I just rebuilt most of a 1590 in Kansas and something I never saw before was that the seed boots were so lose, 2.5" and more, and were beating so much against the mounting ears of the opener arm that it created a worn arc pattern on the ear and a significant lip. It was so bad that even a guide block to rebore the middle mounting holes could not bore true since the mounting ears were so uneven. This is an very extreme case of neglect. This is a consequence not only of changing the seed boots and never dealing with the issue of the mounting holes wear, but also his main pin wore through the bushing into the housing of the cast and his disc was under 16". After the farmer consulted with JD he decided to have me mount the boots to the top hole since his JD manual claimed that's fine for wheat and cover crop use. It was either that or I having to do a costly job of grinding down the mounting holes which would have been luck to get them all good enough. And for those that do not know, if those holes are not bored out straight your seed boot will not go flush against the disc well enough which will not only put the seed placement off but worst of all in moisture conditions any dirt or mud will clog the boot up within acres since the boot flush against the disc scrapes off any dirt stuck onto the disc.
We absolutely don’t recommend drilling out the arm and installing a bushing in the opener arm lugs for at least 4 reasons. 1) If the lugs within the opener arms are worn as bad as you said, we have often seen and heard about bushings completely breaking out the side of the lug (on the arm) after a 5/8” hole is drilled in it. It’s just cast, so it basically weakens it, because not enough material is left around the hole in the opener lug. Unless your willing to move to the seed boot to top or bottom hole (not recommended unless you seed very deep or shallow), it will result in a main opener arm replacement, which are currently $595 new from JD(Jan 2020) 2) When you bore the opener arm lug out and, you don’t have any wiggle room to align the boot flush against the disc. This is VERY important when seeding into damp residue, as any significant gaps between disc and boots cause plugging and a very angry operator. Our seed boot bushing kit does allow this boot to disc adjustment, because the bushings are free to move around on the lugs before the bolt is tightened and the bushings are pulled tight against the opener arm lugs. 3) Lots of guys report the bolts seize within the bushings after drilling out the opener arm. This means torching off the seed boot the next time you change seed boots and hammering out the bushing within the opener arm. Not fun and you have to replace the bushing again. 4) Our Needham Ag seed boots come with pre-drilled holes, therefore NO drilling is required in the boot or arm. This kit takes care of all the play in the opener arm, the boot and the bolt. And lastly our Needham Ag seed boot bushings are made of stainless steel to prevent corrosion over time.
I have never understood the carbide boots: they just have a small inlay up front, nothing protecting the normal cast tails. I buy el-chepo boots, heat them with rose bud, which removes paint, and opens up the cast poors. Them hard surface weld them everywhere they contact soil. 44 pound rolls of flux core hard surface wire actually go's a long way. To me it this process is cheper and get s waaaayyy more durable boot. Whats everyone else think?
Yes we have 50 and 90 series extended wear seed boots available with the pre-drilled holes. This means no drilling is required and no damage is done to the main opener arm by drilling it out and weakening it.
I just rebuilt most of a 1590 in Kansas and something I never saw before was that the seed boots were so lose, 2.5" and more, and were beating so much against the mounting ears of the opener arm that it created a worn arc pattern on the ear and a significant lip. It was so bad that even a guide block to rebore the middle mounting holes could not bore true since the mounting ears were so uneven. This is an very extreme case of neglect. This is a consequence not only of changing the seed boots and never dealing with the issue of the mounting holes wear, but also his main pin wore through the bushing into the housing of the cast and his disc was under 16". After the farmer consulted with JD he decided to have me mount the boots to the top hole since his JD manual claimed that's fine for wheat and cover crop use. It was either that or I having to do a costly job of grinding down the mounting holes which would have been luck to get them all good enough. And for those that do not know, if those holes are not bored out straight your seed boot will not go flush against the disc well enough which will not only put the seed placement off but worst of all in moisture conditions any dirt or mud will clog the boot up within acres since the boot flush against the disc scrapes off any dirt stuck onto the disc.
We absolutely don’t recommend drilling out the arm and installing a bushing in the opener arm lugs for at least 4 reasons.
1) If the lugs within the opener arms are worn as bad as you said, we have often seen and heard about bushings completely breaking out the side of the lug (on the arm) after a 5/8” hole is drilled in it. It’s just cast, so it basically weakens it, because not enough material is left around the hole in the opener lug. Unless your willing to move to the seed boot to top or bottom hole (not recommended unless you seed very deep or shallow), it will result in a main opener arm replacement, which are currently $595 new from JD(Jan 2020)
2) When you bore the opener arm lug out and, you don’t have any wiggle room to align the boot flush against the disc. This is VERY important when seeding into damp residue, as any significant gaps between disc and boots cause plugging and a very angry operator. Our seed boot bushing kit does allow this boot to disc adjustment, because the bushings are free to move around on the lugs before the bolt is tightened and the bushings are pulled tight against the opener arm lugs.
3) Lots of guys report the bolts seize within the bushings after drilling out the opener arm. This means torching off the seed boot the next time you change seed boots and hammering out the bushing within the opener arm. Not fun and you have to replace the bushing again.
4) Our Needham Ag seed boots come with pre-drilled holes, therefore NO drilling is required in the boot or arm. This kit takes care of all the play in the opener arm, the boot and the bolt.
And lastly our Needham Ag seed boot bushings are made of stainless steel to prevent corrosion over time.
I have never understood the carbide boots: they just have a small inlay up front, nothing protecting the normal cast tails.
I buy el-chepo boots, heat them with rose bud, which removes paint, and opens up the cast poors. Them hard surface weld them everywhere they contact soil. 44 pound rolls of flux core hard surface wire actually go's a long way. To me it this process is cheper and get s waaaayyy more durable boot.
Whats everyone else think?
Do you guys offer a boot for the fifty series that's pre drilled for your bushing
Yes we have 50 and 90 series extended wear seed boots available with the pre-drilled holes. This means no drilling is required and no damage is done to the main opener arm by drilling it out and weakening it.