Another PTO attachment frustration

[widefat]

Does anyone else take a cutoff wheel and cut the safety guard off of the tractor end of their PTO shafts?
It is down right mean to try to get my paws around the guard to put on/take off the shaft, so I cut the guards in the location depicted by the arrow in the pic below.
Danger? sure. But, I have a golden rule - I dont get near a PTO shaft unless the tractor is SHUT DOWN.

 

[hunt4570]

Does anyone else take a cutoff wheel and cut the safety guard off of the tractor end of their PTO shafts?
It is down right mean to try to get my paws around the guard to put on/take off the shaft, so I cut the guards in the location depicted by the arrow in the pic below.
Danger? sure. But, I have a golden rule - I dont get near a PTO shaft unless the tractor is SHUT DOWN.

View attachment 594920

Seems like on some attachments you almost have to!

 

[Beltzington]

I have a hate, hate relationship with connecting my RC PTO to the tractor. In my case the entire guard slides freely over the shaft and once you have connected the collar you slide the guard up and hook it with a short cable to the metal guard covering the tractor's PTO which prevents it from spinning with the shaft. Have you tried to slide the safety guard toward the attachment, maybe it is just stuck? Or maybe mine is broke but it serves it's function.

Safety police be damned but some things are inherently dangerous and only an aware and careful operator is truly safe. We could lock our equipment in a bunker and no one would ever get hurt but that doesn't make much sense

 

[LouNY]

PTO shield are a royal pain in the you know what.
However for not much money or time they can be improved,
I keep putting it off but I should get around to it and order a few of these.
I have seen and handled them at various shows and they do work nicely.
Bare Co USA - Shaft Guard

and for those of us that do look at videos, this is a good one.

I will admit some of my equipment does not have any shaft guarding, some still has the old steel style, some has newer plastic ones.
I have not yet purchased any of these even though I should.

 

[CobyRupert]

Does anyone else take a cutoff wheel and cut the safety guard off of the tractor end of their PTO shafts?
It is down right mean to try to get my paws around the guard to put on/take off the shaft, so I cut the guards in the location depicted by the arrow in the pic below.
Danger? sure. But, I have a golden rule - I dont get near a PTO shaft unless the tractor is SHUT DOWN.

View attachment 594920

"Near" is relative. Most people are naturally cautious about putting hands or legs near PTO's. But I think one of the biggest dangers is in winter with hoodies that have loose draw-strings for the hood. It is easy to forget about them as you're making sure to keep hands and legs away, that those drawstrings can drop a foot down if you lean over.

 

[Sawyer Rob]

Does anyone else take a cutoff wheel and cut the safety guard off of the tractor end of their PTO shafts?

I hate them too!

I grew up in a time when there were NO shields on pto's, and I learned to stay AWAY from them when they are turning, back when I was young.

SO, I also don't have a problem removing what ever needs to be removed so I can grease them and get them on and off.

SR

 

[mcfarmall]

I hate them too!

I grew up in a time when there were NO shields on pto's, and I learned to stay AWAY from them when they are turning, back when I was young.

SO, I also don't have a problem removing what ever needs to be removed so I can grease them and get them on and off.

SR

Right on, Sawyer Rob! I solved the hookup difficulty by removing the guard entirely as well. Makes greasing, cleaning, and hook up much easier.

 

[shooterdon]

You guys are very experienced. That makes a difference.

My fiancé may be operating the tractor so I want the guards on. I am new at this too so I can make a dumb mistake...like the hoodie comment above...never thought about it. I rarely wear a hoodie working but it could happen.

I have to replace the guard on an old bush hog if I decide to keep it.

 

[widefat]

If a lawyer happens on this thread we are all in trouble.

 

[wagne223]

The only PTO shaft I have came with my Landpride rotary cutter. The tractor end shield does not appear to be as large as the one pictured. I dont have any issues with it.

Now the cutter end shield that covers the slip clutch was enormous. It was cracked on the second use.

I completely removed and discarded that one when I serviced the slip clutch.

Also, if the PTO is engaged, I'm in the operator seat. Never near a spinning shaft.

 

[Industrial Toys]

Same here. Pto sheilds are either destroyed in frustration and burned or removed, tagged and put away in case the machine is sold.

Just don't go near a revolving shaft and it can't entangle you. How hard can that be?

EVEN, then, if grease get's cold, it can be hard enough, but worse, you can never get in a good position to get a firm grip on them because the stupid 3ph is in the way! In my mind, it's an attachment system from a time when people had more patience, more time, more manliness and less STUFF to contend with.

 

[Sawyer Rob]

I just bought this,

It has the PITA ring, if my old hog with the "button" will properly fit this drive line, I'm just going to slide it in and use it!!

SR

 

[Industrial Toys]

I find that giving them a shot of a light lubricant like WD40 help to free up the grease a bit.

 

[Ingerdeere]

Here is an observation. I use this really beat up 5 foot Bush Hog to back into some brush to clean ditches in my pasture. I ran it with no guard for a few years. Then for no particular reason I lubed the guards/sleeves and replaced when I got ready for Spring. With the guards on I noticed I did not have to spend any time stripping or cleaning Honey Suckle and poison ivy vines off the PTO shaft. Keep in mind I'm not really driving the bush hog over this area, I'm more backing up, lowering the bush hog and driving forward. At least for me, I use it more keeping the shaft proper clean and not really motivated by safety.

 

[LD48750]

I hate them too!

I grew up in a time when there were NO shields on pto's, and I learned to stay AWAY from them when they are turning, back when I was young.

SO, I also don't have a problem removing what ever needs to be removed so I can grease them and get them on and off.

SR

:thumbsup:

That goes for MOST of the "safety" stuff the government & lawyers have put on equipment.
First time I almost turned my tractor over trying to go under a tree I have been mowing under for 25 years, the ROPs got CUT OFF.
Guards on mower discharge chutes usually go pretty fast too.
If you don't understand that putting your hand or foot under a running mower deck might hurt, you shouldn't be allowed out of the house.

 

[Cataclysm]

I came from when pto shafts didn't have guards as well and its really annoying trying to get down there between the tractor and equipment to work the release around that guard. I have made myself leave all the guards on and have put some on some older equipment that didn't have any. I also won't hook/unhook the pto with the tractor running.

I keep all the releases clean and lightly lubed. That helps but its still a problem. I have been thinking about stopping the tractor a foot or so short of the equipment, then hooking up the pto shaft, then backing on up. Sometimes to unhook I unhook the 3pt then drive away and let the shaft slide off. Way easier to take off and then slide it back on the equipment.

I have seen what happens when it catches you. See that once and you will always run your guards.

I know there will be a time I won't physically be able to wrestle that release so those guards posted my be a great answer. Is anyone here running them? I wonder if brush/vines will catch those releases and turn it loose?

Any pricing on those guards?

If anyone pulls their guards that's up to them. Not my business. We all do stuff that we know not to do.

 

[wheelbuilder]

That goes for MOST of the "safety" stuff the government & lawyers have put on equipment.
First time I almost turned my tractor over trying to go under a tree I have been mowing under for 25 years, the ROPs got CUT OFF.
Guards on mower discharge chutes usually go pretty fast too.
If you don't understand that putting your hand or foot under a running mower deck might hurt, you shouldn't be allowed out of the house.

The discharge chute is one item I like on a mower. I've been hit with stuff from others mowing, and I've pitched rocks and sticks I missed in my walk thru into stuff I didn't want to hit.

Other than that, caution can cover for annoying safety mandates in most cases. My PTO shaft shields are in the way. This makes me spend more time in the danger zone of my tractor. I don't feel more safe because if the shield.

 

[Industrial Toys]

I believe certain school districts mandate a screen over the rear of snow blowers. I am shocked that this has not been mandated for all snow blowers. What is more dangerous than the business end of a snowblower? Actually, I don't hear of many snow blower incidents. Is it because a blower looks dangerous and a rotating shaft maybe not?

 

[ruffdog]

If a lawyer happens on this thread we are all in trouble.

We would all have to put our guards back on....we sure wouldn't want that lawyer to get wrapped up onto one of our PTO shafts, would we?

 

[oosik]

Once I get the splines on the PTO shaft lined up with the splines on the PTO stub - about 75% of the work is finished. It's fairly easy to hold down on the button and slide it home.

With land engagement implements - weight is your friend. With PTO shafts - smooth spline teeth and lots of lube is your friend. NO BURRS ALLOWED.