Roller

[TONY COVERT]

I have been thinking about building a roller for my yard. Figured an old water heater, weld a couple of pieces of round stock on the ends for axles. Take some oak about a 4"x4" maybe 2' long drill it and use it for the bearings. Bolt the wood to some steel and use it for a tongue. A fifty gallon heater sould make a fairly good roller when filled with water. If I'am thinking correctly they use to have bearings on old farm equipment like that and you had to wet them to keep from wearing out. I only need this for a short while.

 

[Tom_Veatch]

I have been thinking about building a roller for my yard. Figured an old water heater, weld a couple of pieces of round stock on the ends for axles. Take some oak about a 4"x4" maybe 2' long drill it and use it for the bearings. Bolt the wood to some steel and use it for a tongue. A fifty gallon heater sould make a fairly good roller when filled with water. If I'am thinking correctly they use to have bearings on old farm equipment like that and you had to wet them to keep from wearing out. I only need this for a short while.

Bore the holes pretty close to size so there's not a lot of impact/shock loading on the bearings from the axle bouncing around in the hole, keep it well packed with axle grease and it should last long enough. Even if it doesn't, you haven't broken anything irreplaceable and will have learned something.

Hard to think of "wood" and "bearings" in the same thought. What kind of axle/wheel bearing arrangements did they use on the old horse drawn wagons back in the days of old horse drawn wagons? They lasted long enough to go from St. Louis to the Oregon Territory. Most of the time, anyway.

 

[Havoctec]

Should work.

I made one similar to that a few years ago. Used it for packing small seed like grass and clover. Was not good for that. The metal is to thin and dented with every rock that it hit. After sever uses it looked like someone spent an afternoon pounding on it with a sledge hammer.

Shouldn't be any rocks in the lawn.

 

[czechsonofagun]

I was eyeballing propane tanks at Costco. The new, empty tank runs like $60 and it is a strong steel. All has to be done is to add bearings and tongue.

 

[Havoctec]

czeck
That is exactly what I used for the second roller I made. Seems to be holding up real well so far. However, it has not been used in real rockey soil yet.

 

[toy]

I have been thinking about building a roller for my yard. Figured an old water heater, weld a couple of pieces of round stock on the ends for axles. Take some oak about a 4"x4" maybe 2' long drill it and use it for the bearings. Bolt the wood to some steel and use it for a tongue. A fifty gallon heater sould make a fairly good roller when filled with water. If I'am thinking correctly they use to have bearings on old farm equipment like that and you had to wet them to keep from wearing out. I only need this for a short while.

Could you get a bushing to fit over the axel and fit snugly in the wood that way you could grease the axel and that would make it last longer? That is just a thought that might make it more durable.

 

[toy]

Should work.

I made one similar to that a few years ago. Used it for packing small seed like grass and clover. Was not good for that. The metal is to thin and dented with every rock that it hit. After sever uses it looked like someone spent an afternoon pounding on it with a sledge hammer.

Shouldn't be any rocks in the lawn.

Do you or anyone of you know if the metal in a hot water heater is thicker than the metal in a water pressure tank?

 

[Renze]

To stop these rollers from denting, you could fill them with concrete and they will last a life time, with or without the steel shell

The manure mixers on dairy farms (propeller mounted on a shaft, to mix cow slurry in the pit, a day before spreading) usually have a wooden bearing block. There's no bearing seal that can hold the sh*t out of a bearing, and wood doesnt rot as long as it is submerged in sh*t. I have also seen some cheap disk harrows made that way. Mostly Polish machinery sold under a Dutch brand name, like the stuff you guys buy from Northern tool or something.

 

[MikeD74T]

Wood bearings are still available. POBCO Plastics, Inc. MikeD74T

 

[TONY COVERT]

Got the roller done and it works great. Drilled the wood holes making them a little under sized. Sanded them out and drove them on slowly. Took two pieces of flat stock put one on top and drilled a hole through it, and taped it for a zerk fitting. Now I can grease both bearings. I used a forty-gallon hot water heater. It is an LP gas one so it had a 4" hole for the flue all the way through. Started using pipe to reduce it down to 1 3/4" outside diameter. Built the frame and tongue. Total cost $20. Only problem is a couple of pinhole leaks that I'll fix this evening.