Landscape Rake, should I get Gauge Wheels?

[kco]

I bought a new ETA rake without the wheels. I have i a quick hitch with an adapter plate welded to it so i take my bucket off and use the rake in front of the tractor in reverse. Works pretty good.

I do the same with a front mounted 3PT. Very convenient and more precise control for small areas compared to tradional rear mount. However, I managed to bend the rake last weekend by catching it on an unseen stump.

Farmerbuck and Island, those are great ideas for front mounting the rake. I'd like to do the same. Do you have a photo showing more detail of the adapter plate?

 

[MtnViewRanch]

Yep. It wasn't even a big stump or I would have avoided it. Just about three inches or so in diameter and hidden in debris.

It's not a cheap rake either: Woods LR72. I was surprised though when I looked at the landrake to realize that while it is made of 4x4 angle iron, it is only about 1/8 inch thick. I will disassemble the rake this weekend and figure out if I can straighten and reinforce it or whether I should just get a piece of 1/4 inch 4x4 angle and drill all those holes instead.

Forget the 1/4". Use either 3/8" or better yet 1/2". End result, no more problems. :thumbsup:

 

[IslandTractor]

Forget the 1/4". Use either 3/8" or better yet 1/2". End result, no more problems. :thumbsup:

I didn't know those were available. I wonder how long it would take to drill about 72 holes in 3/8 though.

The heavier duty rakes seem to use box rather than angle. I'd guess that would be the way to go.

 

[IslandTractor]

Farmerbuck and Island, those are great ideas for front mounting the rake. I'd like to do the same. Do you have a photo showing more detail of the adapter plate?

Mine is commercial. Got it from Rick Wallace a few years ago. Don't recall the price but reasonable maybe in the 200-300 range max.

 

[kco]

I didn't know those were available. I wonder how long it would take to drill about 72 holes in 3/8 though.

The heavier duty rakes seem to use box rather than angle. I'd guess that would be the way to go.

My neighbour has my Farm King rake so I can't measure the steel. But I bought it because it seemed to have a strong construction. It sandwiches the tines between two steel plates and the top plate is reinforced with a box member. The one thing missing is, I wish it was reversable like my rear blade so I could push brush into a pile.

A .pdf of the brochure pages is attached.

 

[MtnViewRanch]

I didn't know those were available. I wonder how long it would take to drill about 72 holes in 3/8 though.

The heavier duty rakes seem to use box rather than angle. I'd guess that would be the way to go.

My original rake used 1/4" channel to hold the tines. It literally became a churro (twisted). I ended up getting new channel and then mounted the channel onto a 3/8" 4"x7" tube. Of course that has led to the cat1 hitch frame not being sturdy enough. I am going to change the hitch frame over to a cat1-2 and have it with an offset-able boom and hydraulic angle. All the stuff is at the shop, I just need to DO IT!

 

[kco]

Mine is commercial. Got it from Rick Wallace a few years ago. Don't recall the price but reasonable maybe in the 200-300 range max.

Thanks Island. That is great and I'll likely get one built. I see your rake has the feature I wish mine had, i.e. it is reversible so you can push with it.

I'll download the photos for future reference.

Thanks again.

 

[IslandTractor]

My neighbour has my Farm King rake so I can't measure the steel. But I bought it because it seemed to have a strong construction. It sandwiches the tines between two steel plates and the top plate is reinforced with a box member. The one thing missing is, I wish it was reversable like my rear blade so I could push brush into a pile.

A .pdf of the brochure pages is attached.

I see there are a couple of gussets supporting the junction of the vertical and horizontal components. I suspect that would help my rake and would be easy to weld in a dozen gussets compared to doing all the drilling etc necessary if I upgrade to new heavier stock material. I will still need to see if I can "unpretzel" my rake first though. I don't really have access to any heavy duty presses or metal working equipment so it might be best to just start over with heavier stock. I am a bit concerned about doing what happened to MtViewRanch though as I don't want the rake to be much stronger than the hitch.

 

[Jay4200]

I don't have gauge wheels and I am totally satisfied with the finish work on my gravel driveway. I mean, you would have to be a perfectionist to say a rake without wheels stinks.

Is THAT what the problem is? Well, in that case, a rake without wheels stinks.

The rake runs on the wheels, which run on the raked ground, so the depth of the rake is controlled by the area that has already been flattened. Any other set-up, including the long wheels and no top link, forces the rake depth to be controlled by the tractor movement, which is transmitting position of unworked ground. If you are putting a finish polish on a completed job, a fixed-position rake might be good, but if you are trying to smooth rough or uneven terrain, gauge wheels are an absolute must.

JayC

 

[Jay4200]

I have a Bush Hog rake that I bought many years ago, with the gauge wheels. I use it primarily for establishing the final grade on new or renovated yards that I am establishing.

Wedgie -

Have you had any structural problems with your rake? I have a Bush Hog rake, and it cracked where the box frame goes to u-channel (failed welds) on both sides. It was pretty much brand new when it cracked - Bush Hog wouldn't replace it and told the dealer to just weld it up. Pshaw - I re-welded it myself, and welded in gussets so it (hopefully) won't crack again.

http://www.tractorbynet.com/forums/attachments/190293-bush-hog-rake-dont-buy.html

JayC