Anyone thought about building a corn picker?

[Dachshund]

Like the ones that used to be towed behind the tractor and picked the ears, but didn't shell the corn? I thought about delving into it. Any ideas would be helpful!

 

[kensfarm]

I have an old pull behind one-row corn huskor I had dragged from the farm across the street.. it has all the parts.. but would need a lot of work.

The MF65 I bought a few years ago.. has a mounted 2-row corn huskor. This fall I used it to harvest my field corn. I lined the inside of a wooden hay wagon(8ftx16ft) I built w/ 2x2 wire mesh. I was pretty impressed that it would even harvest the stalks that are laying flat on the ground.. you just have to go a little slower.

If you weren't so far away.. I'd be happy to give away the one row just to see someone restore it.

 

[OldMcDonald]

Yes, but no idea where to start. I certainly hope you get some reasonable responses, or even people giving enough info on old commercially manufactured ones would let us have some ideas. I am thinking of growing up to 10 acres this year, depending on how much water is in the river in May (for irrigation) but a minimum of 2 acres. Knowledgeable people please butt in. Old McDonald.

 

[Dachshund]

Yeah - I'd have to take you up on it if we were closer!

 

[crazymike]

Not sure where exactly you live. But around here we have the agtrader. It's got several sections you could such implements used. There are sections for both working and scrapped implements. Aswell as I have seen several 1-2 row corn pickers.

 

[rambler]

Around here (southern MN) one row units are sold for scrap iron, 2 row units only slightly above. I can't imagine engineering such a machine on your own. They are rather complex in their tolerances to do what one wants them to do.

I have a NI 300 & a 327 (the newest wide row) I think? One was $30, the other $135. There are parts from the NI 6A in the grove, got it from the neighbor 20 years ago for $100. It just plain wore out. A good narrow row 2 row unit goes $400, and a dealer was advertising a 3 row pull type last fall for $1000.

Have you looked for an old but servicable picker around you?

--->Paul

 

[Dachshund]

Been looking for one close by, but most I find - I'm a day late - they're already cutting it up for scrap!

 

[OldMcDonald]

There are no such machines in this part of the world. In fact there is very little of anything except ploughs, scarifiers and tpl boxes. I cannot even find anyone with a small grains combine harvester. I build most of what I need - harrows, subsoiler, seed drill, land leveller, rock rake, even a two pronged hay fork. Most people have very small plots and cut with a sickle type implement (not even a scythe). Bigger plots are cut by contractors with a ride on motorised reaper followed later by a baler. Some also bind hay or small grains crops into sheaves. A neighbour does a wee bit of threshing of corn and oats, but he uses a flail. Any links, photos or how to get started would be most welcomed. Old McDonald.

 

[Taylortractornut]

I havent been around a cornpicker that much except for a feed pickers. A fresh corn pckers has rubber fingers I think. I Know a mans here that has afront mounted basket that attaches to the front of his tractor and has casters out front. its hinged to follow the ground and has a platform like a man basket on the top. He has 2 inverted V's on the front to on each side to make the stalks go into the the basket and 2 workers pick it as it comes into the basket. Works pretty good. He found if the ears miss the workers the back of the v hangs them and pulls them up. He wans to try smeting with this the make a simple picker. He plants most of his corn a week apart in rows of 10 so it wont all ripen at the same time.
Old McDonald Id like to see your rock rake and land leveller. I worked 2 summers around and alot of them down in the delta. Neat how many desings they have.

 

[OldMcDonald]

Sorry, unable to post pics. I will try to learn. My son will be here in early April, and I will ask him to do it for me. Neither implement is anything flash. In fact the land leveller is just some very heavy walled pipe welded up to tow behind either my scarifier or some 3 metre wide harrows I made up. Old McDonald.

 

[Dachshund]

Sounds interesting! All I want it to do is pick the ears - I'll shell it myself.

 

[OldMcDonald]

Same here. We hand picked about half an acre last year - a very poor crop due to lack of water, and 10 acres is really out of the question. Have you come up with any ideas? I have searched as much as possible, and get the impression that all that is really needed is to have a Vee shape that will feed the cobs into a narrowing space and they will be pulled off in a similar manner to hand picking, but I am still lacking detail. Leading them into a tpl box or similar after that should not be too much of a problem. Old McDonald.

 

[Toolguy]

My advice would be look at a cornpicker or combine with a corn head. I think that after you see what is all involved with a mechanical corn picker you will think differently about trying to build one yourself. Good luck if you decide to tackle it.

 

[ZJ_HR]

My acquintance made one, self propelled, out of old, non working combine. . .

 

[OldMcDonald]

Toolguy, As I keep pointing out on this forum - these machines do not exist here. I am not joking. So far as mechanised agriculture is concerned, Portugal generally should be classified as 3rd world. From what I see every day, both locally and if I travel, I would bet there are more donkeys than tractors in this country. My 16 acres is a lot bigger than a normal sized holding over much of the country. Subsistence farming is the norm. If I need a piece of equipment I make it myself - although I did buy a scarifier and fertiliser/seed distributor because of the difficulties of making one. Both were imported. Old McDonald.

 

[rambler]

A corn picker is a much more difficult machine to make than a seed spinner tho.

You need the snapping rolls - you need to power them. You need to support the rolls with a pretty strong frame. You need to take the corn away from the snapping rolls. Then you need to make a husking bed, which is 4-12 rollers with metal and rubber rough spots that take the husks off. A fan to blow stuff through the bed rollers.

The snapping rolls need to be the right angle, and matched to the speed you want to move. Being able to adjust width of these rollers is important for different crop conditions.

I'd say a corn picker is 20 or times harder to make from scratch than a spinning seeder, and 100 times harder than a scarifier.

I don't think you quite understand just how involved this project would be. You can't just build the snapping roll, they are cast, and have engineered ridges & notches for seperating the husk/ear from the stalk.

http://www.toytractorshow.com/new_idea_super_picker.htm

I'd rather engineer a tractor than a corn picker from the ground up.

--->Paul

 

[MarlandS]

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The snapping rolls need to be the right angle, and matched to the speed you want to move. Being able to adjust width of these rollers is important for different crop conditions.
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It wouldn't be quite as difficult if he used a stripper plate design, actually the snapping rolls are the least of the worries then. Timing the gearbox? Yes, unless the pockets are deep enough to get a Deere cornhead gearbox and rolls. Also, the stripper plate design can be set to almost completely husk the ear quite easily.

Old MacDonald, it would be quite an undertaking, especially without a good working knowledge of one. BUT, it can be done. Although it might be cheaper to have an old one shipped to your country if possible.

 

[ZJ_HR]

If you are in Portugal, it is not far from you to look for one in France. Bourgoin pickers are very famous, but your TCE is little small for 2 row picker.
I had 1-row picker for several years, and pulled it with my smaller tractor, little bigger then your is. Experience was good when fall was dry, but it was hard when fields were soaked. Efficiency was about 4-5 acres a day.
After that I had 2-row picker, driven with 70HP tractor. It was more then twice faster on bigger field, but similary slow on our small pieces of land - hard to manuever, and bad performer on slopes.
If you want one, you can buy 1-row picker here for 1500-4000€, depend on shape and age. New ones are still produced by SIP, Slovenia SIP
If you want some pics, just send me a message.

 

[OldMcDonald]

OK, I am just about convinced that it might not be a good idea, but still hanker to try something. Harvesting conditions will always be hot and dry. It does not rain here at all in the summer. Stop irrigating and the crop dries off. I never even considered husking as part of the operation - not strictly necessary for my needs. Goats are quite able to do their own husking, and shelling, and grinding. All I intended was to remove the cobs from the stalks, and feed them into a collecting box, just as we did by hand for the last 3 years, which is my total corn growing experience. Old McDonald.

 

[ZJ_HR]

I saw one home made picker like you mentioned 2-3y ago. Picking table (1-row) is took of old combine corn head, and rest is home made. If I'll have possibility, I'll try to find that man again, and make some pics, but can't promise if and when, as I lost his address and name. I just know rougly place where it was living.