it looks a lot like the one in the picture of the cub or like the two row on my Super C. I have a basket weeder that I use for (4) 14" rows. It works great except when the ground is rough.

Greg

 

[couv]

Which book or manual number covers implemnts :
for A
for Super A
for 100 ?

Does the manual actually give detailed info on how to set up such things as cultivators, etc ?

Maybe someone could post a page or two so we could see if the books are worth buying ?

 

[ColoradoNic]

DeltaRed,
Couldnt see your email. Send it to me as I would love to know if there is anything available that locally! I knew there were some farmall folks up in wellington, just hadn"t hooked up with them get.

thanks
nic

 

[Haas]

The book I have that shows the vegetable cultivator set up is a parts catalog. It does not have any instructions, just diagrams and parts lists. It shows all(or at least a lot of them) the implements for the Super A tractor. The catalog designation is SAI-1A, revision No. 9 and is dated revised 9-55. It is 700 pages and about 2 inches thick. I'm sure there were also individual owners and set up manuals for each of the implements. I doubt the owners manuals were all in one book unless it happened to be a book for dealers.

 

[Jim Becker]

I looked on Binder Books but didn't see a manual for the A-452. Follow this link to an online copy of the manual for the Cub-252. It will give you the general idea. The Cub cultivator is substantially the same except the tool bars are shorter.
http://www.cleancomputes.com/Cub/Cub Implement Manuals/Cub-252 Cultivator/index.html

 

[gene bender]

You arent going to find those clamps for that cult for that kind of money. Which clamps can you find for those prices. The clamps for that cult using round shanks are in the 50 range. The ones for that cult using the flat bar run almost that much.