Picked up a new (used) disk this weekend...

[dbdartman]

I went and bought sockets today..up to 1 1/4"..and woudnt you know it..the lift pin nuts are bigger than that!!! Got one off with a pipe wrench...the second..well..all I know is I'll never father any children because of it..LOL.

I went through the exact same thing a few months ago. Got one nut off with a pipe wrench (by standing on it), but the other... What I discovered was the nuts were just a tiny bit bigger than 1.25" (29 or 30mm?), so I took a cheapy Chinese 1.25" combo wrench & a 3lb hammer & hammered the open end on the nut, then hammered the wrench to loosen the net! Of course, once it was broken loose I had to hammer the wrench OFF the nut, but this saved me from herniating myself & after all, aren't cheapy Chinese tools made to be abused like this?!?

At least now I can raise my mower more than about a foot!

 

[Birdman253]

What you are referring to as "quasi bearings" are actually called "gray iron bearings." They were very commonly used on disc harrows, one-way plows, and various other implements years ago. As the cost of ball bearings dropped, the use of the gray iron bearings almost disappeared. Over the last few years, a number of manufacturers have started to offer them again, usually as a lower cost alternative. For example, several manufacturers offer the same disc with either gray iron, or ball bearings, and the gray iron units are quite a bit less expensive.

If you take the disc gang totally apart, you will find that the outer caps are running on a cast spool, that in turn has the gang arbor bolt running through it. Remember, this system works ok, but doesn't have the working life of a ball bearing. The grease between the caps, and the spool is all that keeps you from quickly wearing out the cast spools. "This is the main reason that the larger units are strictly ball bearings." With this type of system, be sure to grease thoroughly before starting to work, and then every 3 to 4 hours or so. Also, be sure to grease completely before storing, to eliminate air gaps that can cause condensation during storage. Also, a word to the wise. If you hear squeaking during operation, stop and grease the unit immediately. It indicates that there is no grease in the bearing, and you are running metal to metal.

Hope this helps.

 

[Theowegian]

You might want to consider SHARPENING the blades. I did that on mine, and after sharpening the blades, it did work a lot better.

To sharpen a blade, I left the disc all assembled. I just took a side grinder and had my son rotate each disk gang, slowly. It worked pretty good. Just wear ear plugs and a good set of goggles, too.

 

[Sully2]

I went through the exact same thing a few months ago. Got one nut off with a pipe wrench (by standing on it), but the other... What I discovered was the nuts were just a tiny bit bigger than 1.25" (29 or 30mm?), so I took a cheapy Chinese 1.25" combo wrench & a 3lb hammer & hammered the open end on the nut, then hammered the wrench to loosen the net! Of course, once it was broken loose I had to hammer the wrench OFF the nut, but this saved me from herniating myself & after all, aren't cheapy Chinese tools made to be abused like this?!?

At least now I can raise my mower more than about a foot!

Well..my farmer buddy got back from China 2 days early an gave me a call and I drove it over to his place...and we used it to disj up his "looser" soil in his garden. Real dirt chopping set of discs. He grabbed a 1 5/16 socket with his 3/4 drive set..and it fit perfectly...BUT..my replacement set only had 1 1/4 nuts on them????

Tonight I'll get the frame loose from the discs so I can turn it over and wire brush the "doo-dah" out of the underside of the frame. Couple coats of good paint..and this thing will last me as long as Im alive..

 

[Sully2]

... With this type of system, be sure to grease thoroughly before starting to work, and then every 3 to 4 hours or so. Also, be sure to grease completely before storing, to eliminate air gaps that can cause condensation during storage.

Every 3-4 hours of operation?...Yuck yuck yuck! This set of discs will be lucky to see a TOTAL of 20 hrs of usage the total time I own them.... But greasing for me is no biggie..I never spare the grease on anything

 

[RobJ]

sully,

don't know why folks use not standard stuff. I wanted to sharpen my BH blades on a KK copy, has the hole in the top. The size is 1 11/16". NOT is a standard 3/4 set. At least not in the ones at Northern, HF, etc. The socket at Northern cost $11, I think a whole set at HF costs about $50-$60...ratchet, breaker, etc. But not an 1 11/16". A 1 3/4" would probably have done it.

For the lift pins and such I use a nice 15" Cresent. Can't do without 1-2 of those.

Footnote to self...
Disk gang
gray iron bearings

 

[Sully2]

sully,

don't know why folks use not standard stuff. I wanted to sharpen my BH blades on a KK copy, has the hole in the top. The size is 1 11/16". NOT is a standard 3/4 set. At least not in the ones at Northern, HF, etc. The socket at Northern cost $11, I think a whole set at HF costs about $50-$60...ratchet, breaker, etc. But not an 1 11/16". A 1 3/4" would probably have done it.

For the lift pins and such I use a nice 15" Cresent. Can't do without 1-2 of those.

Footnote to self...
Disk gang
gray iron bearings

I told my buddy I'll buy a cutting torch setup before I buy a 3/4 drive rachet and socket set!...lol. If I cant get it off with a 1/2 drive breaker bar and sockets...then its "get the torch!!"..

OH! BTW...Setting around late last night with a few "coldies"...my farmer buddy and the guy that sold me the set of discs.. ( a close friend of the farmer buddy....thats how I came to buy them) brow beat me into painting the upper FRAME of the discs Kubota orange..and doing everything below the frame black. I kept getting the .."Yeah..but it wont MATCH" line of BS!..lol Finally I gave them the old .."No MAS!! No Mas!."..LOL

 

[Farmwithjunk]

Interesting, same disk pods though. Notice it's a simpler design. Only one piece of bent angle in the whole thing, mine has 4. This would be easier to copy as a home made disk if someone could round up the other parts. Is the smooth round sleeve between disks 2-3 hollow or is that covering something. If you look at the pic below you can see on mine the sleeve or separator can actually be swapped out to one of the greased ends. But if you look closer at the one in the pic it looks like its already been used and looks worn. I remember a couple of mine have not been use.

Nice pics and let me know how id digs. We really have the same set up.

Thanks,
Rob

For future reference, what you are calling a "sleeve" is actually called a "spool".

 

[scott_vt]

Hi Rob,
Nice job on the disc !!! That weight looks like an old baler flywheel ?
The farmer down the road from me gave me a nice 3pt 6' disc for doing some machine work for him. They are nice to have Good luck with your new implement !

 

[Sully2]

Well...making some decent headway. Everything is "de-rusted" ( and even with goggles on..Ive picked enough rust out of my eyes and out of my nose to start selling scrap steel...geeze)..everything primed and primed GOOD...and all new bolts are in their bags. Monday we start painting and re-assembling hardware.

This would have been a terrific week to have done that...every day in the low 90's. Mid 80's this next week but a chance for rain every afternoon..( damm!!!)