PTO safety

[Backwoods Welding]

Almost everyone knows the danger of the PTO shaft when it's spinning but here is a repair I did with a valuable safety lesson.
I had a guy call and ask if I could straighten his PTO shaft off his rotary cutter. I told him I would look at it. When I saw it I ask him how it happened. He didn't get it latched all the way on the shaft and while it was spinning at 540 rpm it came off and flew 50 feet in front of the tractor! It actually stuck 6 inches into the ground. Luckily for him I had an old shaft laying around that I cut and welded a new piece in but just remember, take an extra second to double check your hook up!

 

[Backwoods Welding]

Here is the after, for some reason I can't post more than one pic at a time on the app.

 

[Ed of all trades]

We tend to get sloppy because we do it so often. Thanks for the reminder. Ed

 

[Wagtail]

Sloppy/complacency is one thing. Ignorance is another... and yes, I was ignorant. The very first time I mounted my slasher onto my brand spankin' new tractor (see left).

LORD! I cursed a blue streak trying to align the shaft onto the PTO. Finally it slid on, or I thought it did... I didn't know about the locking position. Fortunately, when it did come away from the PTO, the shaft just nose-dived into the ground and left a rut. I dug the dirt out and figured out what I'd done wrong.

Later I discovered that there is not a standard in shaft locking configurations. Some have 'buttons' that need to be depressed, others have a collar that needs to be pulled back. There are probably more variations that I've yet to encounter.

 

[teg]

...Some have 'buttons' that need to be depressed, others have a collar that needs to be pulled back...

I have one where the collar twists to unlock, once released, springs twisted back and locks.

I always give them a final tug to make sure they don't pull off.

 

[Looking4new]

I've got one that has two bolts that need to be taken out to get the shaft either on or off.

 

[Backwoods Welding]

My New Holland baler has a bolt in it. Next time I change U joints I'm going to change that end.

 

[prs]

I recall a post hole digger I had that had a bolt retain the coupling. Terrible arrangement.

prs

 

[Looking4new]

My New Holland baler has a bolt in it. Next time I change U joints I'm going to change that end.

I recall a post hole digger I had that had a bolt retain the coupling. Terrible arrangement.

prs

I am not overly thrilled with that system, but the bolts will NOT go through the holes unless you've got the joint on properly. So in that respect I would say that it is a positive arrangement.

 

[Backwoods Welding]

I don't like it, I have a problem with the nut backing out, then you have the nut and bolt as flying projectiles and then the shaft comes off.