Farmall H and JD 44 plow set up

DanH

Member
Trying to set up my JD 44h plow to my farmall h. Anyone else have
the same type of set up I'm using. Used it over the weekend at
a plow day and could not get it to pull straight. If anyone has
any pictures of there setup or any suggestions they could
share with me that would be greatly appreciated. I know it
should be a international plow but couldn't find one around
here.
 
(quoted from post at 20:03:36 04/24/17) Trying to set up my JD 44h plow to my farmall h. Anyone else have
the same type of set up I'm using. Used it over the weekend at
a plow day and could not get it to pull straight. If anyone has
any pictures of there setup or any suggestions they could
share with me that would be greatly appreciated. I know it
should be a international plow but couldn't find one around
here.

Plenty of JD reprint manuals out there with all the info on how to set the draft line.
 
(quoted from post at 17:03:36 04/24/17) Trying to set up my JD 44h plow to my farmall h. Anyone else have
the same type of set up I'm using. Used it over the weekend at
a plow day and could not get it to pull straight. If anyone has
any pictures of there setup or any suggestions they could
share with me that would be greatly appreciated. I know it
should be a international plow but couldn't find one around
here.

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=hcuqa8t0nwo. Check out this video, hope this link works.
 
danh I was just wandering too, did u get the tractor, narrow enough to get the center line or draft correct? I have never plowed with my H !!
 
I plow with a H Farmall, a John Deere 2-14 3-point plow, with trip bottoms, and a Crossland Manuf. 3-point hitch. As is, it absolutely will NOT work, the plow hauls hard over to the left. HARD over. I finally figgered it out, and invented a turn-buckle that runs from the right lift arm, over to the middle of the plow frame, and holds that plow rigidly into position 14 inches from the inside of the right tire. Works like a champ now. Have to also rig up a pin to prevent the turnbuckle from slowly unthreading, but that's easy to figure out.
 
Dan,

I had a JD #44 2-14" trailer plow and pulled it with my H Farmall, and it trailed and plowed just fine. But I first got a manual for that plow, set it up as per directions, and away I went.

I suggest you get that manual. I think a JD dealer could help you or contact the parts supplies of the people who run this site.

Setting a plow will be confusing with all the different suggestions you will get here as you could get conflicting ideas.

I am 80 and have plowed many an acre years ago and could help you in person, but doubt we live close enough. Finding people who farm today and have trailer plow experience are rare!
LA in WI
 
Have a book for the plow but still having some difficulties
setting it up. Thanks for all of your suggestions I will try them.
Thanks again
 
Did you ask for help at the plow day? You'd think one of the old timers there would see you struggling and offer to help you get things set up properly.

I can tell you right off the bat that bracing it rigid is NOT the right way to fix the problem. The plow needs to be able to float side-to-side in case it hits a buried rock, otherwise you're going to break something.

If the plow won't pull straight, that means you are not pulling it from the right point/angle, and/or something is worn out.

On a trailer plow, the rear landside is supposed to be extra-long, or there should be a metal tailwheel that presses against the side of the furrow to prevent the plow from pulling crooked to the left. If your plow does not have that landside or it is badly worn, that could very well be your problem.

Line of draft is also very important. This is a combination of tread width, and hitch angles. Get it right, and the tractor and plow will follow the furrow with your hands off the steering wheel. Get it wrong, and you're in for a fight. Entire books are out there on the subject.
 
All I was saying was with my TRIP-BOTTOM JD plow, that the standards TRIPS whenever the thing hits a rock, it trips, goes BOINGGGg up and out of the way, it works just fine. Then I re-set it. And here in Missouri, I got lots o rocks.
 
My first guess is a problem with the 3-point hitch. Post a picture of it that shows how/where the links mount.
 
Sounds to me like you aren't pulling from center of draft. I have absolutely no idea how to explain it properly, but generally what I do is start by moving my swinging drawbar one way or other. Generally, it requires moving toward the furrow, rather than away. I set my plow so that the furrow wheel runs approximately 2 to 3 inches from the furrow wall, a little more won't hurt but much less and you'll be cutting into your furrow or the plow will want to run up out of the furrow. Now, if you do that and it don't work, you may have to swing the tongue of the plow over (I think the 44 tongues are adjustable?) so it will run straight. After you've done that, and it still pulls crooked, (and you're gonna hate me for this) you'll have to set your furrow wheel on the tractor in (or out, but usually in) so that the furrow wheel of both the tractor and the plow are running in relatively the same line. Give it a whirl, it might work, might not. But hey, it was free, right?

Mac
 
Hi Dan, I have the same outfit as yours that I took to a few plow days, but not for a few years now. Setup was: move right wheel all the way in, didn't use the swinging draw bar, used a short,(about 6") plate with clevis bolted in the set of holes that let the front bottom just take a full cut. Two weights on the left and none on the right. Bob
 
Your tractor needs to be setup for the plow rather than the plow set up for the tractor. I would find the plow's operator's manual (ebay), or since the plow is a Deere ask this question on the John Deere forum. Good luck.
 
I have the same set up and use it regularly. It can be made to work great. You do need a manual for your plow. JD OM-A1-651 is what it used to be. You can get one from Mother Deere for a small fortune or you can buy one off ebay or some such site. There is a book called something like The Plow Book that is pretty helpful too.

The rule for finding the center of draft is: The center of draft line of a moldboard plow is located 1/4 of the cutting width of one bottom to the left of center of the total cut of the plow.

They give an example for a 2-14 plow, the center of draft is 17 1/2 inches from the furrow wall (to the inside of the furrow wheel). The hitch on your plow should be nearly parallel to the furrow wall and as close to the center of draft as possible. It should have been set pretty close when you got it.

To get the tractor wheel and the furrow wheel lined up, I just swing the drawbar to the right about 4" at the drawbar brace on the tractor. I am not interested in wresting with 800 pounds of tire, wheel, and weights every time I want to plow a few acres. Also, plowing on a side hill with the slice rolling down hill and the furrow wheel set all the way in is not for me. I'm not very brave when it comes to leaning the tractor to the side.

If you are having trouble with the plow you might check to see that the plowshare is not worn out. It has been a while since I changed them but it seems that by the time the throwaway JD shares wear down an inch, they are all done. The other thing to check is that your coulter is set correctly. It should be 3/4" to the landside and high enough that the carrier does not drag a bunch of trash instead of cutting through it.


Greg
 
A moldboard plow is largely insensitive to the line of draft. You'll know the line of draft is wrong when you can't steer the tractor. The plow not pulling not straight could be caused by worn landsides, improperly adjusted tail wheel, too low of hitch angle (too high on plow or too low on tractor), and worn shares. Typically what will happen is the shares will wear and need replacement or simple sharpening, and instead of doing that, a guy will raise the plow hitch to get the plow to bite in. That will work only OK because now the plow is "running on its nose" and has poor depth control because the hardness of the ground pushing up on the shares will determine plowing depth. AND, when the plow is "running on its nose" the landsides are up and not controlling the plow instead of down in the furrow bottom holding the plow straight. So in conclusion: look for dull shares, worn landsides, tail wheel adjustment, and vertical hitch adjustment. Have you got modern throw-away lays or old blacksmith shares? Many times a blacksmith share has lots of life left, it just needs the "sled runner" ground off on the back side to restore penetration.
 

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