Hi Learned Friends,
Has anyone got any idea or ever forged a moldboard/mouldboard for a single furrow horse drawn plow/plough,the type you walk behind?:confused:
I've searched in books and the net and find plenty of information on forging the shear but nothing on forming the actual moldboard.
Have had a few inquiries from friends in the heavy horse club as they're having trouble finding the old ones now,plus always wanted to make one of these.

Many Thanks

BP0017 Plow Work may help.

the moldboards are of two varieties, solid and softcenter and they are formed somewhat in the shape of a funnel, with the narrowing part to the rear on the wing looking part so it will roll the earth overinto the previous furrow.

John Deere the smith from Pa who is credited with inventing the steel plow actually was asked to come to Illinois to help with the problem of the Wooden Moldboard then in use with the Chilled edge Cast Iron Shears would not scour or clean in the rich black soil. He set up his smithy and on an introduction visit to a sawmill happened to see a broken Saw Blade and got the inspiration to make the first steel moldboard which he formed by rolling over a convenient log, and history was made that day.

The difference between Solid and Soft Center is in some soils the steel of the moldboard must be much harder and polished to make it scour, thus the technology of layed on wood chisels and axe blades was used to make a sheet with a hard front and back and a soft wrought center that could be formed and then hardened and tempered and the soft inner layer would give it the strength to keep from cracking and breaking while in use.

Also when you polish the share and moldboard, the polishing must be done in the same direction the soil moves or it will not scour (clean) well.

Mold boards do wear out especially right at the front edge just above the share. They can be repaired by cutting out the damaged area and replacing with a section from a modern moldboard, you just have to watch that the electric arc welds used to put the new piece back are not directly in line with the soil movement or the abrasiveness of the soil will erode the softer filler metal.

Thanks irnsrgn,
Article was very helpful.I'll go and find an old moldboard to use as a template and see if I can get the right twist to it.

I'm at work and cannot check; but for this sort of thing my first thought would be to look through "Practical Blacksmithing" by Richardson. it's a collection of tips on how do do things common to the late 1880's and early 1890's and as I recall it had a lot of plow stuff in it.

Practical Blacksmithing is now available as a free download
1888 - Practical Blacksmithing by M. T. Richardson