[AT] McCormick plow

[Ron Cook]

Dean,
     This plow is not from this part of the country.  In fact, I have no 
idea where it is from.  I have never in my life seen a plow so worn and 
can't imagine how may acres it must have plowed.  I bought the Super A 
in Ashton, but he got it in Michigan.  The plow is something that he had 
laying around for years and who knows where it came from.  He doesn't 
remember, or at least wasn't sure.  I will guarantee you it did not get 
worn out in Woodbury County, IA.  The fellow travels the whole country 
pulling his trailer looking for mostly John Deere tractors to jockey or 
collect but he obviously will pick up any bargains.  If I had the money, 
I would do the same thing.  Looks like a fun way to travel the country 
if you have the time.  He claims the machinery and tractors pay for his 
trips.  He has a daughter in Arizona and one in Michigan and one in 
Ashton, IA.  So he has the country pretty well covered by visiting those 
girls.
     I am like you.  I have never heard of moldboards wearing out. 
Shares and landsides, yes.  I do have an early No. 52 two-bottom that 
came from the Onawa area near the river that is worn pretty good in the 
shin area, but is still useable as is.  The ground near the river is 
quite sandy and a good place to shine up a rusty plow. A few miles away 
from the river is the gumbo your Dad referred to. Soil type is Luton 
clay.  It is no where as good as your Sioux County sandy loam.  The farm 
I grew up on was mostly sandy loam. Some of the best land in Woodbury 
County and maybe close to as good as where you grew up.  Much of it is 
covered up by the airport and the town of Sgt Bluff.  Then my stupid 
drunken brother sold 70 acres of the home place for house lots.  Boy do 
those folks have nice lawns.  Then between my home place and yours is 
the Loess.  Add water and you have yellow water.  Highly erodible.  
Sioux City to about Hinton.  I don't like that stuff.
      As far as the one bottom plows, the only ones I have ever seen are 
the walking plows everyone had in the barn or back of the shed. Now 
mostly holding up mailboxes.  I have never seen anyone plow with a one 
bottom plow in person.  Even the n-Fords had two-bottom plows.  Probably 
12 inch, but two anyway.  With the tractors in use in these parts, John 
Deere D, G, A, and B, IH F20 and F30, H, M, and the supers of those all 
pulling 2-16 or 3-14 inch plows mostly McCormick with the occasional 
Deere plow.  We had both.  The fellows with tracks, mostly Cat D4 and D6 
pulled 5 bottoms but were scarce. More of those were found further south 
down around Missouri Valley. There may have been some Oliver plows 
around, but I don't know.  I have also heard they pull better and easier 
from the plowing guys at plowing meets.  I have no experience.  I doubt 
they have anything to do with Charles City.  I bet their origin is from 
the East of us. Maybe Ohio or whatever.  Don't know.
     I am not doing any sort of restoration of this McCormick plow, so I 
don't care what parts end up on it.  It just fits on that Super A and 
looks like it might be handy to plow the garden with. Building a working 
plow won't even come close to rocket science to make something work.  A 
plow beam is a plow beam and bolting a complete bottom of any make on 
there would not be very hard to do and that is likely what will happen.  
It would, however, be much easier to just replace with the parts that 
are supposed to be there.  The plow is probably the same as a Cub uses, 
only larger.  I think this one is a sixteen inch, or once was.

Ron Cook
Salix, IA

On 8/19/2014 9:19 PM, Dean VP wrote:
> Ron,
>
> Having not farmed in the Missouri River bottom where you are but about 60 miles North of you,  I'm a
> bit surprised how much wear you have on that plow.  Especially a one bottom plow.  I don't recall
> anyone in our area truly farming with only a one bottom plow.  Two bottoms, yes, were prevalent and we
> 3 8 hour shifted a 2 bottom plow every spring and fall.  My memory may not be good about 60 years ago
> but I don't ever remember wearing out moldboards but I do remember having the old style shares
> re-sharpened at the local blacksmith shop in town.  By heating them up and beating them into a new
> point and cutting edge.  In fact the very 2 bottom plow that my Dad, my brother and I three shifted
> for days on end in the 40's and 50's is now residing in my yard here in WA.  The Moldboards are worn
> but not worn out. The points could use a little work.  I suppose it is possible that Dad replaced the
> moldboards somewhere along the line but I sure don't remember it.  And I'm referencing plowing several
> 100 acres a year.
>
> I'll admit we were pretty proud of our soil in NW IA and it was called Sandy Loam and very rich but I
> don't think it was that much better than your Missouri River Bottom soil.  As I recall my Dad used to
> call your river bottom soil "Gumbo" which was not a compliment in his mind, I don't think.  But I'm
> surprised there was that much more sand in your soil than ours.  Now if that one bottom plow was
> working the hill side stuff further away from the river I suspect it had a harder wear situation.  But
> I'm a bit stunned that any one bottom plow was used that much.  Even in the 50's a one bottom plow was
> a garden plow in our area. I cannot think of a single farmer in our area that farmed with a one bottom
> plow. Even the next door neighbor that farmed with N series Fords.  He had two bottom integral plows
> and he was out there day and night like we were.
>
> I've have several one bottom plows here, JD H1's  including a couple of two way one bottom JD model
> 101 plows and they show quite a bit of wear but our soil out here in WA is disgusting compared to Iowa
> soil. Rocks, gravel, sand and glacial till are  the issue here. So plows really take a beating.   I
> was told by a local 80 plus year old JD Dealership owner a few years ago that JD plows were not very
> popular in Western WA. I interviewed him about the equipment that was sold in the 40's and 50's. His
> mind was as sharp as a tack.  He admitted to me that Oliver plows were much more popular here because
> they pulled easier than JD plows. Hadn't heard that before.  I don't recall hearing that in Iowa
> either. In fact, even though Oliver tractors were made in Charles City, Iowa there were only a very
> few Oliver tractors in the whole county.  95% were JD and Farmall at about a 50/50 ratio with an
> occasional Allis Chalmers, Minneapolis Moline and a few N series Fords but they were mostly yard
> tractors not field tractors.
>
> I've got a bunch of plow shares and moldboards, NOS and used,  here but I don't think I have any
> McCormick stuff. I think I sold my only Farmall Cub one bottom plow several years ago.  The stuff in
> the barn goes apoplectic if there is anything red in there.  :-)  I might get a chance to do a quick
> look in the next few days.
>
> Dean VP
> Snohomish, WA
>
> They say necessity is the mother of invention.
> Don't know who the father is, probably remorse.
> Red Green
>