Remake a Landscape rake

[lennyzx11]

I picked this up today because I've been wanting a rake and the trade went well towards me.



As you can see, it's homemade and not very well thought out. The little tabs between the tines look a little "hokey" also.

I was going to make or buy one soon so the tines being near new was the main reason I got it as a good start of a project.

Any input from you guys on how to modify this to get the best use from with saving and reusing as much of it as possible?

I'm thinking on putting a swivel of some kind in for angle setting and moving the two outer bars to diagonal from the lift point areas to the main beam to allow that.

So angle adjustment.
QH compatible
Kickstand
(Maybe gauge wheels. Do I want them?)
(Maybe use it on front SSQA?)
And of course a cupholder.

Any other armchair thoughts out there before I fire up the welder and bandsaw?

Thanks,
Lenny

 

[BukitCase]

Lenny, it kinda depends on how much trouble you wanna get into :laughing: - if the answer is "a LOT", you could check out some of the higher priced rakes (and back blades); see what all their options are (offset, pivot, tilt, etc) and see how they do theirs - then make your bucket (oops, meant rake) list from that (possibly tempered with time and materials cost (like extra cylinders, extra remotes, etc) -

If your budget/time is like mine, you can get all the same functions with MANUAL settings too, just not as quick and easy as wiggling levers but a LOT cheaper... Steve

 

[Thomas]

Rakes are worth there weight in gold. :thumbsup:
Have consider drop down grader blade?[/

 

[lennyzx11]

Rakes are worth there weight in gold. :thumbsup:
Have consider drop down grader blade?[/

Aww man... I didn't even know those existed! I lead a sheltered tractor life.

Back to the drawing board.

 

[lennyzx11]

You guys have any ideas for making the pivot portion? Axle,bearing, etc.

Thinking of using a trailer stub axle.

 

[BigBoyToys]

I built a rake a couple years ago and it's one of the best implements I have!

I just used a 1" Grade 8 bolt for the pivot and haven't had any problems. I decided to only have a 15* left and right swing. I really didn't see myself using it angled all that much. I build guide wheels because everything I read said they really helped in leveling out the grading, and I'm glad I did! I do have to build extensions for them as they are a little too close to the tines. But when pulling straight it wasn't an issue. So far I have not used it at an angle.

 

[hslogger]

BigBoy
Are you wheel assemblies fixed or can they be adjusted?
If adjustable, what is your proven modus operandi ?

 

[BrokenTrack]

I think you did well. You have a lot to work with, though I agree it seems the little tabs were a stop-gap measure to keep the tines from rotating on their bolts.

I don't have one so I am not sure how often they are angled, but on that particular rake, it seems like a lot of work to make it swivel. I realize IF they can be swiveled, they probably are, but man that looks like a lot of work.

If it was me I would just paint it and work it and see how it does. maybe add gauge wheels if it seemed it needed it????

Seems like a nice find to me, as I have seen homemade equipment that looks far worse (typically the ones I make).

 

[BigBoyToys]

BigBoy
Are you wheel assemblies fixed or can they be adjusted?
If adjustable, what is your proven modus operandi ?

I just cut come PVC pipe spacers to adjust the height. Just add or subtract from the top and bottom. Most are 1" and then I have a 1/2" and 1/4" for finer adjustments. I didn't have any steel pipe that was the correct size, the PVC was handy. I was going to pickup some pipe but just haven't gotten around to it. The PVC has actually worked out fine. There's really not a whole lot of weight riding straight down on the wheels.

 

[lennyzx11]

I built a rake a couple years ago and it's one of the best implements I have!

I just used a 1" Grade 8 bolt for the pivot and haven't had any problems. I decided to only have a 15* left and right swing. I really didn't see myself using it angled all that much. I build guide wheels because everything I read said they really helped in leveling out the grading, and I'm glad I did! I do have to build extensions for them as they are a little too close to the tines. But when pulling straight it wasn't an issue. So far I have not used it at an angle.

View attachment 550414

View attachment 550415

Nice. Can you show a close up of your pivot? The bottom part if possible without too much trouble.

I really like your implementation of the gauge wheels. Receiver hitch tubing is one of my favorite ways of adding things.