Hay Spears - FEL and 3pt

[GaryBDavis]

After almost a decade of owning a John Deere 770, I had to sell it to get something that would be a bit more functional around the farm. We need a better way to move round bales around so with the bigger tractor comes FEL and 3pt hay spears. I picked up the main spears for a little over $60 with shipping. I turned the smaller spears and retainer bushings myself.

Here’s the FEL spear.

 

[GaryBDavis]

Here is the 3pt spear.

 

[GaryBDavis]

Action shot. Not sure how much our bales weigh, but the tractor handled them without any problem.

 

[GaryBDavis]

If we don’t get stupid with it, I think this attachment will last as long as the tractor.

 

[GaryBDavis]

For the FEL hay spear, I turned the lower Quick Attach retainer pins myself. The left hand side was tapered to fit in a hole cut in a 3/8 inch thick plate. The taper allows me to get a good penetrating weld bead while insuring the pin fits plumb against the plate.

 

[GaryBDavis]

FEL Hay Spear under construction

 

[GaryBDavis]

I won’t be posting any pictures of my welding from when I first started learning.

 

[Charolais]

Pretty work Gary pretty work. Looks like factory. Nice job. Thanks for the pictures too.

 

[JohnnyDark]

where did you get the spears? thanks johnny

 

[HayDR]

GaryBDavis,
How do you like your JD 5420? I've been looking them and I've got the fever for some new paint.

 

[GaryBDavis]

I made the smaller, lower spears myself. I have a medium size lathe in my shop where I can turn small tapers as well as make the sockets spears bolt into.

For the larger spear, I got off a dealer on ebay. They were cheap (under $70 with shipping), but I'm wasn't too impressed with the quality or their service.

As for the JD5420, it's a good utility tractor with the size I need these days. After 9 years, I finally outgrew my JD770.