Tar River SAYA-507 No Till Drill

That design has a weight tray moved back from where the Saya is .... I just cast two weights yesterday that weigh 240lbs each. I was looking at the drill and with the height that I made my weights I have enough room to slide those trays back about 4 3/4" which would place that weight closer to the center point of the drill, similar to that LMC. Easy enough to do and it also puts the tray directly over a structural frame cross-member. PXL_20221110_153801084.jpg
 

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Everything aligned. Everything torqued and tightened. Weights cast. Trays moved back. Hydraulic top link installed. Now I just have to wait until spring to put it to use. PXL_20221111_194334811.jpgPXL_20221111_194316145.jpgPXL_20221111_194310419.jpg
 
Nice work!
 
Swilk.....what model tractor do you have? Where are you located?.....kind of dirt? I got about 300 lbs of cast weights that lay on my front trays. of my 505. I know I could also operate a 507 with my L3360 HSTCab. I have most pretty light soils and have little issue with penetration......after a learning curve on adjusting the drill.

I do like the looks of your weights and the hydraulic top link makes a good addition with a drill. You may want to add about 500 lbs to the drill (seed weight with full boxes) and make sure you can pick it up? You gotta be getting close to the 3 point limits on your tractor??......just judging from what I can see of your tractor??
 
Kioti DK5010.....think the rear is rated for 2700. I own a couple hundred acres and soils vary....river bottom ground. Maybe my thinking is wrong but I'd rather have "too much" weight and rock the drill back to limit the cutting depth than too little and have issues depending on soil conditions.

Too much with the assumption that the tractor will pick it up of course....it lifts it at idle just fine with no seed in it. Assuming the 1400 empty is accurate, I should be 1880 without seed.
 
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anyone drilled switchgrass with their 505/507?
 
anyone drilled switchgrass with their 505/507?
I have some to drill but havent done it yet. Based on how it calibrated running turnip and rape seed through it, im thinking it should work just fine.
 
I have some to drill but havent done it yet. Based on how it calibrated running turnip and rape seed through it, im thinking it should work just fine.
I am going to give it a go this spring and see what happens.
 
Anyone know/seen any changes to the 2023 Saya? Looking at purchasing and wanted to see if any improvements with 2023 over older models. Thanks
 
They actually tighten the bolts in 2023.


Sorry couldn’t resist!
 
Hey guys - this thread helped me a lot before I bought mine. I’ve been really happy with this drill and the terrain I am working on isn’t easy for any drill type. My good friend did a video of some of the changes we made - that have helped.

 
Buckhunter10, Glad to have the video here. I’ve also learned some from the Saya 505/507 page on facebook. I really hate going on Facebook, but have lurked there a little and found my drill (the 505 model) on facebook marketplace. While Foggy has moved on to another drill, I appreciate the users on this forum posting their insights. I believe my learning curve with the drill will be much easier because of this forum, especially as I move into planting switchgrass fence barriers and start using more blends.

They actually tighten the bolts in 2023.
Shucks, I am picking up a NIB 2022 model, so I’ll still have to tighten every bolt.
 
Buckhunter10, Glad to have the video here. I’ve also learned some from the Saya 505/507 page on facebook. I really hate going on Facebook, but have lurked there a little and found my drill (the 505 model) on facebook marketplace. While Foggy has moved on to another drill, I appreciate the users on this forum posting their insights. I believe my learning curve with the drill will be much easier because of this forum, especially as I move into planting switchgrass fence barriers and start using more blends.


Shucks, I am picking up a NIB 2022 model, so I’ll still have to tighten every bolt.

Yes, sir - happy to try to help. My buddy (Greg in the video) and I are going to continue to make some minor tweaks to the drill. We have been planting green and the seed coverage has been perfect. My other buddy was able to find a bare spot in the field and show our depth - very happy with this!! We have (on average) 15 CEC soils - this drill has cut through them with ease! Even when drilling through HEAVY fescue pasture that was still green!!


 
I made a small mod to my 505 which is equally applicable to the 507. Sometimes I am short on seed, or I may be strip planting, or replanting where I had less than stellar germination. I made a mod to the rear box which takes about one minute to install or remove, The seed cup pull straight up and out and the mounting board is in 3 pieces for quick removal. I've used this system also for normal planting with seed in the front box and smaller seed mixed in the seed cups. I know some of you guys have massive plots so this probably would be of no use to you but I thought I would share, just in case it could help you.
 

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I made a small mod to my 505 which is equally applicable to the 507. Sometimes I am short on seed, or I may be strip planting, or replanting where I had less than stellar germination. I made a mod to the rear box which takes about one minute to install or remove, The seed cup pull straight up and out and the mounting board is in 3 pieces for quick removal. I've used this system also for normal planting with seed in the front box and smaller seed mixed in the seed cups. I know some of you guys have massive plots so this probably would be of no use to you but I thought I would share, just in case it could help you.

I like that idea for the smaller plots didn’t think about that awesome


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Picked up the 5’ (505) no till drill yesterday in Southern MN and brought it to its new home in NW Missouri. It is a new 2022 model that was discounted due to chain guard damage that occurred while on the pallet at the dealership that will not impact operations. Like others have noted, is not quite field ready. When I arrived home, one of the larger nuts/lock washers for the hitch mount was on the bottom of the trailer.

I plan on using 50# sections of RR ties for weight, as I can easily put these in the bucket of the trailer during transport to the field, and then apply as needed when drilling. That may or may not work as planned, but with the help of the posts on this forum, I am hopeful that set up and operation of the drill will go as planned.

As you can see from the picture, the discs/coulters are not aligned--they were anywhere from 5.6" to 9", so I'll be realigning them to 7.5".

The damage: (This was worth $1000 discount) Screenshot 2023-05-20 at 5.40.07 AM.png

Time to unload! My 3E series John Deere did not have the capacity to lift it out of the trailer, so I ended up tiling the trailer and hooking it to the 3 point. Worked great.


Screenshot 2023-05-20 at 6.43.36 AM.png
 
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Picked up the 5’ (505) no till drill yesterday in Southern MN and brought it to its new home in NW Missouri. It is a new 2022 model that was discounted due to chain guard damage that occurred while on the pallet at the dealership that will not impact operations. Like others have noted, is not quite field ready. When I arrived home, one of the larger nuts/lock washers for the hitch mount was on the bottom of the trailer.

I plan on using 50# sections of RR ties for weight, as I can easily put these in the bucket of the trailer during transport to the field, and then apply as needed when drilling. That may or may not work as planned, but with the help of the posts on this forum, I am hopeful that set up and operation of the drill will go as planned.

The damage View attachment 52895

Time to Upload!
View attachment 52896
Congrats on the new drill!
 
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The drill's set up. As I noted on the FB group, some drills are assembled during the week. Others on Mondays and Fridays. Mine looks like it was put together on a Friday before a long weekend. That said, the drill is now ready to use. I have included some notes to help new owners, and a few pictures that might help others down the road.

I had to grind down the frame a little to get to the zerk fitting.

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Of note: A) The 3 point mounts were 3" off...uncorrected, that would have made leveling impossible. B) The front discs were spaced 5" to 10". That could not be correctly adjusted until the 3 point mounts were centered. C) As others have posted, several bolts were loose--as in never tightened. I only found this only true with the parts from the US side of the assembly process (discs, 3 point mount and chain guard).

Here is a help sheet that I put together to help others who happen to acquire a “pre-long weekend” drill. I should note I don’t have any local Saya dealers, so I picked this one up in Southern MN From a skid steer dealer who experimented with carrying farm implements and dropped them after part of a year.

Glad to have part I of this journey complete! Time to put it to work!

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This guy has a YouTube channel and has done several video on his Tar River CONVENTIONAL drill. It's similar to the SAYA but lacks the slicing coulters and the front walk boards......and a bit different on the covering system. Still.....much of it operates similar to the SAYA drills.....any you may find it to be of benefit in understanding the seed delivery system. Mark is trying to do good things here. Kudo's Mark1

 
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