Chainlink fence drag to smooth dirt

mikim · Nov 24, 2003

Somebody here at tbn built one that he hooked to his boom pole and used it to raise & lower - looked like a good idea

BrettW · Nov 24, 2003

Here's my question,
What did each of you do before dragging the chain fence around? Shallow till? Box blade ? And after dragging the fence, did you roll it? It seems to me that the dirt would be so soft and fluffy that if you dont roll it, the tractor would leave nice deep ruts when you seed it or even cut the grass. thanks, bw

CTyler · Nov 24, 2003

Fill all the old pairs of boots up with sand/dirt and drag em behind the horses. /forums/images/graemlins/laugh.gif

Soundguy · Nov 24, 2003

Like everyone indicated.. there are countless ways. I've even seen a telephone post cut, and then had fencing wrapped around it multiple times.. ( think hotdog.. etc ).

Worked good too. I did the same, untill I 'inherited' a real old heavy 6x8 flexible drag harow from my stepfather. He got tired of seeing it rolled up in the corner of his property and told me to come get it. While there he also helped me load an old ford dual ganged disc harrow.. old, rusty, and beat the heck out of. I disced up about 10 ac of my pasture 2-3 times, before it finally really really needed repair and attentaion. I removed the 2 rear axle sets as they were too far gone.. but fixed up the fronts nice, and welded and beat on it enough so that it is a decent disc for garden plots, etc.

If I ever need to disc alot of stuff again, I'll just buy a cheap new one.. KK has some 6' for 4 something I think..

Soundguy

songhunter · Nov 24, 2003

I used the chain link fence to drag the infield of little league baseball diamonds when I maintained ball fields back in 1972. It's still the best method I've found to get a smooth flat surface on loosened soil or sand.

Jordanbear · Nov 24, 2003

I use a 4'x'6 piece of chain link with a section of 6x6 tied to it to drag the riding arena. Sure cheaper than the harrows they sell for the same purpose!

I tried a bedspring, but it was really old and kept shedding bits & pieces - not what you want to be riding on, so we got the chain link - I think it was sold as part of a dog run.

Another home-made "drag" is a 6x6 or 8x8 with spikes driven into it every 6 inches or so.

Slamfire · Nov 25, 2003

I had a piece of 6x6 that I was going to do that with. When i was looking for some railroad spikes, I found a pile of spike harrow sections. Bought the best two for $40 and made one good one. Works for me, the chain link fencing clogged up too fast.

chim · Nov 25, 2003

Is this what you remember? It is not as flexible as fence, but with four holes spaced top to bottom where the chain hooks onto the first beam, it can be set anywhere between "dig" and "gloss over"................chim

chim · Nov 25, 2003

In-use shot..........chim

bebster · Nov 25, 2003

Chim- your invention looks like it is functioning almost like a box blade. Dirt fills up in between the irons, and then spills out under the back iron. Probably a lot cheaper than the one I'm looking at! Does it move the high spots off and into the low spots?