LPGS sizing question

[jenkinsph]

Looks good jenkinph, thanks for sharing.

Thanks Kyle.

 

[jenkinsph]

What did you use for bearings on your roller?

No bearings, the center shaft (2 3/8" drill tubing} has grease in it with small holes where the roller wheels run. The rollers have 2 7/8 drill tubing for centers which turn on the smaller pipe with grease zerks.

I did put a piece of 1 1/4" pvc pipe capped on each end inside the axle tubing. This reduces the amount of grease needed in the cavity.

 

[jenkinsph]

I really like that new roller Idea Steve. What do you think the total weight is?

Thanks Murph, the roller weighs about 2600 -2700 lbs. Having two rows gives full coverage with the slight overlap and makes it easy to hook up. I cut corners and eliminated the usual hitch pins and went for quick hitch attach with welded in place bushings (cat 3). With this much weight that was a good choice imo. Cheaper too.

The roller wheels have about 3/16" of movement on the axles so if you have a rock sticking up that is persistent you can run the roller over it (centered) and push it down with the weight of the entire roller. The roller casing is 18" diameter with 1/2" wall with spokes inside to strengthen and hold the concrete I was busy the past year so the concrete had a full year to cure. Hopefully it will hold up to rolling about 15 acres a year for my laser grading jobs.

I will get to try it out in the next few weeks on a pipeline job I just completed.

 

[GoldenCityMuse]

Really like your roller system. Looks like the cat's meow to me.

 

[jenkinsph]

Really like your roller system. Looks like the cat's meow to me.

Thanks it is working out well for my work in the Hondo Valley.

 

[Piston]

Steve, that roller looks like it will work excellent!

 

[oosik]

Wow - Steve. I'm a little more than envious. That roller IS the cat's meow. Where did you come up with that design?

 

[jenkinsph]

Wow - Steve. I'm a little more than envious. That roller IS the cat's meow. Where did you come up with that design?

I was walking through a friends scrap pile and saw the 18" diameter drops in a pile. I was not thinking "roller" that day as I was looking for steel for my laser tail wheel assembly. But, a week or two later it dawned on me and when I returned to the pile I bought seven of them all 11.5" in length. Designed the roller frame and the next concrete job I filled the spools with left over materials.

The separate spools made sense because I have to turn quite a lot between borders (terrace rows) that are close together. The two rows was an advantage for the quick hitch since the frame is up right with no jacks or stands to deal with. Being compact is important for me since I trailer my equipment often.

I have about $160 in this so that is cheap enough it can sit for long periods without use. Should be great for rolling and firming tilled fields for leveling and will be the major use for it.

 

[jenkinsph]

I should add that for smoothing large areas after tilling or discing I use these three implements I built for a little more than $1000. total cost. If you can build some of the tools and implements it can save you some money.

8' land plane $610
8' spike tooth harrow $250
6 1/2' roller. $160

Here are pictures of the spike tooth harrow works great for seeding and covering Fescue and similar grasses.

 

[oosik]

Additionally - they all look to be super tough and you have the skills to make implements that can be found nowhere else. Thanks for the followup.