Wednesday, January 14, 2015

Was Making Good Progress and Then....





After feeding all the critters this morning I came in to feed myself and had to put up with this little guy staring at me from the kitchen floor. He was most interested in what I was making for him to eat.

Ya that's the little kitten I picked up from the middle of the gravel road out in bum-fick nowhere. As you can see he has fit in quite nicely now and has learned he can get away with almost anything if he just looks at you in his cute way. Those ears though. Man he needs to grow a lot to fit into those ears.

Anyway I got the two old hay manger things turned into pieces small enough I can fit them into the bed of the truck or the trailer. Got out my trusty Sawzall and went to town on them.




As you can see I had a supervisor with me to make sure I did it correctly. It was also finally warm enough to take some pictures again.

Originally I figured it was going to take me a bit more time to cut up those hay feeders so I started a fire and burned off all the left over paneling and trim from the cabin project. I don't like burning around here and most days it is far too windy to do so anyway but today was pretty calm.



I then moved on to a project I didn't think I would get to today which was to begin getting my one bottom plow modified to hitch up to the tractor.




Oh ya here's my 100 dollar brush hog. I passed by it on my way to take the plow picture so thought I would share. The guy was using it as a two point finish mower but putting the top hitch back on it isn't a problem. It's old and rusted but still works well and all the safety chains are there. Still not sure if I am going to keep it or not.

Ok back to the plow....




As near as I can tell this plow is really one section off an old John Deere three bottom plow. There is some green paint still visible on it in a few spots. My plan is to lop off the long front tang and that extra piece bolted on to the top and replace it with simple three point cross bar. The housing for the top bar is still useable so this should allow me to turn this piece of junk into a one bottom plow.

That's the theory anyway. All the parts move, even the disc hidden behind the support barrel moves. After I had such good luck sawing up those hay feeders I took the Sawzall to the plow.....

Ate the teeth right off the blade before I had even gone half an inch into that tang.

I think I need to go look into a heavier duty metal cutting blade :)

Oh well almost time for evening feeding anyway.

Keep Prepping Everyone!!!!


9 comments:

  1. I like that little supervisor trainee. I use a single bottom on my Ferguson (when it is running) and your set up should work good. I have a single arm that comes up and hooks under the rear axle to keep the whole thing running true. There is a spot for a second one but one seems to do fine. I wonder if that is what they were doing with your plow? Anyway the 8N should handle it depending on your soil, our clay gave mine a fit until I got it loosened up after a few years.

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    1. Sf - At first I thought that's what that long tang was suppose to be and I would have to remove one of my stabilizer bars to use it. Then I noticed it would line up and what I thought was the bar for the two point part of the hitch wouldn't work. When I saw the green paint remains I started looking at old plow pics and noticed the old John Deere three bottom and above plows had that tang that attached them to each other. In theory I think you could add on more plow blades that way. I was going to just scrap it. I mean what am I saving myself when you can pick up old used single bottom plows for less than 100 bucks sometimes but I really think I can make it work. Of course I didn't think it would eat a metal Sawzall blade every half an inch to cut that tang off either :)

      BTW mailed your seeds today!!!

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  2. I have a three bottom JD plow that has maybe been used once. Want any photos? If you were closer I'd give it to you. Maybe I'll CL or eBay it.

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    1. MV - I doubt my little 8N could pull a three bottom through the heavy clay we have here in Missouri and I bet it would be a bit expensive for me to run up there and get it from ya but I would if we were closer. I may not be able to make this little one bottom work and as I said it ain't like I am saving myself much money if I do. I see one and two bottom plows all the time for under 150. This one is one of the real old ones that really requires a black smith to sharpen it and reattach the blade but I think if I can make it work the weight might actually be a benefit. Or that's a theory anyway. Maybe once I get the 861 here I will use it on the larger tractor.

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  3. I like ole Preppy Junior. he is a real cutie.

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    1. JuGM - He is a cutie but he has absolutely no food manners at all when it comes to what us humans have. It isn't like he ever went hungry either since he couldn't have been on that road more than a few minutes before I found him. At his size he would have been a snack for something in no time flat and we fed him good from a bottle etc. He just learned that humans were the food providers and now thinks anything we have is fair game. It's been fun trying to break him of it to say the least.

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  4. Cats - Master of the cute look to get something when they want...Brush Hog looks good. My father's is equally "used" but still continues to work effectively.

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    1. TB - We had one when I was a kid that has looked like that one for 50 years now and is still being used regularly over at the old farm. As long as you don't run over something they are almost indestructible.

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  5. Some good looking cats! I couldn't find your contact info - could you send me an email when you get this comment? Thanks. -Bruce

    bluegrassbruce8 at gmail

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