2006 - Volume #30, Issue #4, Page #40
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"Made-It-Myself" Ford 8N Implements
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"I do a lot of work around here with my 1949 8N tractor. It may be close to 60 years old, but it's still a workhorse. It's a Cat. I machine, so while there are a lot of implements available, they have price tags that are hard to justify," Mommens says.
The Tecumseh, Neb., man built an adjustable 60-in. wide cultivator using salvaged tines from a field cultivator a neighbor was going to throw away.
The simple design allows the tines to be moved sideways to account for row width. Mommens also made a crop shield so it could also be used as a row cultivator.
"I can also add more tines and do some ripping with it," he explains. "Using the position control on the tractor allows me to adjust the depth. It works excellent for tilling up garden plots and cultivating between rows."
He also modified a horse-drawn disk to make it into a 3-pt. hitch unit.
"I found an old four-gang, horse drawn disk in a neighbor's field. Even though I knew it was too large for my 8N tractor, I figured I could modify it and use it," he says.
Mommens started by unbolting everything that would unbolt. Then he used the original tongue and lever bars (these were 2-in. steel tubing) to construct a frame to hold the disk.
On the front of the frame, he constructed a Cat. I, 3-pt. hitch. He used the original ties on the outboard bearings to connect the gangs to the frame and to act as a "pivot point" to adjust the gangs.
The "new" disk is eight feet wide and uses 16-in. discs. He retained the weight trays in case he ever needs to add any weight.
Mommens also modified a 6-ft. tine harrow to work on the 3-pt. hitch.
He had a section of old tine harrow laying around that he used to put in lawns.
"Dragging a harrow with a chain can be somewhat dangerous - the chain can catch on the rear tractor tires," he cautions. "There is also no way to pick the harrow up after you are done with it. The harrow was also too light and the weight I put on it seemed to fall off unless it was tied down. I decided that the best course of action would be to convert it to three point."
Mommens used some 1 by 1 by 1/4-in. angle iron, 2 by 3/8-in. flat stock, and parts from an old rotary hoe that he salvaged (however, these parts could be easily made, he points out).
Mommens' rotary hoe has a similar history of being from recycled parts.
He salvaged a 5-ft. wide section of an Alice-Chalmers rotary hoe from the scrap yard and constructed a 3-pt. hitch on the top frame.
"I took some 1/2 by 2-in. flat stock, some 1/2-in. plate, and some hardware to turn this into a useable machine again," he says. "I use it for ęclod busting' in garden plots and also as an aerator for lawns and pastures. It works great and cost less than $10 to modify!"
Mommens is in the process of working on a few more items, including modifying an older grain drill for 3-pt. hitch use. For those who are interested in doing their own projects, Mommens has a website where he's offering detailed plans for each individual item (as PDF file downloads).
Contact: FARM SHOW Followup, Galen Mommens, 72648 618th Ave., Tecumseh, Neb. 68450 (ph 402 335-1216; doxn @alltel. net; www.scroungeman.com).
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