Newest addition to my family of tractor implements

[SI2305]

My apologies and thanks all in one

I apologize to everyone who was confused by my multiple threads. This is my first time working and reporting on an on-going project. This fact accounts for two of the threads. worse, each time I tried to attach pictures, I failed to get them attached properly so I started a new thread to get the pictures out there. This doubled my threads. I was not trying to be rude, I was just an little inexperienced.

I am, however, going to attach some pictures of my most recent modifications. I substantially redesigned the toplinK connector and I think it is much more secure now that previously. I added a lot of metal strapping to keep everything in place. I also added angle bracing--thanks to all who recommended this--and now all I need to do is to attach the link pins on the lower arms. My plan for this is simply to measure VERY carefully and bore a hole to allow the link ping to fit in. This hole will be drilled from the inside to allow for the rather large nut that attaches to the link-pin. I bought an extra long link pin (extra threading) to ease the drilling. I want to make certain that the pins are perfectly square and even with one-another.

Anyway, here are my most recent modifications. It should look considerably better than it did on the last post. As always, I welcome any insights that I overlooked, missed or just plain forgot.

Thanks in advance,

SI2305

 

[SI2305]

Thank you everyone for putting up with my multiple threads. I hope to do things right this time.

I finished my prototype yesterday and gave it a whirl. Unfortunately, those of you who commented on racking forces were more accurate than you may have realized. The simple act of raising up the rake pulled the 3pt connector back a good deal so I quickly lowered it, made some quick re-adjustments, added some more metal, and most importantly, I added a 4x4 connector from the upper top link to the 4x4 that houses the tines. While I still have some more modifications to make, this was satisfactory for the moment.

I then went out to the field, dropped the rake--and actually raked up a small windrow! Not quite mission accomplished, but at least enough to know that the concept works. With more attempts I heard something horribly frightening--a screeching/cracking sound! At first I thought I was pulling apart my 4x4's, and if those don't work, nothing wooded will (foor any reasonable price that is)! Turns our the sound was a much more benign issue. The tines, which are held in place by steel piping, were rotating to face slightly backwards. I noticed that the pile I was raking was not growing quickly and I needed more downpressure which exacerbated the tine issue. While building, I thought these were so tight that nothing could move them, but apparently a few inches of loose grass will do it.

This morning, after taking out the trash, I restored the tine issue. I found a nice, flat spot, droped the rake solidly into the ground, and gently backed up in low gear. At first, nothing, the tines bent as they are meant to. But after several inches of backwards movement, the screech returned and I looked down and was pleased to find that the tines now angle forward about 20 degrees. I gave a few more pushes back to even out the tines and then returned home. I plan on modifying to see if I can maintain this configuration.

I attached a couple pictures to show the current configuration--it will be modified again shortly.

SI2305

 

[jenkinsph]

Wow, lots of work there and enjoyed all the pics.

About the weight, don't think you need very much weight just the right bending action. The pine straw rake I posted before weighs about 75 lbs for the 6' model. For normal raking of grass, leaves and pine needles this is all I need. When I use the psr to cover seeds that I broadcast or for dethatching I add two 42lb front weights to the frame, this doubles the weight and makes the raking slightly more agressive.

 

[SI2305]

Work, Yes. Fun, yes. opportunity to use power tools--definitely worth it. Plus, it was cheaper than most alternatives.

SI2305

 

[SI2305]

Jenkinsph,

No, I have no plan on adding any weight to it as its wooden construction is plenty heavy. On the other hand, I do plan on removing the center 4x4 angle support and replacing it with a metal counterpart, perhaps even a cat0 toplink. This would allow me to dial in the perfect amount of strength to the vertical support. I do plan on adding some metal strap support underneath the tines. If you look closely, you can see that the tine support is arranged in such a manner that a metal strap could easily connect to the 4x4. I also plan on slipping some 2x2's into the space between the top of the springs and the 4x4. This would help prevent the springs from rotating backwards. I may even lower the hight of the toplink to make overall attachment easier to manage. Right now, the toplink is dangerously close to its maximum upper limit. Please let me know what you think, and thanks for the comments as always

SI2305

 

[hizoot]

SI2305,
You are obviously a craftsman,handyman. I've woodworked for over 40 years and have done as you,used wood when metal would've been so much better. About 10 years ago, I finally taught myself how to weld. It has been alot of fun and there is so much more I can do,and easier,stronger,more durable now. I would venture to guess,it wouldnt take you very long at all,to learn welding.... Especially with the excellent videos,etc. on the web. This project would've taken a whole lot less time using metal,been stronger and more durable.(unfortunately ,that wood is going to move around with temp/humidity and loosen all your fasteners) Thanks for the posts and pictures.

 

[SI2305]

Hizoot,

Thank you for your very kind comments--I don't know if I would be that kind myself. Mostly I learned from watching my father who was a general all purpose do-it-yourself-man, whethere it was carpentry, fine woodwork, electronics, home electrical wiring or computer hardware or software repair/build/modification.

Personally, I have been woodworking for about 20 years now, and the longer I have had my tractor, the more uses and "needs" I have found for it--most recently obviously being a rake.

You are not the first person who has suggested that I take up welding, but you are the first person I have not known to reccomend it. This has making me take this more seriously. My main impediments are that I will need a whole new set of tools (but that is not so bad either) and the price of metal seems sky-high right now. One of the main reasons I chose wood (I briefly considered metal and attaching with bolts, but the metal pieces I could find were terribly expensive) was price. Wood is dirt cheap right now--I suspect because of the housing turdown. This low price, the various pieces of perfectly good treated lumber laying around in my garage (leftovers from previous projects) and my general skill set made wooden construction the obvious choice, despite its various drawbacks.

On a related note, the metal connectors--strapping and 90 degree braces--have by now become the most expensive part of the build. The steel spring teeth were heavy duty, numerous about $50 alltogether--and made in China. My understanding is that the Chinese government's manipulation of the yuon has made virtually all imported metal so cheap that no American manufacturing can compete. This does not seem to be the case with general steel pieces. Am I correct in assuming that these metal pieces are made in America and therefore more expensive than steel manufactured in China? Are steel prices actually as high now as I am percieving? The thought of building with metal is VERY intriguing, but the cost might be prohibitive.

Again, thanks for your generous comment, and I look forward to any insights you may have.

SI2305

P.S. I intend to send some pictures of the rake in action or at least showing the results of it being in action.

 

[k0ua]

One thing to consider in a build of this type is getting hold of scrap steel instead of buying new. I have bought some steel lately and yes it is high. But often you can go to the junkyard and with a bit of scrounging find good scrap for a low price. Sometimes individuals have good scrap lying around they might even give you. Like you I used to work in wood only as I did not have a welder and if it could not be put together with fasteners then I did not put it together. Also consider that with metal without a welder you cannot put back any metal you take off. but with a welder you can put metal on metal, grind it off to shape it and put in back on again until you are happy with it. Sure it does require some investment and when I bought my first welder, the wife and I scrimped and saved for it for some time as we did not have a lot ofmoney extra then. It was just a Lincoln buzzbox AC welder but I got my moneys worth out of it repairing things in short order. I still have it, although I never use it now since I got my DC welder. Some have had luck finding a good used AC welder for around $125 or so. A stick welder is very economical to run and very versatile. I applaud you for taking on this project.

James K0UA

 

[beenthere]

Looks like it is ready for a test run. When is that planned so we can see the accomplishment in action?

Thanks to the admin for working these threads into one.

 

[SI2305]

Did a very preliminary run yesterday and did a few quick modifications. It should be ready for a real run today with photo opportunities. I did take a few pics of the site after being racked and while it generally did a good job, it was a cloudy day and the pics turned out very mediocre. You could hardly tell the raked from non-raked areas. Today is bright and sunny and I think I can get some better pics.

I will say that even with only a few preliminary passes, I raked up far more in 15 minutes than I would have in a day previously with a hand rake.

more to come.

SI2305

 

[SI2305]

This is my first test run through with the rake. Unfortunately, the sunlight did not cooperate and everything has taken on the same basic muted tone that does not do justice to the amount of grass that the rake actually moved. Nonetheless, I have a couple of contrasting pics and you can get the basic idea. IT DID MOVE GRASS!! YEAH!! After all this work I can finally say that I have something to show for my efforts. These pics tell less of the story than what it can really do. The last pic shows a sort of before and after version. The foreground is completely unraked. The background has been raked over twice. The other pics show windrows after I ran over them with the tractor and a closeup of the twice-raked over area

 

[SI2305]

Final pics of new rake

Here it is, the rake in its almost new configuration in action. Sorry if this was a thread violation rule, but I was having trouble getting my posts on the 4th page. Hope you enjoy.

SI2305

 

[beenthere]

Re: Final pics of new rake

Top arm looks too long. Looks like you will soon tear it apart with fingers pointed forward like that.

Can't imagine how or why you have trouble posting, as all you need to do is click on "reply" in the combined thread (combination of the first three). Nothing else needs to be done. There is a "Post Reply" lower left button, and there are three choices lower right..."Quote", multiple quote, and "quick reply". Just do the quick reply, and if pics, just go to "Go Advanced". Avoid doing new posts every time. Otherwise your progress is lost in gazillion posts on TBN.

 

[magicheater]

Re: Final pics of new rake

Here it is, the rake in its almost new configuration in action. Sorry if this was a thread violation rule, but I was having trouble getting my posts on the 4th page. Hope you enjoy.

SI2305

As long as the configuration you have does what you want it to it is a success. :thumbsup: We all have different end results in mind when we attach an implement......................

 

[AKfish]

Re: Final pics of new rake

It does indeed look like a rake! Very similar to the pine needle rake that jenkinsph's got - only it's a treated 4x4 configuration.

As beenthere pointed out - that's a pretty steep angle - likely poke something's that's not gonna give... and the teeth or the frame will!

Applaud your ingenuity! You done a good job. :thumbsup:

AKfish

 

[SI2305]

Re: Final pics of new rake

to be honest, I don't know why I was having difficulty posting either, all I can honestly say is that when I did click to attach the files, nothing would happen. Can't say I understand, but can only say that it did not do what I wanted it to do.

As for the steepness of the angle, I agree. My next step in refining this is to cut down that top link by at least 4 inches, maybe more and reduce the tremendously steep angle that sits there right now. Although the rake is very usable, one difficulty I have is that it does not raise up very high causing two problems:

1) sometimes I rake up enough material that I have difficulty getting the tines out (I role over them in those cases)

2) on rough terrain, I have to take extra caution so I don't get the tines stabbed into the ground accidentally.

I did want to post a couple of pics though in its functional if not finished condition. The picture I posted here was only about 10-15 feet of raking in an area that did not need it too badly. I chose the area because of the good sunlight and I was in a rush to get my camera.

As it stands now, in its present condition, I typically rake over an area twice. The first time mostly roughs up some of the long clippings that are on the verge of turning into thatch. The first pass loosens them up and in the process, I try to keep my hand on the 3pt lever to constantly monitor and adjust the rake so it is just barely touching the ground.

When I back up and rake over again, the loosened grass now easily collects under the rake and forms some nice, big windrows. I think if I were to just drop the rake and run on the first pass I would seriously dig into the turf.

One aspect I had not anticipated. There are some surprisingly tremendous forces acting on the entire assembly. I have looked back and noticed especially as I first start moving that the 4x4 is undergoing torsion--it actually twists for a moment and then springs back into normal position. I would have thought that the torsion springs would have been sufficient to take this stress, but I guess not.

At any rate, I have raked some pretty huge loads and made a nice, long, tall windrow that I plan on putting raspberries in next spring after a season of decomposing.

Thanks for the comments,

SI2305

 

[teg]

Re: Final pics of new rake

The Toplink looks too long... Shorten up the toplink will help with raising it more and also help with the angle, too.

 

[k0ua]

Re: Final pics of new rake

In looking at that toplink, I noticed a couple of things, One you do not have it adjusted in as much as possible, so that is a 15 second fix, but I also noticed you have a set of Pats Quick Hitch on which normally adds a couple of inches to your lower links, which usually means you need to lengthen your top link, But that top link looks really really long, I am starting to wonder if that is the original toplink? Or did that come off of a larger tractor? Shorten it up as much as possible, and see how that looks/works but maybe go get a shorter one if that does not get you where you need to be?

James K0UA

 

[SI2305]

Re: Final pics of new rake

You are absolutely right about the length of the top link. When I was making it, I was just not certain how high up it needed to be. I took some rough measurements from my middle buster and deliberately erred on the long side. I can always cut some off, but putting new material back in place is not going to work. By having it long, I can take off bit by bit until it is just the right length.

Also, one mention about the teeth. They are deliberately pointed forward. In a previous test, I found that if they were simply pointed straight down, as they made contact with grass and ground they all too easily bent back as their torsion springs were designed to do. In this version, they point forward and I can use the 3pt control to "fly" the tines just under the layer of grass. Naturally, the tines will eventually come into contact with the ground, a thick tuft of grass or even a rock or lump. In this case, because the teeth have built-in torsion springs, they simply bend backwards easily, slide over the object and continue on as before.

Thanks for the comments, they are quite helpful, in large part because they are confirming what I was already thinking about doing. This is a work in progress--a functional one, but incomplete nonetheless. Right now I am trying to rig up a system that will allow me to disconnect the top link, rotate the rake 90 deg and use my miter saw to make quick, precise changes to get just the right amount of top link off.

As always, thanks for all your advice and comments

SI2305

 

[teg]

Re: Final pics of new rake

....use my miter saw to make quick, precise changes to get just the right amount of top link off...

The metal toplink is a screw (the piece of metal attached to the tractor), just twist the middle section to make it shorter! No need to make any cuts!!! Screw it shorter and see how the tines looked....