Plow Converted To 3-Pt. "Root Ripper"

Plow Converted To 3-Pt Root Ripper TILLAGE EUIPMENT Miscellaneous “I needed a root ripper to tear out many tree stumps so I converted an old horse-drawn plow into a 3-pt unit that does a great job ’” says Dex Brouillette Durham N C He uses a 38 hp Massey Ferguson tractor to pull the ripper which goes into the ground about 3 ft behind the tractor’s 3-pt hitch To build it he threw away everything but the main shaft that supported the moldboard “I found the plow in a neighbor’s hedge row The moldboard was broken and the handles were gone but the main beam was still in good shape It was made of cast iron so I had to beef it up ” says Brouillette He beefed up the beam by bolting lengths of angle iron onto both sides of it and also welding on braces for support Then he bolted on 2 box blade rippers one on each side of the bottom hock He built a 3-pt hitch equipped with multiple hookup settings and a steel frame that hooks up to the hitch and supports the ripper To add weight he bolted an aluminum box on top of the frame and filled it with 20 10-lb window weights which he covered with cement “It works even better than I expected The ripper is located far enough back that it can dig into the ground and tear the root out as I drive forward ” says Brouillette “If the tractor’s wheels slip and I can’t break the root I raise the 3-pt and rip them out of the ground until I can go forward and the root breaks “If I want I can remove entire tree stumps by making repeated passes and chipping away a little of the stump at a time I also made a couple of leg stands for it so I can hook up to it without having to do any lifting ” Contact: FARM SHOW Followup Dex Brouillette 4703 Bragg Rd Durham N C 27704 ph 919 604-0615; cowbootman@yahoo com

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