adjusting 53 plow

First pass is different from the rest. You tip it forward with the top link (on a three point, here with the beaming screw) to make it dig in, or you put on a deep suck plow share. Then you level it side to side with the lift links to make all bottoms dig the same. The first furrow the tractor is level. After that you have to take a plow depth off the right lift link to get the plow back level because the tractor tilted.

You can make a long point normal plow share into a deep suck by having a blacksmith bend the long tip down a bit.

Gerald J.

From what i can see from picture it looks like the front plow is taken to wide of with.As for as different points its hog wash. First round front furrow is shallow  after that it levels out .Refer to manul.

For the correct wheel width settings (at least for a #73 plow and WD-45) you need to have the rear wheels at a 66" center-center setting (I'm doing this from memory but I believe that's right).  Your right rear tractor wheel will be set out one hole on the power-adjust rims.  I can't tell from the pictures if you've done that or not.  Good luck.

Butch-

ok...that makes sense...i lengthened the right lift link thinking it would make it go down further...just the opposite....wow these things will take all your logical thinking and throw her out the window!

To make the traction booster work, raise the lift lever a little bit at a time, if the plow starts to raise then move the lever back down a little and thats where you want your lever when your plowing.

OK, all things being as they should be, meaning the wear parts and slip heal are in good shape the back end of an Allis Chalmers snap coupler mounted plow follows the front and the entire plow runs at X depth. Thats why to set the depth you need only to mess with one adjustment, the beaming screw. Screwing it in tips all the points down until it reaches X depth and then because it is being lead by the hitching point the points level out and it doesnt go deeper. This is why you can let all the hydraulic pressure off a snap coupler plow (traction booster of) and it doesnt go to China like a 3 point plow does. NOW, when things are wearing or worn out or in real hard ground the plow doest want to go in the ground like it should so when you shorten the beaming screw it raises the rear of the plow out of the ground, you then have to lengthen the left hand lift link to level the plow back out frount to rear but it also causes the LH side (viewed from the rear) to be lower than the RH side. This is what we used to call running the plow "up on the points"  Looking at a plow so set up from the rear the left side of the frame is lower than the right. In the opposate  condition, real soft ground like peat the rear of the plow will try to bury itself and you have to run it "over on the heal" to stop it. A plow set up like this viewed from the rear will show the RH side to be lower. You seldom see this condition today, always the first one. Given that the plow will go into the ground like it should the lift links are used to level the plow from side to side and thus to set the RH side deeper you lengthen the RH side or shorten the LH, simple as that. Now WHEN your plow is working at its best dueto above mentioned copnditions and you have to run it up on the points to force it into the ground you then must put the rear into the ground by legnthening the LH side. Clear as mud ? I know, but as clear as I can make it sitting here and your plowing there. Those plows are very darned hard to make run right plowing in August in wheat stubble unles EVERYTHING is new or up to spec, including the points, landside, AND slip heal a part of the plow that most people dont even realize has anything to due with the plow working correctly. Good luck and put some suck into those shares and most of your problems will go away.

Edited by Butch(OH) - 20 Aug 2010 at 4:26pm

Jeff;my experience with T/B on WD&WD45 was that if if wasn't pulling hard you could run the lever all the way down.By the same token you run it up an inch or so and it never operated because the "pull" wasn't enough to engage it however it was ready when that tuff spot snuck up on ya.I always dropped the plow with lever at bottom and then raised it a thumbs width on the quadrant.If that ain't enough you'll know it when it just wants to spin...give 'er a little more.The shims in the bolts that compress the big pull spring for drawbar will effect the sensativity of T/B.I had to remove some(squeeze spring more) when I started pulling 4 bttms 'cause T/B wouldn't let the plow stay in the ground with lever all the way down.The thumbs width allows you to work after dark.LOL

ok...went back out plowing today...took tons of pictures...i will only post two right now, if anyone wants to see something specific to try and help, let me know i probably have it...plow in the ground, out of the ground...on the ground not dug in...all the points, all the boards...lift link arms in and out of ground, etc so just let me know i didn;t want to go and post all of them....heres two...first round starting out, the ground in this field goes from harsd clay, to loamy ground then to sand and right back to clay....still not having any trouble with traction with unloaded tires and one set of wheel weights...plow still seems to be running shallow on the front bottom and dug deep on the back bottom....one other thing we noticed tonight.  i got a manual and was reading it and checking things...manual says on initial setup the beaming screw plates in the center should measure 11 inches from there to left lift link...i only got 9...and for a 14" plow it says from left beaming plate to left frame u bolt should be 5 inches..i only got 2.5.....then we measured how much the front bottom is actually cutting...looks to be only about 12 inches....so maybe my 2nd and 3rd bottoms are taking full widths and my front is taking only a part and thats why i get an unfilled furrow and my plowing looks like it slopes downhill from left to right? we also noticed we think that the plow is running a little crooked....a little to the left....if you look down and over your left shoulder when plowing it appears the plow is kicking a little to the left side, maybe thats why the furrow is ragged in the clay because the moldboard is kicking up under the coulter a little?   we are also plowing out there with a ford and a 3 bottom 3 point plow that ALWAYS makes a clean furrow, even though it has worn points and jumps out of the ground in the hard clay

The plow naturally kicks to the left turning dirt to the right. The landsides take up most of that side thrust.

Gerald J.

That right bottom is cutting narrow. Need to move the wheel out or the plow to the left.

You can judge width of cut by looking how high the slice rides up the moldboard.

Gerald J.

They don't run straight up and down as such.That last picture makes it look like the plow is tipped too much to the left which on it's own would make rear bottom run deeper if front isn't in deep enough.Plow frame should be level across top left to right and front to rear when in the ground.Keep shorting up that beaming screw til you get that front bottom in deeper.Something odd here.The rear shouldn't run any deeper than the front because of the beaming screw....I don't know if too much tilt to the left would cause that. With it raised up,sight down the points and bottoms and see if they are all in line with each other.Could have a bolt partially sheared making one dip down on the point. Have had some "tweaked" vertical beams that had to be shimmed on one side of mounting bolts to turn them back in line.In theory,it should be able to run even depth front to rear and side to side with no lift applied from TB.It shouldn't dig in or ride out and to change depth you raise it out or lower it by turing the beaming screw. The beaming screw setting will be different between a narrow front and a wide front because of the angle the tractor runs uphill.

Edited by Steve M C/IL - 23 Aug 2010 at 1:44pm

also does wheel size matter?  the tires are 14.9x28's....also we measured wheel spacing last night..center to center is 61"....which i thought i had them in the narrowest spot which per the manual would be 56"....i might have done the power adjust wong and be out to far..would this make a difference?

ok i will measure and move the wheel accordingly...i really think per the manual and my measurements that the plow lift bar and plow frames need to be slid to the left 2 inches..which would give me the two inches i am missing on my first cut...but i will have to take it into the shop and free more stuff up and clean off built up paint to do that...for now i will spin the right wheel out a tad and see what happens....heres a few more pics

I need to put my two cents in on this to, So here go's. LOL Look at a pic of one of my 53's it's sitting level front to back and side to side. level the plow up first, then adjust the pull bar set screws #20 (on page 10 FIG #10 of your #53 plow book) It looks like rear of the plow is runnig off to left side, so adjust set screw out 1/2 turn and then turn the right set screw in 1/2 turn. Please take the PTO shaft out before it gets bent, set the wheels all the way in to get your 56" setting if you have 12" or 14" bottoms on the plow