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Do tillers need to be sharpened

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Paul Campanis
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2001-03-03          24968

Hello out there. I spend the day out in my 4 acre field tilling. As the day went on things got slower and slower. Does a tiller need to be sharpened? I still have an acre left but the tiller has definetely lost its edge. I don't think tractors get tired. I sure am though. There were quite a few stones in the field torwards the back. The tractor seems to be running fine. If tines require sharpening, how do I do it? By the way it is a 60inch tiller on a 1982 JD750.

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Bird Senter
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2001-03-03          24970

Paul, can you give us more details on what you mean by getting slower and slower? I suppose you COULD sharpen the blades, but I don't know of anyone who has done so. My tiller is nearly 5 years old and has seen a lot of use, and the manual says to replace the tines when they get worn down to a quarter inch on the tip, but says nothing about sharpening them. And you're right; the tractor shouldn't get tired, so everything should continue to turn at the same speed unless it's bogging down in something like heavy clay mud. ....

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Paul Campanis
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2001-03-03          24972

Now it did start to rain a little bit while I was out tilling. I forgot to mention that. It would bog down. I would have to keep lifting it up to get it to spin again. It was like there was not enough power to get it to spin. ....

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Bird Senter
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2001-03-03          24975

Paul, the only time I've had that happen was, like I said, in heavy clay that was far too wet to till. I don't think sharpening will help you. If it wasn't just mud that was loading it up, you might want to make sure you haven't picked up vines, grass, a piece of rope, etc. that's putting a load on the tiller. ....

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Paul Fox
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2001-03-04          24982

When you say "bog down" do you mean the tractor loaded up and the engine slowed down, or did the tiller tines just stop and the engine RPM stayed about the same? If it's the latter, you're spinning the slip clutch. That could be, as others have said because conditions were too heavy for tilling, or it could be because the slip clutch needs adjusting. ....

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Bird Senter
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2001-03-04          24983

I didn't think to ask whether the tractor engine slowed down or just the tiller, since I don't use slip clutches on my equipment, but that's a very good point. ....

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Paul Campanis
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2001-03-04          24987

That must be it. It must be the slip clutch. Do I really need a slip clutch for such a small tractor and such a big tiller. My feel is that I am under powered for the most part. The tractor is not burdened and the tiller slows. Do I just tighten the bolts on the clutch? How do I adjust it?
Thanks ....

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Bird Senter
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2001-03-04          24989

Aah, mystery solved. Do you have a manual for the tiller? I have a Bush Hog tiller with a shear bolt instead of slip clutch (which was optional) and its manual tells how to check and adjust the slip clutch, but I don't know whether the same measurements would apply to your tiller. If you need me to, though, I'll either post, or send a private e-mail with the instructions from my manual. ....

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treeman
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2001-03-04          24990

I have had many many years of using walk-behind tillers and I have found out that if you do resharpen the tines, it makes a huge difference in performance. With dull tines it will not want to dig as deep and also any grass or weeds will want to wrap on the tine cutting edge. While if you sharpen the tines, it will dig much deeper and cut any grass that tries to wrap on the edge. ....

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Paul Fox
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2001-03-04          25003

I don't recommend eliminating the slip clutch. I'm in Maine, lots of rocks. I had mine set too tight on my Howard and trashed the drive chain and upper and lower sprockets and bearings, to the tune of about $400 in repairs ":^( Tightening each nut/bolt on the clutch about 1/2 to 1 turn at a time and then checking operation is the best way to approach it. ....

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Paul Campanis
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2001-03-04          25007

Thanks for all of your input. I just took it out for a spin to check if indeed it was the slip clutch causing my problem. It is not. The pto shaft is not spinning. Also the drive mechanism coming out of the back of the tractor is not spinning. The only way to get it to till is to lift it up an inch or two. The tractor seems to have plenty of power. It just won't till very deeply. I thought maybe I had overlooked the slip clutch in my tiredness yesterday. Any more Ideas. Is there a separate clutch like mechanism for the rear pto? ....

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Bird Senter
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2001-03-04          25008

Uh-oh, now we have a whole 'nother ballgame. And unless you're a mechanic, it's probably time to see the dealer, because it does sound like you have a bad clutch in the tractor. ....

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kay
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2001-03-04          25010

Sounds like you have a problem with the tractor PTO clutch. SOMETHING is slipping, if the tractor still maintains RPM's and you do not see the drive shaft turning when the tiller is in the ground. Best you see the dealer about a repair. It seems to not be right! ....

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TomG
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2001-03-05          25038

I think the 750 has a gear transmission. You might check for clutch petal free travel before shipping it off to the dealer. A possible explanation is that the clutch pedal adjustment, or other linkage problem, is not allowing the PTO clutch to fully engage. ....

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Murf
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2001-03-05          25052

It sounds, unfortunately, that you were right about being under-powered. It also sounds like you're in for an expensive lesson about the importance of using the right size implement for the tractor you are using. It sounds like the tiller you were using was capable of applying far greater load than the horsepower provided by the machine could handle, the result was a 'slip-clutch' of sorts. Unfortunately, it was the pto clutch INSIDE the tractor that was slipping, this was the 'weakest link' in the drive-train. In most machines the clutch is a siamese-twin with the main clutch, in other words the tractor needs a whole new clutch. This is likely NOT because the slip-clutch on the tiller was mis-adjusted, it is probably set correctly to protect it (and the tractor) for the amount of horsepower that a 60" tiller SHOULD be driven with, your machine was putting out much less than this. I hope for your wallets sake I'm wrong. Best of luck. ....

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Paul Campanis
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2001-03-07          25144

I adjusted the clutch linkage and the thing stopped slipping. Thank you everybody for your input and help. I will keep the rpms low and overlap my tilling rows so as not to strain this too much. A new clutch is $1000 from the dealership. Thankfully a friend of mine has a shop and can do it for far less. ....

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TomG
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2001-03-09          25243

Paul: I'm happy the problem was sorted out. I'm responding to your comment about keeping the RPM low. I think most PTO driven implements are designed to be operated at PTO speed. The load may actually be less at PTO speed. Another idea to reduce load is keep the engine at PTO speed, but keep the tractor's ground speed slow and don’t go very deep. ....

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Bird Senter
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2001-03-09          25244

Paul, I agree with TomG; don't think you'll help anything by running lower RPM, and in fact may well be worse. ....

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Art White
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2001-03-10          25321

Just a little note from the other side, It is advised every year before use to loosen the slip clutch up and slip it. Many times after sitting thru the season and not being used they will sieze up and not work causing damage as if you dn't have one at all. On the sharpening of the blades I would say you should not have to. There are different quailty's of blades some being made out of cruder steel normally being larger in both thickness and width. There are also some built out of a higher grade steel normally thiner and not as wide. the thiner tooth will go into the ground easier and they both will do the same job after entering the ground. With tractor mounted tillers it is not as critical as it would be for the tines but if you are working with a walk behind tiller in stones and heavier soil you would find the smaller tine to be far easier to work with. ....

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Jim Youtz
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2001-03-11          25345

How do you adjust a slip clutch? I have a Woods tiller that I bought last year used. It works great, but now I'm wondering about slip-clutch maintenance. Is the slip clutch at the end of the driveline? ....

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Paul Campanis
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2001-03-11          25371

Yes, it is at the end of the drive line. I have never used one before. I heard that you loosen and tighten all those screws around it. That is the ones attached to the springs. ....

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TomG
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2001-03-12          25379

Irrespective of slip clutch adjustment, most PTO shafts would still have a shear pin(s) in the collar(s). I think it's a good idea to depend on shear pins for protection of the PTO drive, and to make sure a grade of pin appropriate for the drive is in the shaft. The pin is sort of a fail-safe if the slip clutch adjustment is ever too heavy or rusted. The best arrangement is for the clutch to be slightly lighter than the pin. That way, the clutch can do its job and broken pins don't have to be replaced. ....

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Art White
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2001-03-12          25380

Tom there is a glitch to everything, as much as in a earlier post I stated that the slip clutches get rusty so do the shafts and the shear bolt won't shear. The other bad part of if you don't have the slip clutch and you are in a area that you should have them then the hole for the shear pin gets rounded and you can't keep a shear pin in it. I forget what the saying is but it's something like Damn if you do and...... ....

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TomG
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2001-03-12          25382

Art: Thanks for the reminder. I think I have read something about shear bolt problems. For me, I'm probably not conservative enough to dress myself in both a belt and braces, but I'd probably dress my tractor that way. I figure that the chance of two things failing at the same time is less than either one individually. However, I believe that your well-taken point is that there is no substitute for maintenance and appropriate use. Even a shear pin has to be maintained. In addition, usage where either the pin regularly break, or the clutch regularly slips probably isn't good for the tractor and implement no matter how many safety devices are installed. ....

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