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Seed Boot Mounting Repair Kit
Craig Craft recently sent FARM SHOW photos of a kit he developed to solve a common problem with the seed boots on Deere 50, 60, and 90 Series no-till grain drills.
  "Deere no-till drills use a pair of cast iron lugs on the main arm to mount the seed boot. The lugs don't have replaceable bushings. As the center seed boot mounting hole wears, the rear of the seed boot works loose and flexes upward, allowing seed to randomly miss the furrow," says Craft.
  His solution to the problem involves drilling out the hole on the seed boot mounting lug, then installing a hardened full length bushing made from heat-treated aircraft grade alloy steel.
  "Restoring the tight fit of the boots results in better stands and higher yields," says Craft. "The repair can be made with the mounting arms still mounted on the drill. The seed boots themselves require no modification. Only the seed boot and opener blade have to be removed."
  The kit he developed includes a 2-piece drilling jig that's used to drill through the hole, and the hardened bushings. The bushings are driven into the worn-out holes in the mounting lugs using a simple driving tool that Craft designed.
  "The new bushings allow the seed boot to pivot as originally designed," says Craft. "Thanks to our drilling jig, the holes are true and parallel to the original location. The kit actually lets you restore the seed boot mounting clearances to better than new tolerances. For example, factory new 50 Series drills have less than 3/4 in. total bearing surface for the seed boot mounting bolts, while drills repaired using our method have 2.125 in. of total bearing surface.
  "The repair allows you to use OEM parts and hardware. Factory and aftermarket seed boots, mounting bolts, and leaf springs can be installed without modification."
  A complete kit for 12-row drills sells for $475 plus S&H; 24-row drills, $595 plus S&H; 32-row drills, $695 plus S&H; 44-row drills, $795 plus S&H.
  Contact: FARM SHOW Followup, Craig Craft, Craft Air Services, LLC, 865 Swamp Rd., Hertford, N.C. 27944 (ph 252 426-9676; craig@craftairservices.com; www.jddrillfix.com).


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2011 - Volume #35, Issue #3