[AT] New Question

[szabelski at wildblue.net]

We don’t have a really large garden, but we never had an issue using spring tooth harrows like you indicate.

I have three sets that I would gang together, two side by side, and the third one centered behind them. Pulled them with our 50 Cub. I got them free, along with some other free implements when I purchased our Cub.

I would set them for a shallow cut and make my first pass. Then I would set them about half way and make a second pass. Then a third pass with them set all the way down. I would drag them in multiple directions to break up the clay as much as possible.

I no longer use them since I started to amend the soil and went out and brought a three point rototiller that I put on the 42 H.

We have semi heavy to heavy clay in our area, but it never clogged the rototiller to the point where I had to stop and clean it out. The rototiller will have some clay packed in the housing, but I just clean it out when I’m done.

----- Original Message -----
From: Greg Hass <ghass at m3isp.com>
To: at at lists.antique-tractor.com
Sent: Tue, 29 Oct 2019 23:05:47 -0400 (EDT)
Subject: [AT] New Question

Have been tossing this around for quite a while and would like list 
opinions from those who have farmed or been around the farm.  What 
machines or implements are you glad to see disappear or be used much 
less than before? While I could list several the one that stands out in 
my mind by far is the spring tooth harrow. While still being used some, 
and while they do a real good job of leveling, they were also a real 
pain in the a$$. Growing up into my 20's thats all we had and all they 
did was plug.  We had probably the worst brand ever made, a Case 
harrow.  It had 2 runners between every section and if it saw a 
cornstalk 50 feet away it would start plugging before you got there.  In 
either corn ground or sod the results were the same.  We always worked 
our fields what we called double kitty corner. In a 20 acre field, we 
would have to stop at all four corners and unplug the harrow by hand. We 
used a IH Super C and 3 section harrow (8 foot) and if not plowing we 
had a four section we pulled with an IH 350. In later years we bought an 
IH 401 harrow and 3 section equaled 12 feet and pulled it with an IH 
504.  We though we had the world by the tail as it plugged much less but 
that was soon to end.  That harrow did not have replaceable ends; the 
next years model did, but my dad being stupidly cheap would not get new 
teeth but cut an extra notch for the handle allowing it to dig deeper 
but with the tooth being shorter, cut the clearance making it plug as 
bad as the old Case harrow.  For the past many years we have used a 
field cultivator which almost never plugs and I have no desire to go 
back to a spring tooth harrow.
       Greg Hass
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