any information on a horse drawn John Deere BL "middlebreaker plow"

[tractorkyd]

I dug this beauty from out from the back side of an old barn on the farm I work. The ol boy couldn't tell me much about it and I can not find anything on it. I was hoping someone could help me find any information on it from when it may be from to a possible value to what place it took in plowing. In the same area I found the disc seen in the photos, it fits in the bracket on the beam of the plow. Does this go to the plow?

Thank you!
-
tractorkyd

 

[Tx Jim]

The disk is called a coulter. It's designed to cut roots & sod in front of point to help eliminate trash from building up on the plow beam.. I've seen them on moldboards and see no reason they wouldn't be used on a middle buster.

 

[vtsnowedin]

The horse drawn plows my father used had a sod knife instead of a coulter made from steel bar three inches by a half inch thick about two feet long and running vertically down through the plow beam in front of the plow point. The pics show this was definitely set up for the coulter so perhaps it was made during the early days of tractors before 3PH came in to use.

 

[tractorkyd]

Are you thinking it was a tractor attachment rather than a horse drawn plow?

 

[vtsnowedin]

Are you thinking it was a tractor attachment rather than a horse drawn plow?

I'm not a farm implement historian so can't say if pizza cutter type coulters came into use with horse drawn equipment or after tractors came into use. Many an old horse drawn piece of equipment saw use behind the first tractors by just sawing off the pole and adding a clevis to hitch onto the drawbar of the "new Fangled" tractor. You had to have your wife or oldest son ride the old piece of equipment to trip the dump on the dump rake or pick up the cutter bar on the mowing machine but it was still faster then with horses. I remember seeing several ten foot dump rakes converted with a rope pulling the trip lever that the tractor operator could pull from the drivers seat.
The middle buster in the OP pics would have worked as well behind a horse as behind a Farmall cub tractor. Way faster then digging your taters out with a hoe or potato hook.

 

[smstonypoint]

Are you thinking it was a tractor attachment rather than a horse drawn plow?

I'm thinking horse drawn. Why would a plow designed to be pulled by a tractor require handles? Using the plow with a tractor requires two people. However, as mentioned earlier, many horse-drawn implements have been adapted for use with tractors.

This plow, circa 1905 ,has a coulter.



http://www.gutenberg.org/files/16900/16900-h/16900-h.htm#fig_51

Steve

 

[vtsnowedin]

I'm thinking horse drawn. Why would a plow designed to be pulled by a tractor require handles? Using the plow with a tractor requires two people. However, as mentioned earlier, many horse-drawn implements have been adapted for use with tractors.

This plow, circa 1905 ,has a coulter.

View attachment 367054

http://www.gutenberg.org/files/16900/16900-h/16900-h.htm#fig_51

Steve

That could very well be. I don't think the plow in the picture is all that sophisticated. It only plows one way. The plows my father used had a dog and swivel setup so that when you came to the end of the field you kicked the dog over and flopped the plow to the other side and plowed back rolling the sod the same way you came down the field. I've walked behind these plows a day or two. You youngsters ain't missing nothin important.

 

[smstonypoint]

You had to have your wife or oldest son ride the old piece of equipment to trip the dump on the dump rake or pick up the cutter bar on the mowing machine but it was still faster then with horses.

That would have been me (the only son) riding behind an AC G being driven by my Dad.

Steve

 

[tractorkyd]

thank you everyone for your reply's and thank you for all of the information!!!

tractorkyd