Cheap roller/packer?

[Elkins45]

Why not make a multiple roller cultipacker from some round timber fence posts and some 2X4's? You could use lag bolts as the axles and sleeve them with pipe segments to hold down wear on the wood frame. It probably wouldn't hold up to daily use but for food plots and hobby farming it might do OK. If you add enough posts it might be heavy enough to give good seed to ground contact. See bad sketch below.

Dumb idea?

 

[sixdogs]

Seems like it would skid and bunch dirt before it rolled.
I have seen a bunch of car wheels and tires of similar size with a pipe through the center that was cheap and worked.

 

[DRL]

I helped a buddy build a roller for the grass runway we lived on and it looked just like your drawing. Don't know about wood, ours was 14"-16" steel pipe for the rollers filled with water and I beam down each side. It did skid the grass some in turns but we were going straight down the runway and turn around in the field off the end. The 4 rollers did a lot better job than any single roller could because it would hold a roller up as it went over a low spot and put more weight on the high spots.

DRL

 

[Agrantina]

The problem with a single roller (width) is that it will high center over small dumps and furrows. No matter is you have 5 single rollers behind each other. I have made one and it worked ok but I found out that it didnt press the seed down in some places because it rolled over a small dump and the seed at the ends of the rollers did get touched. That is why a cultipacker had
individual rollers that spin on shaft that also spins... I made one out of a piece of pipe.. See below... I traded it for a nice box blade after using it.:thumbsup: Now if you can drag your field to almost level it would work fine..

Andyg

 

[Elkins45]

What if each roller was articulated, maybe by splitting up the side connections so each one can rise and fall independently?

 

[gillesdumais]

what size bearing are you using ?. iam planning to use 1'' pillow block bearing from princess auto at $13 each. would it be enough i am using a 8'' 3/8 thick steel pipe 5 foot filled with concrete total weigth 400lbs

 

[gillesdumais]

The problem with a single roller (width) is that it will high center over small dumps and furrows. No matter is you have 5 single rollers behind each other. I have made one and it worked ok but I found out that it didnt press the seed down in some places because it rolled over a small dump and the seed at the ends of the rollers did get touched. That is why a cultipacker had
individual rollers that spin on shaft that also spins... I made one out of a piece of pipe.. See below... I traded it for a nice box blade after using it.:thumbsup: Now if you can drag your field to almost level it would work fine..

Andyg

what size bearing are you using ?. iam planning to use 1'' pillow block bearing from princess auto at $13 each. would it be enough i am using a 8'' 3/8 thick steel pipe 5 foot filled with concrete total weigth 400lbs

 

[jonsstihl]

bienvenue.

the bearing is only supporting the weight of your frame when it is in use. the most weight it will see is when you lift the roller with the three point hitch. It should be fine. can you find specifications for the bearing on the web site.

 

[Wyobuckaroo]

iam planning to use 1'' pillow block bearing from princess auto at $13 each.
the bearing is only supporting the weight of your frame when it is in use.
+++
In my "good idea" note book, this is how I plan to do a homemade cultipacker..
I'm planning on 12" corrugated galvanized culvert for a 5' unit..

Have also seen pictures of a homemade using cement filled auto rims..
That could be a basis for a number of different attachments..

I caught 1" pillow block bearing at PA on sale... $8

 

[gillesdumais]

i finally build my roller and finished it this morning with 1 3/4" 1/4'' thick pipe and Bearing
it rolled fine on snow for testing. tomorrow i will build a 200lbs weight to had to this APROX 500LBS attachment
to make ot 750lbs total weight. Pipe roll is 8'' inside diameter 1/2'' thick filled with concrete (350LBS-400LBS)