Spaldings Expand Tungsten Parts Range
It is now recognised widely by farmers that the massive reduction in the time lost replacing worn parts more than off-sets the extra cost of investing in plough points and wings edged with the hard wearing tungsten tiles.
Because of this increasing demand, Spaldings has expanded its tungsten range by over 20 products. The tungsten range now includes spares to fit Simba/ Horsch drills, Kuhn power harrows, scrapers and subsoil weld-on tips as well as tungsten landsides, shins and skim points.
Tom King, TAG Farming and Hire, Rufford Forest Farm, near Newark, fitted Spalding tungsten points to a seven-furrow Lemken plough on a trial basis in the autumn of 2006, in place of the Duraface points used over the previous five years.
Initially, Mr King needed convincing that the higher cost of the tungsten points was cost-effective when compared to the cost of conventional points. But Mr King was surprised to see that the tungsten points lasted for the entire 1,000 acres of abrasive sandy soil and some gravel. In previous seasons the non-tungsten points only lasted for around 250 acres. The non-tungsten wings, however, had to be replaced three times.
“The tungsten points proved themselves, but it soon became obvious that you need tungsten wings as well so that, hopefully, both parts not only last longer but wear out at the same time,” Mr King says.
The following autumn Mr King invested in tungsten wings to match the tungsten points. “In the past, the downtime to replace wearing parts on this abrasive soil has amounted to 4-5 hours at least three times a season. That’s the best part of two days, which is a lot of lost time in catchy weather.
“But so far this autumn I’ve not had any downtime due to wearing parts and I anticipate no more than one change and possibly none.”
Mr King’s main crop at Rufford Forest Farm is 450 acres of mainly continuous rye grown on contract for Ryvita, plus wheat and extra land taken for vegetables. Most of the straw is chopped and then incorporated with a shallow cultivator before being deep-ploughed to get it out of the way and to build up organic matter in the blow-away soil.
The 7-furrow plough is set at 20in widths, which is equivalent to 10 furrows at 14in widths, representing a ‘saving’ of three mouldboard units – and there is less travelling up and down the field.
Mr King is more than satisfied with the cost-effectiveness of the tungsten tips so far. “We were worried they would fall off, especially in the gravely soils, but apart from one or two tiny chips, they are all there and show little sign of wear.”
Spaldings parts are designed and manufactured for Spaldings to exacting quality standards and are supplied to fit the machines indicated and are not sold as genuine parts.
For full details visit our online catalogue, contact any member of our sales team, telephone: 01522 507 600 or e-mail: agsales@spaldings.co.uk
Spaldings Launch New 2m Topper
Spaldings are launching a new 2m flail topper to complete their grassland management machinery range which has been put together specifically for arable, livestock and fruit growers.
Spaldings already have the 2.8m flail topper and the compact 1.65 version well-established in the market. The company has now identified a growing market for a medium-sized high quality flail topper which is essential for managing buffer strips, field margins and field corners.
All Spaldings’ toppers are ideal for traditional pasture topping as well as heavy duty topping and shredding of tough woody vegetation found in general landscape and field boundary maintenance. A cab-operated hydraulic side shift mechanism on the 2.8m and 2m toppers helps maneuvers around obstacles. Simple adjustments to the rear rollers also alter cutting height and spread pattern.
The 1.6 compact topper can be front or rear mounted. It is extremely versatile and has been designed for use with compact and amenity tractors up to 35hp. This machine can be fitted with an optional scarifier kit.
For full details visit our online catalogue, contact any member of our sales team, telephone: 01522 507 600 or e-mail: agsales@spaldings.co.uk