1990 - Volume #14, Issue #2, Page #11
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Giant 67 Ft Blade Plow
"In early 1980 I built a 44-ft., 3-section frame blade plow for my 310 hp. Versa-tile 4-WD. I built the plow out of 6 by 8 by 3/8-in. wall steel tubing which has the strength and weight needed to penetrate the rock hard soil conditions we some-times have here on the Texas high plains.
"When I traded my Versatile in for a 650 hp. Big Bud tractor, I built two outer wings for the 44-ft. plow, making a total of 67 ft. I had to redesign the 6 gauge wheel assemblies to handle the extra weight.
"The plow cuts a 67-ft. wide swath and has 20 shanks and blades on 40-in. centers and weighs approximately 35,000 lbs. It has 18 wheels and tires with 12 hydraulic cylinders that raise and lower the unit. Eight hydraulic cylinders fold the 5-section frame to a transport height of 21 ft.
"I built and designed every piece on this plow including shanks, clamps, walking beam gauge wheel assemblies to the big V-blades which can be removed and replaced with subsoil points that fit the 1 1,2 by 10 by 32-in. shanks. I can rip as deep as 12 in. when running the subsoil points.
"Each gauge wheel assembly on the center section has four wheels mounted on a walking beam so that the front two wheels and rear two wheels float independently. That means all 4 wheels carry an equal load even on uneven terrain.
"The plow frame is constructed of three main beams of 6 by 8-in. tubing and crossed-braced with 4 by 7-in. wall tubing. The tongue is 6 by 8-in. tubing. It runs all the way under the frame to the rear and is overlayed and cross-braced with 4 by 4-in. tubing on top of the plow frame.
"I use the plow primarily for the first trip over hard ground and then followup with my 80-ft. Friggstad chisel plow with 16-in. sweeps on it. When seeding, I add an 80-ft. Econo-Rod behind the Friggstad chisel for leveling and final seedbed preparation and also pull two 40-ft. Crust-Buster wheat drills behind the 80-ft. Friggstad plow. This method of plowing and planting all iri one trip saves me a lot of time and conserves valuable moisture."
Contact: FARM SHOW Followup, John M. Hall, Rt. 4, Box 154, Hereford, Tex. 79045 (ph 806 289-5825).
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