Brinly Cultivator

[Yettrbomb]

Has anyone used both the A-frame style and tool bar style cultivators? Which is better, and why? No real reason, just humoring myself.

[J-Mech]

I use a cultivator that came from a Gravely, or older walking tractor. It works ok. My dad modified it to work on the 71 Cub Cadet that his dad had when he was about 12. (And now I have.) I modified it again when I was about the same age and put it back to work in our garden. I still have it and use it. Like I said, it's ok. My buddy Chris uses a similar cultivator, but he mounted it behind a single gang disk. (Or maybe the other way around.) Anyway, he plants in like 40" rows so he can drive between them. I plant in standard 30" rows so I straddle the row. Both set ups eliminate weeds, and do a satisfactory job. Only reason I am critical is because I have spent a lot of time running a true IH cultivator. And not just one style, at least 3 different style IH cultivators. I've also ran a Buffalo. I just can't get what I need from my little cultivator, and it doesn't really go deep enough to do what I want. But it does keep the weeds down enough that minimal hand weeding/hoeing is necessary. In my opinion, the A frame style doesn't look like it would work well. The toolbar style, not real impressed with it either. If you can't decide, buy both, try both and sell the one you don't like. My personal preference is to eventually build one to suite me. Something more adjustable, with options like a true "tractor" cultivator.

240.jpg

[Yettrbomb]

I was hoping you’d chime in. Lol, I have the A frame style. It goes deep enough and works to eliminate weeds and minimal hand work. But it doesn’t pull straight enough for my liking. My thinking was the toolbar style would do better but having not tried or seen one for that matter.

[J-Mech]

I was hoping you’d chime in. Lol, I have the A frame style. It goes deep enough and works to eliminate weeds and minimal hand work. But it doesn’t pull straight enough for my liking. My thinking was the toolbar style would do better but having not tried or seen one for that matter.

Well, how straight it runs is up to the driver, not the tool.....

[Yettrbomb]

I follow you..lol. Re reading that it doesn’t make much sense. There is some slop in the whole unit. As in at the sleeve hitch pin. I got the draft plate(?) bolts a little tighter and that seems to help. Adjusted the 3 point arms a little bit. It seemed that the left was a couple turns lower. The shovels are all the same length. Just seemed that when it was in the dirt it wanted to go left. If the 3 point wasn’t even on both sides that would probably explain that.

[J-Mech]

You used contradictory terms Rich.... is the cultivator mounted on a cat 0 3pt, or a sleeve hitch?

[Yettrbomb]

Wow. I’m getting really bad at explaining via typing 😂. Tractor has a cat 0 3 point, the cultivator is a sleeve hitch. So there is an A-frame adapter thingie to use sleeve hitch attachments. Which includes the bolts on either side to tighten up the draft plate. Maybe I should delete and restart-I appreciate everyone’s patience😂

[J-Mech]

Ahhhhh.. Well, that's your problem. You need a 3pt cultivator, and to do a good job it will need some mods. Either you will need to make some better sway blocks for the lower arms, or add a single disc cutter to the cultivator.

Here is a "real" cultivator. See the two straight cutters on either end? Those are to keep the cultivator from drifting side to side. They stabilize it.

20190624_204701.jpg20190624_204651.jpg

[Yettrbomb]

I wonder if you could get some small discs from an “Agri-Supply” kind of place and some round stock to make your own 🤔

[zippy1]

That cultivator in your pictures Jon, looks like it get's about as much use as ours does now days...

[J-Mech]

That cultivator in your pictures Jon, looks like it get's about as much use as ours does now days...

Well.... I scavenged it from the farm before grandad cut it up for scrap, like he did most all his equipment. I managed to save it, a rotary ditcher with a Cat 1 hitch, and a PTO generator. Dad saved a 3 bottom 2pt hitch plow. That's about all that got saved. I got the cultivator to use in the garden..... but I don't have a tractor to mount it on. The Lo-Boy can just barely lift it, but it can't straddle two rows. No more than the cultivator is worth, I'll keep it until I buy a tractor I can use it on. I would like to get it inside though. It just sits out by the garden on wood blocks. It will need rebuilt by the time I get back to using it. I figure at the rate I'm going, I'll get a SCUT before I buy a tractor. I want both.... but nowhere to keep either right now. Someday......

[zippy1]

Yeah, I started out with the two row on the Super C, and thought I was really "farming" when grandad got the four row on back of the JD.
Ours sits back of the barn in the weeds...