DIY tiller tines

[RitchElbe]

I've done a search with no results int he forums. So I'm asking here. As anyone fab'ed their own tiller tines.
I'm running a HOWSE 54" 3pt tiller. After 16 years they are down to the nub. Recently learned they are
neigh impossible to get from HOWSE due to their legal battles at the moment.. also learned the ones out there
are china made un tempered metal. SO in doing the math I can actually make them for under $50. Question I have
is " As anyone made their own but using serrations or slot points instead of a flat edge all the way across ? "

 

[bigtiller]

I wouldn't spend any time serrating the edge, tines wear down pretty fast.

 

[jenkinsph]

I would not bother with serrations either. Have you checked to see what other tines will fit?

 

[TMGT]

What were you planning on making them out of?

 

[FredH]

If You figure in " Your " cost , likely it is not as cheap as You Think . Meaning Your time is worth something . Metal used is important . A Critical issue is Balance / Weight . Each tine Has to be within a limited tolerance of all the others . Just a little off on 1 tine can cause vibrations through out the entire tiller down the road . My Dad made some decades ago for a old misibushi tractor He had . Weighed each tine to get them as close as possible . Reason being was that the project started when 1 of the original tines broke off about 1.5" of the tip . Ended up taking that tine out since the unbalance caused a vibration .

He made 2 sets . First set , He added Hardener rod to the cutting edge of each , second set , He did not . We used 1 set the first year , then swapped out the second set the next year . After about the same amount of uses both years , they was not much difference in the wear from either set , So My Dad had this big arse box of Hardening rod sitting in His shop for decades . ( Evening since He past away a couple of years ago , that rod is still in the shop . My Bro and Me , just move it to a new location when ever it is bothering Us . )

Lots of planning required as You can just cut and bend metal to stuff in the holes but to do it were they last requires a lot more time .

Fred H.

 

[Big Barn]

Fred H I find your comments interesting. I don't doubt your father had vibration issues with his tiller, but was wondering how big (or small) it was.

We've run Howard and Terranova tillers from 48" up to 144" working widths.

Whenever a blade broke it would be replaced with a new one. Consequently each flange on the rotor would have blades with varying amounts of wear ( and weights).

The only time I ever recall a vibration issue was if a rock became lodged between a blade and the rotor.

Terry

 

[FredH]

A rock , as You described , would cause a large vibration . It is the smaller vibrations , that most don't notice , that cause issue's down the road . Seals , Bearings , take the brunt of that wear . Larger tillers usually have better support , thus a dampening effect through the system . Yes , one can replace a broken tine , most may not even notice any change . My Dad replaced broken tines by keeping older ones from his tiller and also picking up others from people who were going to discard their old ones . He then would replace the broken one with one that was close to approximate size , shape and weight of a couple of others that He would pull as samples . In the Decades that He ran that tiller , Never replaced a seal , bearing , Shaft , gearbox or had any PTO issue's of any kind .
A spinning mass , although not running at the same speed as a tire on a car , still needs to be balanced to a degree .

Not arguing with You Terry Just know what worked for my Dad , thus I try to follow suit . :thumbsup:

Not sure the exact size of that old tiller . maybe in the 60" to 72" class , It was used a lot for initial ground breaking on virgin soil for people around the neighborhood who started gardening area's back in the days . Another thing that comes to mind was the tractor itself . Were as newer tractors today likely have better suspension from seats to , well everything , That old tractor , could bust a kidney .

Fred H.

 

[Gary Fowler]

I don't think tiller tines are made from generic steel like common A36 plate. First you cant temper that to make it harder which I think tines are much harder than plain carbon steel because they tend to break rather than bend so you will need some high carbon steel or chrome alloy to make them last. Bending them to exact form wont be easy either. I would think just about any tine would work on your tiller. If everyone is using China made tines, I would think that they would all be about the same design. Have you checked any of the other brands out to see how the mounting holes are arranged? I would think adjusting these holes (welding up the existing hole and re-drilling) if needed would be far less time consuming than total fabrication. I like metal working as well as the next guy but all that heating and bending is a bit much. One would need a forge to do it right.

 

[davesl708]

I would agree with Gary Fowler. There is at least some tempering going on to decrease wear. A quick pass with a hand file will confirm if it is hardened or simple mild steel.

I would think it would take a lot of hours to cut, drill, sharpen and bend that many tines.

 

[Sawyer Rob]

Fred H I find your comments interesting. I don't doubt your father had vibration issues with his tiller, but was wondering how big (or small) it was.

We've run Howard and Terranova tillers from 48" up to 144" working widths.

Whenever a blade broke it would be replaced with a new one. Consequently each flange on the rotor would have blades with varying amounts of wear ( and weights).

The only time I ever recall a vibration issue was if a rock became lodged between a blade and the rotor.

Terry

I agree, I've never noticed any vibration in any of my tillers, unless something got lodged in them... There's just too many tines for one or two to make that kind of difference...

SR