Pond rake ideas?

[Boone]

I was thinking about welding up a rake for leaves and muck that accumulates on the edge of the pond around the swimming area. Back the tractor to the edge, drop the 3 point and rake the muck up onto the bank.

Thoughts are so far of using a three point receiver hitch with some tubing that collapses inside one another for shortening/lengthening, with pins holding the position. A triangle brace on the end and maybe two rows of tines 48 inches wide. Maybe using a lawn dethatcher tine thing for lawn mowers.

Anybody build one, if so can you describe it, or post a photo please.

Boone

 

[stovepoker]

I've built one, Boone, but still don't know how to post pictures
on this board. My rake is 4ft wide, with the rake head consisting of 1/2 in square x6" hr steel teeth on 4" centers
welded to a 4ft length of 1-1/2 sq x 48"L 3/16 wall hrs tube.
In the center of this, at a 135 degree angle to the teeth, is welded one end of a 1-1/2 x 1/4 x 12 hrs strip with a 3/4 hole bored thru the outboard end. The objective being to pivot this
assembly on both ends and to rotate the assembly via the 12 inch strap with a rope or cable. This assembly is contained in
a "Y" yoke frame consisting of 2" x 1/4" arms welded to a
central 1-1/2 sq x 48" long hrs tube. The outer ends of this yoke are drilled to allow a 1/2" dia bar to pass thru the yoke
and thru the rake tube. A chain ring is welded to the free end
of the y yoke sq tube. Here's how it works.....Two lines
(I use steel rope) are fastened to the affair. The main line runs from the outer end of the 12 inch strap, THRU the yoke tube, and to the pulling device ( I use a tractor with a logging winch). The trip line runs from the end of the y yoke tube
to the pulling device. I transport the rig to the opposite side
of the pond and drop it in, with the teeth facing downward.
I then route both lines to the other side of the pond (sometimes using a boat), and hook up the main line to the tractor. After the pull has been made, at the point where I
wnat to trip or dump the load, I slacken the main line and start pulling on the trip line. the rake head rotates and
releases the load. Then it's back to the other side of the
pond. Hey, maybe I'd better learn to post pictures here.....

 

[dourobob]

I don't know how to post pictures yet either but I sure hope you find out soon so I can see what you have described. Sounds like and excellent tool.

Bob

 

[Tractors4u]

To post a picture, click the continue button below the box where you type your message. Once you click "Continue" you will see the message you just posted. Below that message ther will be a box with a button beside it labeled "Browse". Click that button and a "Choose File" box will appear. Just use that box to select the photo you want to post.

 

[stovepoker]

Thanks, Brent. I'll get some pics and give it a try.....

 

[lhfarm]

I would really like to see your design. Any chance you could post some pictures?

Thanks,
Barry

 

[stovepoker]

Yes...I'll make a point of taking some pictures tonite. I'm
currently seeting up to use the rig to pull water chestnut from
the Mohawk River, NY State. We originally built it for this purpose but found that we didn't have enough boat horsepower to pull it by boat. We were going to pull the weeds out into the main channel and release them there to
float downstream, hence the self-tripping design. But a
tractor or truck works fine.....

 

[stovepoker]

Okay Lads, let's give it a try. In this first picture, notice that
the tines are welded to a length of square tubing and that this
tubing pivots on a steel round bar which passes thru the center of this tubing. Also notice that there is a flat strap
welded to this tube in such a way that if you pull on the end of the strap, the tines will point downward and slightly forward so that they grab the roots, etc.
The trunk of the Y, or yoke, is made of hollow tubing. The main haul line
is attached to the end of the strap and routed thru the hollow
trunk of the Y. Therefore when the pulling device (tractor, horse, atv, wife, children, etc) pulls on the main line it (they)
are actually pulling on the end of the strap and the tension is so heavy that it causes the strap to align straight forward,with the tines facing downward. At his point the Y yoke is
just along for the ride. (see next post for the conclusion)

 

[stovepoker]

In the second picture you can see that the tines, welded to
the square tubing, have rotated on their pivot shaft. In this
position whatever weeds, roots, etc you have collected will
slide off the tines, allowing you to return for another load.
To make this happen, you stop pulling on the main haul line
and let it relax. You then pull on the trip line, which is attached to the lug on the free end of the Y yoke. You can
see this lug in the previous picture. As the tines rotate forward to the trip position, the haul strip will
rotate downward so that it may actually drag on the ground.
For me this has not proven to be a problem, but in fact it
lifts the tine bar to facilitate dumping. I use steel cable for
the haul line, since I use this thing in deep water and don't wnat to chance losing it. I guess if the haul line were to break, you could still retrieve the rig with the trip line.

 

[dourobob]

Great design - once again simplicity wins. Thanks for the pics, they really help in understanding your earlier description. Now, about that friend that has promised to teach me to weld ..... /w3tcompact/icons/smile.gif Hmmmm - when do we start and how many projects are on the list./w3tcompact/icons/laugh.gif
Bob