Rebuilding a manure spreader

[Wingnut]

After all those posts in the past, from our ole buddy Paul, about his marvelous spreader ... I just had to have one! Especially since my current method of dealing with manure is to shovel it into a bucket, carry it out to a 17 cu.ft. trailer and then, once a week, take that out into the pasture and shovel it onto a bare spot (and eventually till it under). Hey, at least it gives me something to use the ATV for.
So ... when I saw an ad for an old pto spreader ... I had to go look ... and since I took my traler along "just in case", I brought it home with me. $75 .... heck, if I couldn't rebuild it I could use the axle and tongue to build a farm trailer ...
Lots of work to do .... here's the first pic ... unfortunately I didn't think of taking a picture before I started stripping off the side boards.
By the way ... the trailer is a 16ft dual axle ... and this puppy wouldn't fit ... so I had to use some "yankee" ingenuity. I had the seller lift it onto the trailer and place the wheels on the sidebars of the trailer ... and then I flattened the tires enough to start sagging over the bars ... and then used winchstraps to tighten her down. Held up very well for the 50 mile trip ... although she did sway a bit too much when I exceeded 50 mph.

 

[RobS]

Wingnut, I hate to say it but I think you need Richard's "free truck" to go along with that spreader /w3tcompact/icons/shocked.gif Just kidding, I have no idea what's what in a manure spreader. Should be a fun project, be sure to post some "after" pictures /w3tcompact/icons/smile.gif

 

[EdKing]

75 bucks, not a bad deal. Like you said, the axle and tongue are worth that. I do have to say, you have your work cut out for you getting that baby back in shape. Let us know how it goes.

 

[Charlie_Iliff]

Wingnut:
We have just retired two manure spreaders. Unfortunately, they have more bearings, chains, sprockets, cams and gears than usually can be economically repaired/replaced. Your project will be fun, but survey things carefully before you place a parts order.
Good luck.

 

[Wingnut]

Rust? Man, I have discovered rust. Coming from sunny and dry Alberta, I know what flaky dry rust is ... but I've never seen anything like what the climate in Michigan does to unprotected metal. Nuts magically melted into the post. Carriage bolt heads that have melded with the sheet metal and uprights so form a smooth bump ... motheaten sheet metal, etc.
Anyway ... here's what she looks like today ... I spent time this weekend photographing her from every conceivable angle so I don't have to remember what goes where. I'll certainly get my lessons in creating guards, boxes and shields ... and see what the metal brake is really for ...

 

[Wingnut]

I agree, Charlie ... and that's why I've stripped her down ... just to see whether it's worthwhile continuing. I'd certainly never expected to see it in this shape ... as I noted in my last post ... we didn't have rust like this (well, at least this quick) where I grew up.
Fortunately, the gearbox seems to be ok ... although I haven't yet cracked it open ... just moved it. Looks like 1 bearing to replace ... but I'll likely replace all 4 anyway. Everything else is just me and the sandblaster and the welder.

I'll keep posting progress shots and war stories .... guys just gotta have fun!

 

[Charlie_Iliff]

Wingnut:
I'm sure they were all new once, but I don't remember seeing a manure spreader without serious rust. They do keep going for years despite terminally bad appearance. Where we finally gave up was when we couldn't keep the chains on because the bearings on all the cross shafts were long gone, and the links on the chains in the bed were down to human hair thickness. We haven't bought a new one yet, because of some current experiments with several-year manure compost piles.
Question: think the rusted heads on those carriage bolts are as solid to the metal as a weld? (on ours, several of those spots, for instance chain idler mounts, are now 2" holes, where the bolt took the sheet metal away with it.)

 

[Wingnut]

Charlie .... true, too true ... the combination of urine, manure, wet straw (or in my case shavings) are not the best .... I absolutely HAVE to take the cart and repaint it when I get back from Europe cause the paint is starting to flake off ... and the rust is already overly noticable.
I was woking on a compost/manure pile too ... but then decided I wanted it working in the pasture more now than waiting for several years.
Fortunately, this old girl seems to be in good shape mechanically. The sheet metal was toast and the side boards were bad ... but the bottom boards could likely have lasted for awhile yet.
Hopefully I can find time this weekend to start sandblasting it ... if this stupid blasted snow goes away ... far far away !!!