Anyone built a roller-crimper for no-till prep?

[ayelvington]

I need/want a roller-crimper for putting down a cover crop in preparation for no-till planting. All I see are self-made solutions for either the front or rear of a tractor.

My BX is obviously small, so I'm looking at a 6' wide solution that I'd ideally like to build so that it would go in front in lieu of the bucket. I'd go with a chevron pattern for the crimps to make for a smooth ride and to mitigate any pulling from alignment issues.

Any experience/lessons-learned out there?

 

[melanelly]

Check out the food plot threads. You might find something there that would meet your needs. I know this isn't a roller crimper but its a great idea. Check it out at http://www.tractorbynet.com/forums/build-yourself/180123-my-home-built-no-till.html

 

[BrianR]

I had considered building one too, for my BX2200. My original thought was to make it so it could be mounted on the bucket and removed easily. That way you could just put additional weight in the bucket to match the cover crop conditions and yet the roller itself would be light enough to handle with out too much trouble.

To make it easier to build I was looking at the idea of making smaller Chevron-patterned pieces and welding them to an old (obviously empty/damaged) gas cylinder and just staggering them as needed. Mine would 50" wide though to reduce the amount of weight needed to get a good crimp.