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Low-Cost "Made-It-Myself" Chisel Plow

"I wanted an inexpensive chisel plow that wouldn't leave a lot of residue on top of the ground. So I rebuilt an old moldboard plow, mounting chisel plow sweeps on them. It works great and I saved a lot of money," says John Strockoz, Little Marsh, Pa.

Strockoz paid $100 for a used Deere 4-bottom plow. He used a torch to cut the frogs in half vertically and threw away the right side halves. He had a machine shop bend 3/4-in. thick steel into curved sections which he welded onto the cut-away frogs. Then he drilled holes in the curved sections and bolted 3-in. wide chisel plow sweeps onto them.

"I've used it for two years and couldn't be happier with it," says Strockoz. " I run the sweeps 7 to 9 in. deep. They throw soil off in one direction - to the right - whereas a standard chisel plow throws the soil both left and right and therefore leaves more residue on top. I can go about a gear faster than if I were pulling a conventional moldboard plow. I had been using a chisel plow equipped with a disk on front, but it left too much residue on top of the ground. My moldboard chisel plow leaves enough residue to help prevent erosion, but not enough to cause problems at planting. The only limitation is that it only covers a relatively narrow width. I'm sure this concept would work on a larger plow.

"I paid $7 apiece for new chisel sweeps, $7 apiece for new shoes, and $21 on each curved steel section. My total cost was less than $300." Contact: FARM SHOW Followup, John Strockoz, Pleasant Acres, R-4 905, Little Marsh, Pa. 16950 (ph 814 326-4570).

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