Rake Agri-Fab Landscape Rake

[Iplayfarmer]

I took posession of my new Agri-Fab Landscape Rake on Saturday. I special ordered it so the guy gave me a discount on it. He gave me an additional discount if I'd put it together.

I took some pictures while I was putting it together. I'll post them along with some narrative. When I finally get to use it I'll try to post back with a review.

 

[Iplayfarmer]

The first picture is just of the box that it came in. The second and third pictures are of the mast assembly as it comes out of the box and then folded out as it is used. The fourth picture is just a picture with the 24 tines layed ready to be assembled.

Notice how Agri-Fab has accomplished securing the tines with just a single bolt. There are slots along the back of the pivot assembly to hold the tines in place. I'm not sure how this is going to work. After I've used it a bit, I'll post back with the results.

 

[Iplayfarmer]

I bolted the tines on using an impact wrench that I turned way down. The Nylock nuts that they send with the rake go on slower than regular nuts, but I think I'm going to be glad I've got them a few months down the road When they're still tight.

The hardest part of putting the tines on was fitting the tines directly under the plate that the mast and pivot turn on. I put those four tines on last, and there wasn't any room to get my hands in to start the nut. The holes in the plate aren't big enough to fit the impact socket into; so I had to use my hand socket. The picture below shows the trick I played by putting a gob of grease in the socket under the nut to hold it in place until I could get the threads started.

The second picture is out of order since the rake is complete, but it fits into the narrative right here since it shows the tines all crooked. I went through the whole thing twice and this is as even as I could get them. Once I got the tines as good as I thought I could, I turned the impact up one notch and gave each nut a good torque down.

 

[Iplayfarmer]

Putting the mast support and braces together was pretty straight forward. The instructions are well illustrated and easy to follow.

Start to finish I spent about an hour and a half. I was talking politics the whole time with my liberal neighboor and had a few other interruptions. Given perfect working conditions it might have come together even faster.

The picture below shows the completed rake. As you can see in the picture, It was dark by the time I got it finished. I'll wait until Monday to try it out. After I've used it a little, I'll post back with my review.

Already I can tell you it doesn't look too heafty, but then again my tractor is only a 17hp tractor. I think it will be perfect for my place.

 

[kwolfe]

Congradulations on the purchase. Now we can wait to see some action shots! By the way, do you have any pictures of how the plate mounts to the piece of angle holding the tines. I am assuming that the entire project bolted together. I am refering to the plate that is sandwiched between the angled iron and the three point assembly.

 

[A johnson]

I just bought the Swisher one over the weekend from Outsideshopper.com for a pretty decent price. I have been looking at the local Farm and fleet stores and and saw both the Swisher and the Agri-fab. I thought they look pretty similar, but the Swisher one was a better value. I have purchased some other Swisher products over the years and have been very happy with the quality and function, so this also helped with my decision. I haven't received it yet, but will let you know how the set up goes. and how it holds up.

 

[Iplayfarmer]

By the way, do you have any pictures of how the plate mounts to the piece of angle holding the tines.

I don't have any pics right now, but I can take a few when I get home and post.

 

[Iplayfarmer]

By the way, do you have any pictures of how the plate mounts to the piece of angle holding the tines.

I've attached a picture of the pivot mechanism. I don't know if you can see what you're looking for in this pic.

The tines are actually in a piece of slotted "U" channel. The tines go through the slots and then bolt with a single bolt.

The plate above the "U" channel upon which the whole thing pivots is actually welded to the channel that holds the tines. The large pivot bolt is welded to the plate too.

 

[Iplayfarmer]

No pics of it in use yet. Since I put it together I've been using it from the time I get home from work until it's too dark to take pictures (or see what I'm doing).

So far I'm pleased with the results. I've never used any other landscape rake, so I can't compare it to other brands; but I know this one is downright useful.

I was expecting that I'd have to add weight, but this has not been the case. I've been raking up branches and twigs from under trees in the pastures, and the rake will fill right up without needing any weight.

I also used it to level out the garden before tilling. With my small tractor, I could angle the 4' rake and still cover my tracks. I went over the garden in a few directions and it leveled things out pretty good. I anticipate that adding guage wheels to the rake will really improve the results. It took some practice to use the rake on the 3 pt. I had to open up the lowering flow restrictor valve to compensate for the light weight of the rake.

Another thing I did with this rake was loosen up leaves in the lawn that I left last fall. The light weight of the rake helped with this. I was able to rake over the leaves without tearing up the lawn. I think that a heavier rake would have left more scars in the lawn.

The biggest disadvantage I anticipate is that the rake only has one angle. It can be in this same angle left or right, forward or backward, but there's only the one angle. So far it's met my needs, but I can see down the road wanting the angle to be a little more or less "steep" depending on what I'm doing.

 

[elginfarm]

That looks like a great rake. Do they make a set of gauge wheels for it.
I have a similar rake, but it came with a set of wheels. They allow me to adjust the depth and are a real help going over unever ground.

 

[Iplayfarmer]

That looks like a great rake. Do they make a set of gauge wheels for it.
I have a similar rake, but it came with a set of wheels. They allow me to adjust the depth and are a real help going over unever ground.

I haven't seen guage wheels for it. I'm planning on making a set eventually. I've got a welder and I'm itching to make something tractor related with it.

 

[SCRich]

Just the thing (I THINK) I need for my tractor (the one I have not received yet!). I walked some of my property today with a chainsaw and cut up some pine branches and small logs and tossed them to the side. I can get my ATV in there but I got tons more of small branches along with pine needles still attached, about 3 miles worth of trail based on my GPS and I still have not walked each trail. Heck today I found 12 60ft trees about 8in dia. forgotten about in a pile. I got plenty of firewood I got to see if they will come back and take these away! My 27 acres were just logged, 2 acres clean cut and the rest 40% thinned.

Here is a question since I have never owned a rake or a tractor for that matter yet. I got A LOT of these to pick up, easy 3-6 inches deep in most areas like a blanket about 15-20 feet wide. These trails are also have stumps from 1 to 5 inches high all over and it is not flat, lot of hills and ruts here and there. Can I actually use a rake due to the terrain and not damage the teeth with the stumps ?

 

[Iplayfarmer]

Can I actually use a rake due to the terrain and not damage the teeth with the stumps?

Probably not.

On another note, though...Agrifab makes a 3-point hitch trailer that you can tow behind an ATV. It uses an electric winch to raise and lower 3-point implements like my landscape rake. If you've got stuff to do and you're going to buy a rake anyway, you might look into the trailer for your ATV for the time between now and when you actually buy your tractor.

 

[SCRich]

Well it's only going to be about a week till' I get the tractor. I ordered it yesterday afternoon and it should be in by Monday or Tuesday with a couple of days for prep, the dealer had an order waiting for "just a little more" before they sent a truck up from the factory.

I did see the Agri-Fab ad early this morning in an ATV magazine. The yards (2x1.5ac) have been de-stumped but I got a bunch of rock and cut up roots underneath the clay line. I think the ATV should do that well but if all have is a week to wait I think I'll just do it on the Kubota.

The idea with the stumps was 3.5 miles worth of trails with branches and such problems. The trails are nice, about 12ft wide and easy to box blade but I need to cut the stumps to ground level and then rake, can't think of any way else, too many to de-stump or grind down in a cost effective way.

 

[Iplayfarmer]

If you're cutting the stumps to ground level, you should be okay. The rake tines have quite a bit of spring in them and I think they'll move out of the way. I haven't tried it with mine, yet; but I would think that a landscape rake would to a great job of dressing trails.

By the way, what tractor are you getting. If it's very big at all you might want to look at land pride or King Kutter. 4' is the biggest rake that Agri-Fab makes.

 

[SCRich]

I'll be getting a Kubota 3400 which I believe is 60in give or take depending on tire offset. I will not be doing a large offset since I want the ability to get into tight corners between trees if needed and the container that I am renting for the tractor is your standard 8ft one.

I was there today for a short visit (the kid and wife are wimps! they hate the hilly walks in the branch covered trails) and measured the trails average. It seems that most of them are between 10-12 feet give or take. I was thinking a 5ft-6ft width on most implements would probably be best even though due to all the obsticles maybe the 44" stuff would not be a bad idea, more work but maybe better.

Eventually after all is fixed up graded and the stumps are safe I really would love to have some seed planted on the trails. Something tough like bahia or st. augustine but green. The main reason for all the trails were not only for logging but also as fire breaks. If I leave pure dirt then the errosion will kill most of it's use, if I leave pine needles and such it is not much of a break since the ground will be all fuel inbetwen the breaks. It's going to be a bear cutting it all but if I can grade it right the cost of a rough cut mower is not all that much to keep it trim enough for walking and the ATV.

 

[jmc]

The idea with the stumps was 3.5 miles worth of trails with branches and such problems. The trails are nice, about 12ft wide and easy to box blade but I need to cut the stumps to ground level and then rake, can't think of any way else, too many to de-stump or grind down in a cost effective way.

Good luck with that. On my trails (mostly clay), the stumps I cut flush are now sticking up a couple of inches or so because when I started using the trails, the dirt packed down around the once flush stumps. They stick up enough to interfere with box blading and they can't be doing the tracks on my tracked loader any good.

John

 

[Iplayfarmer]

I finally got back out to use the rake tonight so that I could get some pics and post some review.

The attached pic shows the rake attached to the tractor. You can see that it easily covers the tracks of the tractor.

 

[Iplayfarmer]

One thing to note about assembly. The bolt that attaches the mast support to the mast needs to be oriented with the nut up. Otherwise the rake won't pivot. The first picture shows this.

I pulled the bolt and turned it back right side up. The second picture shows how the rake can pivot now.

 

[Iplayfarmer]

After fixing my botched assembly of the rake, I used it for a little to clear out the old hay stack place and then to smooth out the garden in preparation for planting. I've attached a picture of the garden after I went over it.

Someone here on TBN suggested going over ground with the rake turned backwards to smooth out ground. It seems to have worked fairly well.

One additional note about this rake on this tractor. It seems like I need a longer top link. I'd like to get more tilt on the rake so that I can use it better to "scoop up" loose hay, twigs, etc. This may be something I can simply fix with more weight on the rake.