Video #1 Gravely Tractor Demonstration Series 1962 Gravely Rotary Plow Gravely Plowing 

For those wondering, no, you don't have to walk the tractor back down to the end of the furrow and only plow throwing soil in one direction as was done here. Looks like this fellow had something planted to the right. The Gravely rotary plow is used just like a right hand turning plow. You start in the center of your plot, make your opening furrow and then plow clockwise around the plot until you reach the reasonable limit of that "land" and move over, open another "land" and continue on. It's a great tool and a great tractor.

My dad still has one of these that is is great shape, this was the first tractor I learned how to operate as a Kid

Nice Gravely. When I was a kid I used to watch a guy up the road plow with a Gravely. I didn't realize how good they were then. I just figured he couldn't afford a real tractor.Now I know they were for a purpose.

Wow !! They really knew how to build things back then!

I have owned about every type of gravely that was made except for an LS. This rotary plow was one of the best implements. I didn’t care for the roto-tiller. The cultivator was a pretty good attachment as was the dozer blade. I owned two sets of the geared steel wheels and they were awesome. The best gravely was the 816 with hydraulic. I put chains on it and it pushed the snow like nothing else. I tried the snow blower but it would pick up rocks and turned them into projectiles. The goal was to obtain all the implements but I never got there. I wanted to take a 412 and turn it into a tracked dozer, but never got around to that one.

We had one of these back in there early 70s and sold it in 84. It was an awesome machine built like a tank with a lot of cast-iron

I want to take a minute to say thank you for your valuable video series ! I have been raised around Gravely equipment since I was two years old, I am now sixty, and paralyzed from my shoulders down. It is extremely difficult to explain what, and how to correctly set up especially the rotary plow verbally ! Your videos have made this much easier ! After years of bragging about the ability of the Gravely, and it's attachments, finally, I have a way to be able to show my assistant more than just me verbally explaining. Thanks again !

Once the settings are correct this machine does a very efficient job from what i can see here.

My Dad grew up with a lot of Gravely in his blood, it was his suggestion to go deeper on the first pass. By the way, great video, looking forward to more from you.

I've been operating Gravely model l tractors for 40 years. Note to new operators, if your plowing virgin ground and that plow hit's a big rock or some clay it will kick the tractor back towards you. Stay away from those handle bars.

What a great job that old girl does!

Looks like it not only plows a good depth, but also leaves the soil fine enough without pulverizing it. No need to disk or harrow!

Never seen this setup rototill and she dose a great job are bcs till other way like trobuilt

Great video, probably the best demonstration of the rotary plow I've seen here on youtube. I love these old Gravelys, I have 3 of them.

I think these are great I have a mang jr tiller and its the best I have seen or used.

we had 12hp when I was a kid 30 40 50 reel mowers, steer sulky, snow blower, cultivator, brush, and all worked well. The 50 mower will cut well but its mass is difficult to handle on turns, so I don't recommend that large. Wish I still had it.

Pleasure to use as well as watch a machine properly set-up for the job.

i bought two at an estate sale and a rotary plow. that plow will really tear up the ground

Sure makes salad out of the greens growing there. Nice work

Thank you. Hope you're able to find a good set of geared wheels, they make all the difference in the world. I didn't set it any deeper, but you're right it won't plow as deep during the first pass.

As noted by other people, the first pass tends to be shallower as the RH wheels are not down in the furrow. I find this also contributes to the angle of the plow, so I don't adjust the angle till after the second (or possibly third cut if they are really deep). If you have marked the settings from the last plowing session and put it back to those, then it will be close anyway, (conditions do change occasionally, requiring a little tweaking). If you have the model that also has the two speed axle, (they call them 8 speed, but really it is 4 forward and 4 reverse!), theoretically you cannot fit geared wheels, as the gear reduction hub fouls the gear shifting rod. (I have been tempted to modify the hub to make room for the rod, as this would allow really low speeds. However I haven't found the round toit, . . yet!) Much lower speeds would sometimes be handy in heavy ground, or when using the plow for landscaping without the soil defector. As, by running the plow on the high speed clutch you can get it to throw the soil 1 to 2 meters (3 to 6 feet) sideways. Quite handy to change the shape of the surface. Or to "carve" sidling tracks (like foot tracks), or shallow trenches or surface drains, etc

On the plowing one direction or both ways, as with conventional moldboard plowing, you need to consider the fact that the soil gets shifted sideways each time. If you plow both up and down and for example always throw the soil towards the centre, eventually the you end up with a hump, conversely throwing it outwards you get a hollow, (that can hold water). Obviously the trick is to alternate which way you throw it and/or move the "centre" around. This effect was particularly noticeable (and important), on the "reclaimed" swamp land where I grew up.

I went to the Gravely dealer in Gary-Indiana back in the 60's for some part's--it so happened he had a set of geared wheel's someone had traded in--I took them home for $25--

It was plowing in low speed because the ground was hard due to the abundance of clay. If we plowed in high then the ground speed of the tractor would have been too fast.

Those gear reduction wheels are just the trick for plowing. I have a '57 "LI" model and I can only take about half the cut you're taking in this video. I do my plowing in high gear range though because screw it. I'm in a hurry here. Great vid!

Good video. Thank you. What about comparison of rotary plow vs pull behind plow? And can it plow a ground with a lot of rocks and tree roots? (I assume it could damage the machine, so the pickax and a showel are the only choice?). Thank you.

Great machine and turned alot of ground, but you have to respect the machine

Why were you only plowing in one direction? Good video, but some people may not understand the normal method is to plow back and forth just like a moldboard plow.

Do you know the maintenance needed for the plow? Also where are the lubricating points

nice thank you. i just built a 5665 in VA Hard rocks here see how it goes i wear a helmut.

What does it mean L tractor speed Low Medium High gearing ??? Thanks

Great Video

is the plow reversible?

le mien ne fonctionne plus le ventilateur cassé et j en ai plus besoin mais c etait genial tres solide tres puissant je l avais ramené du quebec avec moi quand j ai déménagé

Very nice vid and tractor. informational too! One quick question. Were you plowing in high range? It was plowing nicely regardless.

Can it carry aload

Nice Gravely, great restoration too. I have a '64 that I plow with. Thanks for the tips. After watching your video, I am going to look around northeast PA for a set of gear reduction wheels. Do you set your plow deeper on the first path to compensate for the furrow in the second path?

Si buono io ne ho uno con doppia rotazione che lavora sia in avanti che indietro sicuramente fuori norma di sicurezza.Senza protezione delle parti rotante

your demonstrating how to adjust it, why not plow the correct way too ?? your wasting so much time back traveling insted of running a pass down the center then keep turning the plow right making passes down and back ..... thats how the old gravely fliers described it that I have from the 60s

Where at in wv

When you said it was top speed it was in low gear so it really wasn't top speed.

Looks like a lot of wasted motion having to dead head back after every pass.