Off color machine

I thought I would contaminate this website just for Ray54.

I prepped one of my TD9B’s for Plow Days; sort of buttoned up the IH UniBeam disk that I got last month. It was advertised as a 10’6”, but turned out to only be a 9’9”.

Half way decent blades measure out at 23.5”.There was a stack about 16” high of various blades on the right hand rear gang for ballast. Per the internet, it already has 300# per foot cutting. If it doesn’t work out, I will use some cast IH wheel weights i have somewhere.

I still need to put a tach to the engine, and turn it down, as it already makes plenty of power.

I may as well hunt

for an IH “western” ring roller to pair up with this unit.

Right Color or close to a match, might have a different "brand" on it but that really does not matter, it rides on steel and that company's equipment worked right alongside Caterpillar in many places at the same time. It is great to have multiple machines at an event, thanks for planning on this one to be part of Rio Linda Plow Days 2026. - cts

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Hey Gee, don’t forget I’m still looking for some used discs in the 20 inch+ range.

Hey PW! Whats cookin'? Looks good enough to eat from here. I actually thought of you first, when I decided to take the funky stack of blades off of top of the rear gang. Come on out to Rio Linda this Saturday, and I can bring some of the 20" and above (Too big for Ray54, his machines might work too hard). I think there was one good sized one with scallops worn down and some more smooth ones. If you can't make it, they are in the boneyard here on a pallet. Andy's wife is catering again, so just bring an appetite. Let me know by Wednesday if you could. Bring some friends and a machine to play in the dirt if you are able to. JM

There have been several of those "Red Devils" around the neighborhood. One was original red before they went to the "hide it in yellow mode". I think they were a good tractor, just too many disappoints over the years. By that time that model came nobody was willing to take the chance.

Despite the fear of IH crawlers the UniBeam disc was well liked in the hills. I even have an overly modified 12 foot one. I have used several unmolested ones. I still want to know what a previous owner did to ripe the hinge mechanism so bad, they build a copy of an Allis Chalmers model L offset disc hinge.

No prejudice against bigger blades, just not many people changing out blades bigger than 21 inches. As many as I can break in the rocks, I always looked for a perfectionist to follow around and take there 21 3/4 blades home for cheap. Working supper sticky adobe, blades all the same size don't plug as much as putting one bigger blade in the mix.

Red Devils. Love it. Amazingly used disk blades sell well for thrifty people as well as artists. I’ll give PW an A+ for some of the cowboy “woks” he has made. Functional yet artistic!

Ray: Maybe your disk lacked scrapers for the blades! I did a disking job once, where each blade had a perfect 1/4” layer or so of gooey clay/mud clinging. Weird!

We had a TD9.It was a great little tractor for what we used it for.Mainly to pull our bean harvester,Also for pulling 47 foot Melroe harrow.At one time pulled a 12 row bean planter.Never had to work too hard and usually only put 400-500 hours a year on it.In the steeper hills we had to put the HD11 on the harvester.The TD9 would spin out.
I think this is about the only picture I have of it and only because the wife took it when she brought dinner out.
Only thing Caterpillar, is the air cleaner on the harvester engine.

I may not be to sharp most of the time, but learned early on a disc needs cleaners to get any tillage done here. I never needed one for a road roller.

With the amount of rocks, the standard cleaners would get bent , broke, and mutilated. So a scraper and a chain in the same space was common. Thankfully wad some adobe on a chain as lubrication and there was no wear on the spacer/spool. When the son was in high school shop class, I got him a stick of 3/4 by 2 inch stock to bend into cleaners for JD 1200. The beauty of a natural gas forge, on somebody else dime. I have managed to bend a few of those too, dammed rocks.