Is this a disc or a plow?

[sweettractors]

Back when we called those "Tillers". The ones popular in our area had wheels and were pulled from the drawbar. They were considered one of the essential cultivation pieces of equipment. They ranged in size from about six foot to twelve foot for the normal approximately 50 horsepower tractor of the day.

They pulled easier than a plow so one could cover more ground. Tilling under Stubble was their main job.

Starting in the 70's with the great increase in tractor horse power they gave way to what we called "Disk's and Cultivators".:thumbsup:

Man, that is a big machine. I am learing a lot about Tillers. Keep it coming. The one I have was made by "Modern" Ken Sweet

 

[jbooth]

Here is blurb from Kansas Historical society. I am 68 years old and never seen many in use but still see a few of these at antique sales. I have heard them called one-way plows/discs also. They were used primarily in western KS. to break out new ground from the native grass. The implments recieved some credit for causing the dust bowl. Supposedly pulled much easier than a moldboard plow and were ideal for the lower HP tractors used in the earlier years,



Cool Things, Angell Plow, Kansas Historical Society

 

[radman1]

In my area, that is called a disc plow. I have also heard them called a one-way disc. I have a pull type one similar to what Egon pictured. They used to be much more common in the 40-50's. Would go deeper in the ground than a disc but not a deep as a plow. Easier to pull than a plow and covered a larger area with each pass. They do not work well in hard or dry soil and will skid on the surface.

 

[maybar]

Commonly refered to in many areas as a one-way, especially in the plains states. I always attributed the name to be because of the design and operating characteristics.

Being a drag implement one could only make a sharp 90° turn to the left. If a sharp turn was made to the right the implement would catch on the tractor wheel in some instances and be pulled up on top of the operator in a heart beat and he was often dead shortly after.

So what happens if we need to make a right turn in the field or on the road going east and needing to turn south. That was taken care of by just after crossing the intersection mid-point the operator made a 270° left turn and like magic he is now going south.

In some areas, when the off-set disk was developed they were called two-ways. They appeared to be two one-ways combined.

 

[JoeinTX]

Ken, the implement in your pic is what I've always known as a "disc" turning plow......essentially the same tool as a moldboard with discs as opposed to bottoms for turning the soil.

The second pic, by Egon, is that of a "one-way" disc plow.....very popular in the Plains States from the 1940s-70s for tillage.

The first plow is more of a primary tilling tool while the one-way is/was used more like a tandem disc is today. I've used one-ways and we still own a couple. They were a vast leap in tech during the early days of the mechanization of the North American carm, indeed. But they had obvious drawbacks amongst them being that if, used repeatedly and in the same manner over and over on the same ground, they eventually created a hole out of your field. They turned only in one direction and plowed in one direction only........the cumulative effect over decades were fields with distinctively raised outer portions while the inner portions of the field were sinking as year after year dirt was tossed out from the middle of the field in a circular fashion. We have fields today.....30 years since a plow has touched them......where this is still clearly obvious and apparent.

They're not all bad though. One-way's generally don't require as much HP as the modern equivalent tandem disc to pull.

 

[KWentling]

We called them a "one-way" in SC Nebraska. Looked like the one Egon has the picture of. When I was a teenager on the farm we used it to reshape terraces and to dike the end of the irrigated corn fields. I remember it was a John Deere and had a HEAVY weight on the rear wheel to keep it from skidding. After it was retired that weight went on the front of a Case 1070 on top of the suitcase weights.

Kim

 

[ruralruss]

My neighbor has a true disc plow. It is fully loaded and looks like standard 4 bottom mow board plow, except that in stead of the mow board it has a large disc. On it the disk cutting edge is in the direction of travel.

Russ

 

[sweettractors]

My neighbor has a true disc plow. It is fully loaded and looks like standard 4 bottom mow board plow, except that in stead of the mow board it has a large disc. On it the disk cutting edge is in the direction of travel.

Russ

Russ, This is what I have always thought was a disc plow with wider spacings between the discs. The neighbors 4 disc probably similar to this, only bigger? Ken Sweet

 

[sweettractors]

Thank you all for your input. You guys are a wealth of knowledge. I think, I am going to call it a 3 point hitch One Way-Disc/Tiller Plow. Will that fly? Ken Sweet

 

[bteny10]

hey anybody want to help me find a john deere surflex tiller or called oneway the 2200 or the 2400 model would be great call 3087080225 anyone help please