MarlandS
Bronze Member
OldMcDonald, if those are your needs, I think you might be able to pull off making a harvesting unit. Now, if I can tell you how in a way that will let you see what is in my head.
You'll need someway to crowd the row to the center. preferably two wide plates set less than an inch apart, These would be your stripper plates. They must have some sort of V to them to bring the row to center. Look at pictures of a cornhead for basic design hopefully you can find pics with the "snouts" raised too.
Two wheels and tires set vertically and touching each other (think two gears touching and driving) with some pretty good pressure. One is driven , the other spins off the pressure applied by the other. They need to be angled from each other slightly to allow the stalk to get between them just an inch gap at the leading edge should do it. Make sure they pull the stalk down through the "stripper plates" thus snapping off the ear and discharging the stalk through the bottom.
You'll also need someway to keep the harvested corn crowded in the center on top of the "stripper plates" so the next ear in will push the previous ear off the back into a basket or a low wagon or whatever your collection device might be. Which, is another reason to use the cornhead pics for a basis.
The rig would sit kind of high at the rear, depending on the tires used for the snapping rolls, and the rig might be slow to pull down the row but it should beat hand husking by a large margin. And you can get away from complicated gear boxes also especially if you can use a gasoline engine to power the wheels and tires.
I didn't go into any kind of carriage for it but that should be simple and straightforward enough once you get the "picker" design in your head.
I hope you can find a couple of the thoughts I've tried to convey useful.
You'll need someway to crowd the row to the center. preferably two wide plates set less than an inch apart, These would be your stripper plates. They must have some sort of V to them to bring the row to center. Look at pictures of a cornhead for basic design hopefully you can find pics with the "snouts" raised too.
Two wheels and tires set vertically and touching each other (think two gears touching and driving) with some pretty good pressure. One is driven , the other spins off the pressure applied by the other. They need to be angled from each other slightly to allow the stalk to get between them just an inch gap at the leading edge should do it. Make sure they pull the stalk down through the "stripper plates" thus snapping off the ear and discharging the stalk through the bottom.
You'll also need someway to keep the harvested corn crowded in the center on top of the "stripper plates" so the next ear in will push the previous ear off the back into a basket or a low wagon or whatever your collection device might be. Which, is another reason to use the cornhead pics for a basis.
The rig would sit kind of high at the rear, depending on the tires used for the snapping rolls, and the rig might be slow to pull down the row but it should beat hand husking by a large margin. And you can get away from complicated gear boxes also especially if you can use a gasoline engine to power the wheels and tires.
I didn't go into any kind of carriage for it but that should be simple and straightforward enough once you get the "picker" design in your head.
I hope you can find a couple of the thoughts I've tried to convey useful.
