Sharpening Rototiller Blades?

[Brown Thumb]

I got a cheap 5Ft tractor supply 3pt hitch tiller.
When it was new I could have swore it wanted to bury itself.
Nowadays it seems like it don't dig down like it used.
Considering all the rocks the blades are not that bad, dull yes.
Good winter job there are a lot of blades but is it worth the time?
Anyone do it?

 

[leverhead]

I've never heard of it, but we don't have much in the way of rocks around here. The one I'm using had a broken chain and the the central shaft is a bit bent. How that happened, I don't have a clue. Have you thought about adding some weight?

 

[Brown Thumb]

The weight is a good Idea. I have no down pressure on my tractor.

 

[Knucklehead]

Sharpening will help. You should be able to do it with a hand held 4-5" electric grinder without having to remove them. Is yours a King Kutter or a Countyline? New blades are around $20.00 per set.

 

[leverhead]

The weight is a good Idea. I have no down pressure on my tractor.

I don't have down pressure either, think about some way to keep the weight attached though.

 

[Michibacy]

Grab a few pictures, I might be able to get you some good ones for cheap form where I work if they are the same style. How many are you needing?

 

[FmGrowit]

It might be easier to run around your garden with a ripper tooth first. If you get one with the right pitch, you don't need power down. If your tractor is big enough, you can run a three tine chisel tooth ripper. Rippers break the subsoil below the depth of the tilled soil...this provides for ultimate drainage. Ripping the soil before plowing is known to increase tobacco yield up to 30%, but to get that deep, your tractor will need some serious balls.

 

[Brown Thumb]

Good idea Don, I found a single on craigslist for 120 bucks looks like new almost.
My tractor is only 26 hp.

 

[Matty]

You can also get a chisel plough called a mole, it has a torpedo shape on the bottom that leaves like a tunnel for drainage.

 

[Knucklehead]

Yeah, my tiller won't dig new ground very well at all. I rip it up first with a single row cultivator like this one: http://www.tractorsupply.com/en/store/countylinereg%3B--c--tine-cultivator-1-row?cm_vc=-10005

I think my tractor is smaller than yours. Yours will pull it just fine.

 

[Brown Thumb]

How deep do the tines go.
My Rototiller is a country line model. It goes 8 to 10 inches maybe after a couple of passes.
I just never figured the ground would get so hard packed. I noticed that when putting in the bamboo stakes.

 

[Knucklehead]

They dig down about a foot. Deeper than my tiller will dig, anyway. You don't need weight on it because the shape of the teeth pulls themselves into the ground. It's pretty light weight and I can wrestle it around by myself. I think our tractor is 18 HP and it pulls it no problem, rips the ground right up in about 4' swaths.

VIDEO: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rbukce6RIwI

Another Video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4yb0g27_Pb4

the second video show sweep tines, mine just has the chisel tines. They'll go deeper than shown in the second video and the chisel tines are easier to pull through hard ground.

After I rip up the fresh ground with the cultivator, I let the grass and roots die, then use the tiller.

EDIT: The subsoiler Don posted will dig deeper and will improve drainage. For my conditions and tractor I prefer the cultivator. I'm not sure my tractor would pull that deep subsoiler. I have some large food plots I plant for deer on my hunting clubs every year and the large tobacco patch to do. My soil drains well anyway. The 4' wide cutting swath is a big time saver and it does dig deeper than the tiller.

 

[FmGrowit]

Here's a perfect demonstration of a three tine ripper. Note the condition of the soil before and after. Ripping the soil will make tilling effortless. The trick is to rip the soil when it's dry. If it's too moist, it will be like slicing cheese...it won't break up the soil.

The spring tooth cultivator will work, but not like a ripper.

 

[FmGrowit]

Or this

HEHE

 

[Knucklehead]

That's an awesome piece of equipment if you have the tractor for it. Mine would just sit there spinning it's tires. Sometimes even the cultivator will stop my tractor if I hit a big rock or some really hard ground. I have to make two passes usually to get full depth in hard ground.

 

[FmGrowit]

This one is pretty badass

EDIT...wrong one

 

[Knucklehead]

Air conditioned cabs too. That's uptown farming there. Those fellows have an accent, is that Ohio?

 

[FmGrowit]

That's an awesome piece of equipment if you have the tractor for it. Mine would just sit there spinning it's tires. Sometimes even the cultivator will stop my tractor if I hit a big rock or some really hard ground. I have to make two passes usually to get full depth in hard ground.

A 12" single tooth would be just as effective for a garden. Nice thing about ripping is you only have to do it every three years or so. You can hire someone who has one too. If they have a ripper, they have something to pull it with.

 

[FmGrowit]

Ohioans don't have an accent. Everyone else do.

 

[Knucklehead]

A 12" single tooth would be just as effective for a garden. Nice thing about ripping is you only have to do it every three years or so. You can hire someone who has one too. If they have a ripper, they have something to pull it with.

When you're ripping with a single tooth, how far apart do you space the rips?