A Force Balance Frame and its Use for the Measurement of Tillage Forces

This paper presents details of a new type of tillage dynamometer which measures difference in lift and draft forces between two tillage tools or two sets of tillage tools. This frame has been calibrated to establish its basic accuracy, and used to measure the lift and draft difference between edge-on and flat-on tines, and between conventional shares and shares in a linked tine system. The frame may also be used to measure the absolute lift and draft of a tine or tine system, and some data are presented for the draft of conventional and linked tine systems.