John Deere three bottom turnover plow - at least 60 years old!!

mcmxi

Well-known member
Lifetime Member

Equipment
***Current*** M6060HDC, MX6000HSTC & GL7000 ***Sold*** MX6000HST & BX25TLB
Feb 9, 2021
4,067
4,621
113
NW Montana
Do you realize moldboard plow bottoms are listed in a separate parts catalog # PC1308?
Thanks again! At least I can print the pages from the PC1308 catalog which is helpful. There's a lot of information there. I need to find out what I have given the number of variations.
 

BAP

Well-known member
Lifetime Member

Equipment
2012 Kubota 2920, 60MMM, FEL, BH65 48" Bush Hog, 60"Backblade, B2782B Snowblower
Dec 31, 2012
2,513
657
113
New Hampshire
You can buy official reprinted manuals for most any equipment including your plow from www.jensales.com
 

PoTreeBoy

Well-known member
Lifetime Member

Equipment
L35 Ford 3930
Mar 24, 2020
2,344
1,180
113
WestTn/NoMs
I have very limited turning plow experience, none with a flipper. One thing I can offer is you want your tractor tire to be running in the previous furrow. Otherwise, you'll be killing yourself trying to drive it. Are the 14" and 16" plows spaced the same, and same width? I mention this so you might consider if one will require changing your wheel spacing, where the other might not.

I'm enjoying following your project.
 
  • Like
Reactions: 1 user

mcmxi

Well-known member
Lifetime Member

Equipment
***Current*** M6060HDC, MX6000HSTC & GL7000 ***Sold*** MX6000HST & BX25TLB
Feb 9, 2021
4,067
4,621
113
NW Montana
I have very limited turning plow experience, none with a flipper. One thing I can offer is you want your tractor tire to be running in the previous furrow. Otherwise, you'll be killing yourself trying to drive it. Are the 14" and 16" plows spaced the same, and same width? I mention this so you might consider if one will require changing your wheel spacing, where the other might not.

I'm enjoying following your project.
You raise a very interesting point here. I've been watching some helpful plowing videos on YouTube and one of the main takeaways is that "the tractor has to be set up for the plow, and the plow has to be set up for the tractor". I took some measurements and it seems that the setup of the rear wheels (widest setting) on the M6060 is close to optimal for the 3x14" plow with 24.5" from the centerline of the top link to the inside of the rear tire. The front tires sit about 1" further inside than the rear tires so I'm somewhat confident that I can run the inside of the front tire up against the cut edge and do a good job.

Kubota states that a 3x14" is the max bottom plow implement for the M6060 (based on hp and traction) and it looks like the wheel spacing might be an issue pulling a 3x16" depending on how the plow is set up and the sort of adjustments that can be made to the plow.

I'm heading back to the tractor graveyard in St. Ignatius early tomorrow morning to look for coulters and brackets.



 

PoTreeBoy

Well-known member
Lifetime Member

Equipment
L35 Ford 3930
Mar 24, 2020
2,344
1,180
113
WestTn/NoMs
You raise a very interesting point here. I've been watching some helpful plowing videos on YouTube and one of the main takeaways is that "the tractor has to be set up for the plow, and the plow has to be set up for the tractor". I took some measurements and it seems that the setup of the rear wheels (widest setting) on the M6060 is close to optimal for the 3x14" plow with 24.5" from the centerline of the top link to the inside of the rear tire. The front tires sit about 1" further inside than the rear tires so I'm somewhat confident that I can run the inside of the front tire up against the cut edge and do a good job.

Kubota states that a 3x14" is the max bottom plow implement for the M6060 (based on hp and traction) and it looks like the wheel spacing might be an issue pulling a 3x16" depending on how the plow is set up and the sort of adjustments that can be made to the plow.

I'm heading back to the tractor graveyard in St. Ignatius early tomorrow morning to look for coulters and brackets.



Probably a moot point, but couldn't you just run the 16" shallower if you wanted to?

Our 2 bottom doesn't have coulters and works ok. If you have to put off the coulter installation this year, I think you'll be just fine.

I'm not sure our Ford could pick that thing up!
 

mcmxi

Well-known member
Lifetime Member

Equipment
***Current*** M6060HDC, MX6000HSTC & GL7000 ***Sold*** MX6000HST & BX25TLB
Feb 9, 2021
4,067
4,621
113
NW Montana
Probably a moot point, but couldn't you just run the 16" shallower if you wanted to?

Our 2 bottom doesn't have coulters and works ok. If you have to put off the coulter installation this year, I think you'll be just fine.

I'm not sure our Ford could pick that thing up!
Yeah, the F835 is a monster of a plow! I'm committed to running it now given that it's in much better shape and far more complete than the 825A, and it's a 3x14" which is ideal for the M. In retrospect it was a much better buy than the 825A but I didn't know what I didn't know. My thought for the 825A now is to set it up as a 2x16" and possibly pull it behind the MX so that other friends can run it on a "plow day". I have a good female friend who's all excited at the prospect of running a tractor and plow. I doubt I'll get it set up this year but it's something I can chip away at once the F835 is running optimally.

I have to head to the freight terminal tomorrow to pick up the front suitcase weights which I'll definitely need with this plow, so a trip to the tractor graveyard to look for coulters and brackets will make for a productive morning. I'd rather have coulters than not so it's a path I'm heading down whether they're necessary or not.
 

mcmxi

Well-known member
Lifetime Member

Equipment
***Current*** M6060HDC, MX6000HSTC & GL7000 ***Sold*** MX6000HST & BX25TLB
Feb 9, 2021
4,067
4,621
113
NW Montana
I went back to the tractor "graveyard" this morning, the place where I bought the John Deere 825A plow, and spent a couple of hours looking around for coulters and brackets. I ended buying all of the parts shown below which includes 11 coulters and 9 brackets and a cool steel guard of some sort that might end up on one of the tractors after some work.

I paid $320 for everything shown, and once again got to stare into the most chocolate brown eyes I've ever seen. The woman that runs the place is a Montana grown honey bunny! I need to spend a day there at least. They have so much stuff strewn about the place, a real gold mine!

coulters.jpg


grill_guard.jpg
 
  • Haha
Reactions: 1 user

rc51stierhoff

Well-known member

Equipment
B2650, MX6000, (BX sold)
Sep 13, 2021
1,899
2,043
113
Ohio
I went back to the tractor "graveyard" this morning, the place where I bought the John Deere 825A plow, and spent a couple of hours looking around for coulters and brackets. I ended buying all of the parts shown below which includes 11 coulters and 9 brackets and a cool steel guard of some sort that might end up on one of the tractors after some work.

I paid $320 for everything shown, and once again got to stare into the most chocolate brown eyes I've ever seen. The woman that runs the place is a Montana grown honey bunny! I need to spend a day there at least. They have so much stuff strewn about the place, a real gold mine!

View attachment 86817

View attachment 86819
I bet you will have to go back to pick up what you did not have room for…😉
 
  • Like
Reactions: 1 user

D2Cat

Well-known member
Lifetime Member

Equipment
L305DT, B7100HST, TG1860, TG1860D, L4240
Mar 27, 2014
12,899
4,266
113
40 miles south of Kansas City
Here's a simpler plow and a simpler price!

1662844890278.png


1662844929229.png



Plow
$350
Listed 11 hours ago in La Cygne, KS








Details
  • Condition
    Used - Good
Old 3 row plow in good condition. 350 obo.
 
  • Like
Reactions: 1 user

mcmxi

Well-known member
Lifetime Member

Equipment
***Current*** M6060HDC, MX6000HSTC & GL7000 ***Sold*** MX6000HST & BX25TLB
Feb 9, 2021
4,067
4,621
113
NW Montana
Here's a simpler plow and a simpler price!

Plow
$350
Listed 11 hours ago in La Cygne, KS

Details
  • Condition
    Used - Good
Old 3 row plow in good condition. 350 obo.
Every market is different, and if that plow were available up here I would look at it for parts only since I wanted a 3-point turnover plow. Given the size, quality and features of the JD F835 I'm very much ok with the $2k I had to pay. Just think about that Kuhn that's $28k. Is it going to do a 14x times better job?
 
  • Like
Reactions: 1 user

mcmxi

Well-known member
Lifetime Member

Equipment
***Current*** M6060HDC, MX6000HSTC & GL7000 ***Sold*** MX6000HST & BX25TLB
Feb 9, 2021
4,067
4,621
113
NW Montana
I've got a plan now. I'm going to modernize the JD F835 by adding six new coulters and brackets of the type found on modern tillage equipment. I'm going to use the coulters and brackets currently on the F835 in combination with the coulters that I bought from the salvage yard to "restore" the JD 825A to its original glory. Once restored I'll either use or sell the 825A, but I'll certainly be keeping the F835 indefinitely and will be using it this Fall to plow a friend's 10+ acre field.

I've ordered the six coulter assemblies with mounting brackets shown below (should be here in a couple of weeks or less) and will fabricate plates to adapt the new brackets to the F835. I settled on 16" smooth coulters with 3"x1" straight legs. I like these assemblies since they use commonly available coulter blades, spindles and bearings, so servicing or replacing damaged parts isn't a challenge.

In addition, I've become a distributor for the manufacturer of the parts shown below given the piss poor "service" I received from a local tractor supply company listed as a dealer for this manufacturer. If you want something done right, do it yourself!!

coulter_assembly.jpg


coulter_bracket.jpg
 

WDF

Member

Equipment
Kubota L2501 HST/FEL
Jan 4, 2021
87
77
18
Central Florida
Thought I'd share my 2 bottom plow. Its a JD and was bought with this tractor new in 1959 by my grandfather.
IMG_20211120_112638.jpg
 
  • Like
Reactions: 1 users

Tx Jim

Well-known member
Lifetime Member

Equipment
M7040 HDC-1,JD 4255,Ford 6700
Apr 30, 2013
1,176
117
63
Coyote Flats,Texas
Here's a simpler plow and a simpler price!

View attachment 86895

View attachment 86896


Plow
$350
Listed 11 hours ago in La Cygne, KS








Details
  • Condition
    Used - Good
Old 3 row plow in good condition. 350 obo.
Plow in your photo would be simpler if you have access to the brand/model tractor that it was designed to fit. If you don't have access to correct tractor then this same plow gets very complicated to attach/operate to a tractor
 

BAP

Well-known member
Lifetime Member

Equipment
2012 Kubota 2920, 60MMM, FEL, BH65 48" Bush Hog, 60"Backblade, B2782B Snowblower
Dec 31, 2012
2,513
657
113
New Hampshire
I've got a plan now. I'm going to modernize the JD F835 by adding six new coulters and brackets of the type found on modern tillage equipment. I'm going to use the coulters and brackets currently on the F835 in combination with the coulters that I bought from the salvage yard to "restore" the JD 825A to its original glory. Once restored I'll either use or sell the 825A, but I'll certainly be keeping the F835 indefinitely and will be using it this Fall to plow a friend's 10+ acre field.

I've ordered the six coulter assemblies with mounting brackets shown below (should be here in a couple of weeks or less) and will fabricate plates to adapt the new brackets to the F835. I settled on 16" smooth coulters with 3"x1" straight legs. I like these assemblies since they use commonly available coulter blades, spindles and bearings, so servicing or replacing damaged parts isn't a challenge.

In addition, I've become a distributor for the manufacturer of the parts shown below given the piss poor "service" I received from a local tractor supply company listed as a dealer for this manufacturer. If you want something done right, do it yourself!!

View attachment 87533

View attachment 87534
Those look like they will bend easily in use. Either when you hit a rock or root, or when not plowing perfectly straight. They look cheap knockoffs compared to what is used on most plows.
 
  • Like
Reactions: 1 user

Tx Jim

Well-known member
Lifetime Member

Equipment
M7040 HDC-1,JD 4255,Ford 6700
Apr 30, 2013
1,176
117
63
Coyote Flats,Texas
Ditto I'd choose the factory swivel mounted coulters over the aftermarket rigid mounted coulters
 

mcmxi

Well-known member
Lifetime Member

Equipment
***Current*** M6060HDC, MX6000HSTC & GL7000 ***Sold*** MX6000HST & BX25TLB
Feb 9, 2021
4,067
4,621
113
NW Montana
Those look like they will bend easily in use. Either when you hit a rock or root, or when not plowing perfectly straight. They look cheap knockoffs compared to what is used on most plows.
I've seen plenty of coulter shanks used on "most" plows that have been welded and rewelded, and many that are severely bent. I have both welded and bent shanks on the the F835 so I'm ok with trying these modern variants. The ones I ordered have 3"x1" flat bar legs/shanks oriented in the direction with the larger I value, but if they bend or break I'll repair them. I'm not afraid of trying new things and fixing problems when they show up. I like learning so I'll invest in that and deal with the aftermath.
 

mcmxi

Well-known member
Lifetime Member

Equipment
***Current*** M6060HDC, MX6000HSTC & GL7000 ***Sold*** MX6000HST & BX25TLB
Feb 9, 2021
4,067
4,621
113
NW Montana
A bit of an update on the plowing debacle. I still haven't been able to plow my friend's field yet, but if the weather holds I might still get to it this Fall. If not, it'll be in the Spring.

I've started to upgrade the JD F835 to accept modern coulters. I bought a stick of 3"x3"x3/8" tubing and modified some of the existing 3/4" flat bar to add sections of square tubing to the plow that bolt on just like the original supports. The company I bought the coulters from does sell much more expensive variants that are spring loaded so I've decided to modify the ones I have so that they'll be spring loaded too. If I can figure out a way to make them pivot I will, but for now I'm just going with springs.

Here are some photos of the process using a Hougen magnetic drill, DeWalt chop saw with steel blade, and a Lincoln Square Wave TIG 200 welder with 1/8" 7018 rods.

upgrade_01.jpg


upgrade_02.jpg


upgrade_03.jpg


upgrade_04.jpg