Lawn Roller

JimMorrissey · May 7, 2005

Anybody have any ideas for a pretty big and heavy lawn roller? I'm thinking something to cover my tracks at about 70+ inches. I want to roll the lawn and a field. Needs to be heavy. I actually thought about renting a real roller with tires on the back /forums/images/graemlins/smile.gif Crazy, I know. It would probably ruin the lawn...it would grow back though.

mathey · May 7, 2005

I've heard about people using old water heater "carcasses" and then filling them with concrete with a galvanized pole thru the center. Then you'd need to build some bracketry to tow it and an axle...

Actually, the "real" roller idea isn't too far fetched...most rental places have the smaller sized ones, and the fees are relatively inexpensive...plus it would do a better job than most anything you could make up. You make look a bit silly cruising thru your fields... /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif

jim_wilson · May 7, 2005

I looked around quite a bit for a good heavy duty lawn roller last summer because I wanted something that I could use to roll out the driveway I put in and then later use it for lawn rolling. The best most heavy duty unit I could find came from General Welding - web page - I got the 48" unit and filled it up with sand - heavier than water and it doesn't freeze plus I can still drain it out later if I need to. They make a 36", a 48" and a 72" model. They are pretty heavy duty and should stand up to some heavy use. Web page for the rollers is here.

The other company I found that makes a really good quality roller is Hoelscher . They make construction quality rollers up to 95" wide. The 8ft roller weighs in at 1054lbs - but they are pricey at $1,775.00.

RalphVa · May 7, 2005

The only reason for using a lawn roller is to bed in new seed. Otherwise, they have no purpose.

Ralph

thcri · May 7, 2005

( The only reason for using a lawn roller is to bed in new seed. Otherwise, they have no purpose.

Ralph )

I guess I would tend to somewhat disagree with that. While it may not be good for the grass itself but it does level out your yard. My neighbor and I use his roller when it is really damp or had just rained good in the last few days and it does level things out. But I also would recomend aerating also. I know of a guy that took a 14" culvert about 72" long and filled it with concrete. It made neat strips in the lawn because of the ribs but it really looked nice when done. I am thinking of making one myself some day as my neighbors is a tad bit light.

murph

SteveBenson · May 7, 2005

( Otherwise, they have no purpose. )

I would disagree with that also. Perhaps that is true for those little cheapo plastic rollers, but not if you have a real roller.

If you ever had to repair chopped up muddy pastures or turnouts after things dry up in the spring you would know that this is an essential tool. I sacrifice one of my pastures every spring and rotate my livestock to another when things dry up. To repair the divots in the sacrifice pasture I drag it with a chain harrow, then roll it. Works better than anything else I've ever tried.

I drove 7 hours to pick up my roller from general welding a couple years ago. I got a 6' roller for $695. It's built like a tank and after 2 years and many rocks it has no dents. The guys up there told me they can make them even wider if you special order it. I highly recomend GW, they were great to deal with.

JimMorrissey · May 7, 2005

I would also disagree...completely. I have used them in the past and they do a good job of leveling the lawn in the spring. The bigger and the heavier, the better. It makes a big difference and you can really feel it when you mow afterwards. Ralph maybe you had another idea about the actual use of the roller?

DHennet · May 8, 2005

( Otherwise, they have no purpose. )

A roller is the only way I know of leveling mole/vole tunnels.

Freds · May 8, 2005

Ditto everything Jim said.
Around here the way the ground freezes and thaws several times during the course of a winter season you need to roll your "lawn" to put it back into place. It makes a noticeable difference when mowing... a lot less bumpy.

My neighbor has a 5' roller he made at work that we fill with water and last weekend he came home with an aerator he had made. /forums/images/graemlins/smile.gif of course he added a hookup on the roller frame so both can be pulled at one time. /forums/images/graemlins/laugh.gif

I'm curious how you would drain sand out of a roller. It seems that unless the whole side came off, if you just removed a plug then the sand would bottleneck up. /forums/images/graemlins/confused.gif My neighbor's brother borrows his roller also, so it's nice to be able to drain it when trailoring.

chriswheeler · May 9, 2005

I made my roller out of 24" schedule 40 pipe 7 foot long. End bells are out of 3/4" plate and it is through shafted with 2 11/16" solid shafting. used 2 3/16" pillow block bearings on the ends. Empty weight is 900 lbs. With 175 gal of water it weighs 2200 lbs. After the snow melts I run the rake over the drive several times to bring the 3/4" crush rock back to the top. Compact the rock with the roll. Have had lots of uses for this thing, intend to run it over the pasture when we broadcast seed in the fall and roll over the top. It turned out nice, still have to paint this summer. I would recomend this project for anyone with a long drive, gravel surfaces, and general uses. My wife often asks why I need this or that tool and is soon finding herself using it. One design note though. You will find that a ring pull off the draw bar will not be able to turn to well without hitting the rear tires. I made my own version of the "Handy Hitch" with a 2" ball and mounts on the 3 point, almost twice the thickness of steel. I welded a 2" bulldog hitch insted of a ring on the tong of the roll. The ball hitch gets the tow bar away from the wheels and lets you make tight turns. You could tow this thing behind a SUV if you wanted easy enough to pull.
Chris

jim_wilson · May 9, 2005

The sand I used was the very fine playbox sand they sell at places like Home Depot. It was fine enough that I was able to pour it into the roller using a funnel. I thought about using cement but figured if I did it was like that forever - it's never coming out. Water is obviously an option too but I wanted to avoid that because I wanted to potentially use the roller during the times of the year when we are going back and forth between freezing and non freezing weather. I figured I would forget at some point to drain the roller and then I would have a cracked housing once it froze up.

Freds · May 9, 2005

That must have been very tedious filling it. I don't think I would have the patience. /forums/images/graemlins/frown.gif

BarryinMN · May 9, 2005

Hers's mine all hydro, air cooled 23HP Kohler twin, 1 1/2 ton & has vibratory on the 36" drum. It really packs down loose moist gravel & does not get stuck on lawns like the drum drive units. Have not noticed any lawn damage.

L3650 · May 9, 2005

Now this is a lawn roller!

http://www.freakyacres.com/?p=tanklawnroller.php

paxicobob · May 9, 2005

I modified an old alfalfa packer for a lawn roller. If you have ever seen them, they alternate smooth rollers with knobby rollers. It is used to poke the seed into the seedbed. All told it is about 5' wide and right around 800 #. Probably couldn't use it to smooth an existing lawn like some of you are doing, but it works wonders in promoting germination. I modified mine to be 3 point mounted.

SteveBenson · May 9, 2005

Okay, I have to ask. Where do you buy 24" schedule 40 pipe?

What's the wall thickness on that.

MadReferee · May 10, 2005

( Okay, I have to ask. Where do you buy 24" schedule 40 pipe?
What's the wall thickness on that. )

Call your local steel supplier.

According to my supplier's spec sheet, Schedule 40 pipe, 24" outside diameter, .687" wall thickness, 22.626" inside diameter, weighs 171.2 lbs per foot.

You can also get Schedule 10 with a 1/4" wall thickness @ 63.5 lbs/ft, or Schedule 20 std with 3/8" wall @ 94.6 lbs/ft, or Schedule 20 hvy with 1/2" wall @ 125.5 lbs/ft.

If you are paying by the pound bring plenty of money. /forums/images/graemlins/crazy.gif /forums/images/graemlins/crazy.gif

fig · May 10, 2005

Looks like it was made from an old propane tank. Has anyone ever thought of using an old 200# or so propane tank to do this? Seems like you would be able to find a used one pretty cheep and make all of the mods you need to to it (cut out old inlets and fill with weld or scab in pieces of metal).

Fig

fig · May 10, 2005

Steve,

You might want to look in the phone book for mechanical contractors and see if they have any scrap left over from jobs. I work for a mechanical contractor and we usually have pipe left over from jobs, but usually not 24". We have 8",10", and some 18" left over from various jobs. I was actually thinking about taking some of the 8" and making a plugger. All is schedule 40 pipe:
8" - 28.554 lbs per foot
10" - 40.483 lbs per foot
18" - 105 lbs pre foot
I could make a 4' plugger out of 8" and not have to worry about adding block for weight; I would have enough weight in the pipe alone. At least it would be better than the ones at HD and Lowes.

Fig

have_blue · May 10, 2005

Rollers are a mixed blessing. If you watch the soil moisture and roll it at the right time, you get a great result.

If the soil is too dry or too wet, you won't get a good result.

A roller is a finishing tool. It can not make a lawn from a rough field with it. It can only smooth a lawn that is in good general condition.

Oops... I'm preaching to the choir, aren't I? /forums/images/graemlins/smile.gif