Ploughing

[Bensdexta]

Topping is an OK job, makes her grunt in the heavier stuff and can be nerve-wracking in the rougher places with stones, gorse etc - hand on the quadrant at all times! Amazingly I've not snapped a shear bolt yet. Not to mention that I got bogged once but fortunately winched her straight out with my Tirfor rope puller, another impressive piece of kit, attached to a handy tree.

My 4ft Slewtic is ideal for a Dexta, feels safe on the slopes and gets right in the corners of the fields, especially when I stand on the brake to turn in own length. It has chains fitted, a must for the rough stuff, I have blades also. Not many toppers can take either chains or blades and it seems pretty robust. I've not been brave enough yet to fit the blades, perhaps when the fields are in better shape. In fact the chains do an OK cutting grass job, although they tend to tear rather than cut the grass - giving split ends

A topper is a brilliant piece of kit,if there's one implement for grassland improvement got to be a topper. Topping just once a year does wonders for the grass, pretty well knocking out the weeds, bracken, rushes, most of the thistles (creepers are more of a problem) and poorer grasses.

Ploughing will be the next stage in the improvement process!

[AdrianNPMajor]

Had a look at the Slewtic topper. Looks a very sturdy piece of kit. So with heavy undergrowth they soak up a lot of power? Does it matter that the tractor goes ahead of the topper - does the topper pick up the growth in the wheel tracks?
Re ploughing the field, here's a final video, which features a slow run along the hedge cutting any tree roots. You may notice the tractor falter momentarily as it encounters them.
Best, Adrian.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7ZnTUXIVrsk

[Bensdexta]

Had a look at the Slewtic topper. Looks a very sturdy piece of kit. So with heavy undergrowth they soak up a lot of power? Does it matter that the tractor goes ahead of the topper - does the topper pick up the growth in the wheel tracks?
Re ploughing the field, here's a final video, which features a slow run along the hedge cutting any tree roots. You may notice the tractor falter momentarily as it encounters them.

Yes happy with my Slewtic, had a fair amount of abuse on the mountains. It has a substantial steel disc mounted on the shaft above the chains (or blades), which stops the chains flying up and hitting the underside of the topper's deck - a good idea. Power depends on thickness and wetness of vegetation, how low one sets the chains/blades (2"-7" by adjusting the skid rails) and of course the speed at which one drives. With an in-line topper there is some tramping by the tractor wheels but its not a big factor. A fully offset topper eliminates this but with added complication, weight and cost.

Like your latest vid, an immaculate piece of ploughing! You've got that plough set up beautifully - you should be proud and the farmer thankful! Hope you got plenty diesel! BTW how long did it take to plough the 7acres?

[AdrianNPMajor]

Many thanks for the kind comments, Ben. Ransomes certainly knew how to build ploughs. Such a pity this great name is no longer producing them.
It took me four long afternoons to complete the field, so I'd say approximately 24 hours of sitting behind the wheel.
It's strange when you adopt technology of an earlier time. You have to learn to slow down to the speed of that technology; slow down in the sense of your expectations. Halfway through the process I looked at the field and thought that a modern tractor/plough combination would have finished long ago. Then I thought of the ploughmen trudging behind horsedrawn ploughs that I have been told ploughed this field even into the fifties, then I realised that it's all relative.
As the field is surrounded by hedges, with no sign of the 21st century to be seen, it was interesting to think about the times when the tractor was new. I believe that the plough would have been an anachronism in that scenario, but it was a fun daydream all the same!
[Such daydreams were rather rudely dispelled on occasions when an Apache from RAF Wattisham flew over!]
I'm rather sad that my ploughing is over for another year, but there will be other jobs during the coming months. Still thinking about getting a topper!
Best, Adrian.

[Brian]

Check out the plough I found at Meddo this year in" Club News, More Meddo 2015". I was sorely tempted to bring it home but the seller was not there on the Sunday so I kept my Euros in my wallet until next year.

http://www.fordsontractorpages.nl/phpbb ... =11&t=6687

[AdrianNPMajor]

Hello Brian
Just a couple of questions. Firstly, what is it? Secondly, what pulls it? [Re second question, does it have legs?!]
Best, Adrian.