bound201 Posted June 24, 2013 Share Posted June 24, 2013 A local vegetable farmer came to me in need of some help, he's retired and farms only 25 or so acres. His chisel plow broke a shank and he needs a new one made, I told him to buy one but the problem is that due to the age and manufacture of this plow no one makes them for it anymore and replacement parts are impossible to find. For those not familiar with a chisel plow I've included a video of one in use below. Luckily there isn't a lot of work in this, other than getting the curve right and heat treating it. I'm just not sure what would be a good grade of steel for this project as I don't want him to have another problem with it. I've recommended him to call places but he swears no one has one like it. I'm going to probably stop by a few local ag places and look first but if I do end up making it I'm curious what grade of steel would be recommended and the heat treat recommended for it. Obviously it can't be too hard as we don't want it to break but it needs to be strong enough to retain its shape even after flexing some. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ThomasPowers Posted June 24, 2013 Share Posted June 24, 2013 Spring tempered 5160 comes to mind with the tempering closer to the hot end. Sorry I just saw this as my neighbor works in a John Deere dealership and we have loads of OLD stuff here in NM. Unfortunately I'm now 200 miles away till probably the 6th of july.. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rashelle Posted June 24, 2013 Share Posted June 24, 2013 How about trying to contact the original manufacturer or whichever company now has the "name"? Someone should probly have a good idea. Even a website to the company might point you in the right direction. If I was to guess on my own I'd try something along the lines of 5160. Then do a quick search in the knife section on heat treating, guessing again tempered relatively soft. But that would be a guesstimate coming from someone who has not had to replace a chisel blade on a plow before. Thomas beat me to the post I'd go with his advice. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bound201 Posted June 24, 2013 Author Share Posted June 24, 2013 I was thinking 5160 but wasn't sure. He said the company went under about 40 or so years ago, I told him he may want to buy a different one but this one has sentimental value to him as it was his dad's. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
forgemaster Posted June 24, 2013 Share Posted June 24, 2013 Its going to depend on what sort of sizes you have at your disposal, from the vid it looks like it is a fairly heavy rectangle section, can you get spring steel in that section, or are you going to have to forge it down from something else, I dont know what sort of equipment you have but I guess you'll need a powerhammer of some sort. I like how you said, theres not much in it just get the shape right and heat treat it, that last part is going to be the bit you need some skill for, heat treating it. Do you have a quench tub to quench the whole thing in, in oil. How are you going to heat it all up to quench it in one go, how will you temper it all over? If you forge out a bit of stock to the right size make sure you do not have any sharp corners on it when you finish, put the stock up on its corners in the final heat and give it a run on the corners under the hammer to break those sharp edges as those sharp edges are where the cracks will start from. If you have trouble getting 5160 big enough I would use 4340 or even 4140 as a substitute, just make sure the HT is right for the application. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SoCal Dave Posted June 24, 2013 Share Posted June 24, 2013 I take it welding it back into place isn't an option? Do any other farmers have stock to use and what do they use to replace their broken equipment? I agree with the spring steal option. Good luck Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Larry H Posted June 24, 2013 Share Posted June 24, 2013 what ever steel you choose, I would try it "as forged" before any heat treat, IF it bends ( and I think it won't ) try an oil quench and use the old way of tempering ........heat it until the oil burns off. As Forgemaster recommended break the edges Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Robert Yates Posted June 24, 2013 Share Posted June 24, 2013 Well round here we use old buggy springs they can be ordered from "The Old Cumberland Store" they are not cheep every one round here takes them to a local fab shop that rolls them to match an old one they punch a few holes in the for the new cutter and put them back on and get back to work . Sam Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
VaughnT Posted July 2, 2013 Share Posted July 2, 2013 It'd certainly be a great learning experience. I would probably farm out the heat treat if that was required, though. No harm in making one out of 5160 and trying it as-is to see how it holds up. If heat-treat is needed, go for it. If not, great! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BIGGUNDOCTOR Posted July 3, 2013 Share Posted July 3, 2013 Lots of hits for chisel plow on Google Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thingmaker3 Posted July 3, 2013 Share Posted July 3, 2013 If it's a plow, why not use plow steel? :lol: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
yahoo2 Posted July 4, 2013 Share Posted July 4, 2013 Is it just a curved tine with some holes cut in it like this pic, or does it have a fulcrum for a pivot pin forged into it? courtesy of beeversales.com Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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