Anyone ever tackled building a power rake?

[wildcattdw]

I have been pondering building a power-rake for some time. It all started with pondering purchasing a power rake, but the cost is prohibative, and I think this would be a fine winter project.

Some of the reasons I'd build -

I'd like a towable unit - this spring I helped my brother-in-law and seven of his neighbors power-rake and plug aerate their yards. That danged (pardon my foul mouth) power rake was a bear, and at $110/four hours, the cost to build seems pretty reasonable. The only towable unit I could find online was from BlueBird, and costs something like $1400, with spring-tines.

Simplicity - There's nothing to these things. A spinning bar with ~100 flail blades, the fabrication would get monotonous, but not difficult. I have a drill/mill, and with a simple jig, balance shouldn't be to bad.

So, has anyone ever built one? Any ideas?

In a week or so, I'm going to build a workbench and a welding cart for the TIG/ARC. I'll try to take some pictures of those to share...

T

 

[MikeD74T]

There have been a few in Farm Show magazine. They sell a CD which covers many years of farm inventions. Look for a junked hay conditioner & you would have a pretty good start. Mike

 

[Taylortractornut]

I have been gathering right now I have thebearings and all the dimentions of a Harley rake teeth were 8.50 each and needs 88 of them. I looked at their teeth with the carbide tips and they look mighty familiar as in I knew I had seen something with a similar end that was often dicarded. Then it hit me as I had seen the tips fom an asphault milling machine and road stabilizing machines. they are bullet shaped with a narrow ring cone shape that a chopsaw can cut. The cutters are chunked every few days THiers a company nearby Ive dealt with the maintenance man for a few buckets of them in trade for the scraps.Ill probably have around 3 to 400 in the whole machine.

 

[wildcattdw]

I plan on sticking with the KISS theory. The flail blades are going to be either 1" or 1 1/4" wide, 1/8" thick flatstock; I'm going to try to find simple (read: cheap) poly spacers, I'd rather not make them.

I had a moment this afternoon where a vision popped into my head. Would it be completely rediculous to mount this in front of my garden tractor? I think mounting it forward would offer a couple of benefits...

First, I think I could utilize the deck adjustment lever to raise/lower the flail blade assembly. (I have some 12 Volt solenoids, maybe rig a position sensor to idle the drive motor at full 'up')

Secondly, this would allow me to bag the raised thatch in the same pass.

Thoughts?