Finally & Officially Done Power Rake

[Spudland_Dave]

Last fall I posted pics of my Power Rake Build ALMOST done...I hadnt had time to build the Barrier and work on the Gauge wheels was in progress...tonight before hooking up the tiller I put the last touches on it...
Played around with it a little...works AWESOME. I can see why a PR is so desirable.

 

[Runner]

Amazing work! Congratulations. Looks like it would be just the ticket for lawn renovation. Maybe some pics of it in action?

Like the color too, coordinates well with JD green.

 

[jayste]

Dave, you built this unit? If so, I'm very impressed! Lets see some action pics. Very, very fine looking unit. Great attention to detail.:thumbsup: Of course one in orange.....

 

[Spudland_Dave]

Dave, you built this unit? If so, I'm very impressed! Lets see some action pics. Very, very fine looking unit. Great attention to detail.:thumbsup: Of course one in orange.....

Thanks for the kind words...yep, I built it all myself. here are pics of the build process I posted a while back... http://www.tractorbynet.com/forums/build-yourself/155970-shes-done-power-rake-build.html

Like I said, I finished it last night, made a 10' long test pass and then removed it so I could get the tiller hooked up... Gotta get the garden going tonight. I will post pics when I actually get to using it.

 

[jimgerken]

My goodness man, this thing is MINT !!!!!! Very impressive attention to detail.

 

[Scotty370]

One word: "Sweet"! ~Scotty

 

[joes_427_vette]

Looks impressive Dave. The gear case cover...... did you buy one or make it out of sheet metal? The reason I asked Is I made one for the flail mower I am reconditioning and it wasn't alot of fun. Glad my hourly rate is cheap or I would be buried in the cost. Did you end up with hardened teeth or just mild steel ? I can see by the decals you have too much time on your hands......

 

[Spudland_Dave]

Looks impressive Dave. The gear case cover...... did you buy one or make it out of sheet metal? The reason I asked Is I made one for the flail mower I am reconditioning and it wasn't alot of fun. Glad my hourly rate is cheap or I would be buried in the cost. Did you end up with hardened teeth or just mild steel ? I can see by the decals you have too much time on your hands......

Thanks!
Gear Case Cover - A little of both I suppose... I had a local sheetmetal shop bend me a sheet metal "channel" longer then I needed...cut the bottom to fit, then mounted it...I then cut along the corners and bent the top to form perfectly to the housing. Lots of welding and grinding later it looks factory. I wanted the curve along the front edge where I had to weld match the bend corners, so I had to weld on the inside and profile the outside with my grinder.

Decals...nah, I have ZERO time...I'm just wicked picky about things. It was actually really easy (I suppose its easy because I'm a techie by trade)...took me longer to drive over to the decal shop then it did to design them.

 

[JoelD]

WOW, really nice job. I've been meaning to build one just like it, I'll get around to it as soon as I can find the time (knowledge, skill, patience, expertise and intelligence) to build it.

I do have one question, can i have it?

Joel

 

[Spudland_Dave]

I do have one question, can i have it?

I was gonna respond saying "Everything has a price...You're only over the hill and thru the woods from me; show up here in the fall with a fist full of cash and you very well could have it" but then I remembered how much time I have into this....

 

[dcyrilc]

I was gonna respond saying "Everything has a price...You're only over the hill and thru the woods from me; show up here in the fall with a fist full of cash and you very well could have it" but then I remembered how much time I have into this....

So does that mean that you're taking orders?

 

[phatty70]

Wow...nice high quality build!

 

[leveller]

looks good. I just finished my power rake today. I posted some pics of mine when I started my build. Mine does not look as profesionally built as yours, but sure works nice. You did a great job! How fast do you have your drum turning? Greg

 

[Spudland_Dave]

looks good. I just finished my power rake today. I posted some pics of mine when I started my build. Mine does not look as profesionally built as yours, but sure works nice. You did a great job! How fast do you have your drum turning? Greg

Thanks...You did a nice job as well!

Drum Speed....Gearbox is a 2:1, and I have a 16 tooth driver, 18 Tooth Driven sprocket for a slight reduction there as well...According to my math that makes the drum turn at +/- 240 RPM.

Question about yours? Why did you go with so few teeth?

 

[GreatWhitehunter]

Dave, first off impressive job it looks 100% quality. After owning a harley rake for a year now let me make one suggestion. I'd move yout slip clutch to the other side of you gear box. Reason being you want the clutch to slip before it harms the gear box. Especially in the rock garden of NE we call home. I got lazy this year and didn't maintain my clutch this year and it didn't slip which in turn was a $450 repair and down time. Please head this warning on this one. I'd hate to see you hard work sidelined. Otherwise great job!!

Matt

 

[jdmar]

That's not a project...its a masterpiece! I am bowing before your skills. WOW!
Peter

 

[Spudland_Dave]

After owning a harley rake for a year now let me make one suggestion. I'd move yout slip clutch to the other side of you gear box. Reason being you want the clutch to slip before it harms the gear box. Especially in the rock garden of NE we call home. I got lazy this year and didn't maintain my clutch this year and it didn't slip which in turn was a $450 repair and down time. Please head this warning on this one. I'd hate to see you hard work sidelined. Otherwise great job!!

Matt

Thanks for the kind words!
Funny you mention the clutch issue... I debated it for 2 months as far as where to put it...I actually bought the clutch setup to go where you mention (smooth/smooth shafts, I had keyways machined into both ends, I could swap the clutch over to where you say in the time it would take for me to cut that top driveshaft from the gearbox to the chaincase). The reason I didnt put it there is 2 fold....A) this clutch is a single disc eurocardan clutch, not rated to take the torque on that side of the gearbox...by decreasing the speed 2x, I increase the torque 2x...I would have needed to get a larger/multi plate clutch. Which also translated to serious money because there are no "generic" clutches like that... B) The Gearbox is a serious gearbox, its an industrial Gearbox..made in the USA by Browning, actually even has provisions to plumb it into a circulating oil system , its rated for 100% Duty Cycle with no oil circulation to 85 horse, so translated into a duty cycle such as this that makes this GB rated to 120ish HP. My thought process is that if something were to go horribly wrong, I'll be fixing something other then the Gearbox...this came to thought as well.... why is it all tillers have the clutch on the input side of the gearbox? IMO a tiller is much more severe duty then a power rake.

I'm treating the power rake as a finish tool...I've heard stories of people passing a harley on their 15 year old gravel driveway thats as hard as concrete...in a case like that, yeah, I would want the clutch where you mention. I dont see rehabbing my existing lawn or passing it over the loam I spread with my BB being too hard on it.

 

[leveller]

Thanks...You did a nice job as well!

Drum Speed....Gearbox is a 2:1, and I have a 16 tooth driver, 18 Tooth Driven sprocket for a slight reduction there as well...According to my math that makes the drum turn at +/- 240 RPM.

Question about yours? Why did you go with so few teeth?

Sounds like we are running about the same speed. I am thinking of switching my sprockets to gain some speed. As for the number of teeth, I have doubled the number of teeth since I took pics of mine. I will post pics of mine now that I am done building it. I plan to take my rake apart this weekend to sandblast and paint it now that I know it all works as planned