Eliminating Deere Sway Blocks

Eliminating Deere Sway Blocks TRACTORS Accessories 28-6-28 Anybody who's ever hooked up a 3-pt. hitch attachment to an older Deere tractor knows what a pain it can be. Sway blocks require that everything be lined up just right. When Dennis Nebgen got tired of dealing with them, he did something about it. A glance at an older Allis Chalmers gave him an idea. He uses chains and turnbuckles to allow the operator to back up, hook up and then tighten up the 3-point. "The Allis design worked so much better than the Deere blocks," he says. Nebgen started by finding a point on the same plane as the lower ends of the lift arms. If the two points were not directly in line, the chains would loosen and tighten as the arms were raised or lowered. On his 2640, eyeballing the arms placed the anchor point 7 in. below the axle. To give sufficient reach for the stabilizing chains, the anchor plates would be mounted between the fender mounts and the wheels. For anchor points, Nebgen mounted two 1-in. steel plates perpendicular to and beneath the axle. The right angle plates had a base of 11 in. with a vertical length of 8 in. at 90 degrees to the base. Nebgen drilled and tapped holes in the 11-in. edges. Bolts inserted through pieces of steel strap, with corresponding holes drilled at either end and then turned into the tapped holes in the plate, allowed him to fix the anchor plates to the axle. The bottom tip of the plate was machined down to a thickness of 3/4 in. and drilled to fit readily available shackles for the connecting chains. Nebgen also fashioned steel bushings that could be slipped over the 3-pt. arms with lengths of chain attached to them. The Allis system used cast iron turnbuckles to connect the two chains on either side. Nebgen substituted a piece of 1 1/4-in. round steel drilled and tapped for 5/8-in. threaded rod for each side. One end was tapped for left handed thread and the other right handed thread. He welded a piece of flat steel to the rounds to keep them from turning under pressure. Once 5/8-in. rod was welded to the ends of the two chain lengths on each side, they were threaded on the turnbuckles and ready for use. "When I tighten the turnbuckles, it puts the arms under tension so they can't sway. When I loosen them, it gives the arms room to adjust when connecting to an attachment," explains Nebgen. "I figure I have less than $150 in materials, and I bought everything new. I took the sway blocks off entirely, and these work a lot better." Contact: FARM SHOW Followup, Dennis Nebgen, Route 1, Irvona, Penn. 16656 (ph 814 672-4305; email: dennybob @direcway.com.)

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