Wooden drag harrow

[s78wingrider]

On my grandfather's farm I grew up on we had a homemade drag made out of (guessing) 10"x10" oak set edge ways and notched on top for cross pieces, and bolted together. It was pulled behind disk and worked very good. Aaron

 

[TractorRob]

Good day Forum,Most thankful and amused by your counsel on my quest for a wooden drag harrow. My metal working skills and welding skills are nil,therefore,oak is a natural choice for me. I own a logmill,and I have a plentiful supply of oak and a bucket of timber nails languishing in my shed. I am thinking I wll adapt the key elements of Jenkinsph's homemade metal drag in the previous post and photo. Really like the way Jenkinsph angled the spikes to avoid too many hangups while dragging. I will share photos on my finished attachment when completed. Many apologies for dragging (no pun intended-ha-ha) our forum back to the wood and mule era.

Hey, I'm with you on the metal working skills. Definitly show us pictures, I might need to make one myself. By the way, here's the thread you were looking for: wood (No weld) tractor mods

 

[LBrown59]

Here is my wooden DRAG.

 

[jimmyj]

I have also dragged all sorts of crazy stuff before I got harrows. Pallets, iron beams, tires, heavy timbers, fencing, even a big "grill" made of rebar welded together like a giant checkerboard. Try it without the nails, I doubt you need them and I wonder if they'd just bend over.

Let us know what you do though please.

 

[Carykong]

Built my wooden drag and tested it in my field for about twenty minutes yesterday. Did not have a disced field to drag so my real test will be in early Sept when I disc our club rugby field and drag with my homemade harrow. As you can see from the pictures,the drag looks like a big pallet. 5x5 Oak timbers held together by 6/4 oak boards. Sealed the wood with a preservative. The timber nails did bend some,so I am not confident the nails will hold up after long use but I expect to use this drag only a couple of times a year. If the nails completly bend up against the timbers, I think I will replace with rebar. Any opinions on that?

 

[Baby Grand]

If the nails completly bend up against the timbers, I think I will replace with rebar. Any opinions on that?

Unless you can find some 3/4" rebar I'd try something more like a railroad spike. I think the smaller diameter rebar will just bend up on you same as the timber nails did. 3/4" OD gas pipe cut 45 degrees on the end might work nicely, too - the only metal working skills you would need are using a hacksaw. You could secure them to your drag by drilling blind holes into your timbers.

I like the idea of making the drag out of wood as much as possible. It's the material you have in abundance, you clearly know how to work with it, and it recycles clean in the stove when it's wore out. A quick browse through either of Eric Sloan's books A Reverence for Wood or A Museum of Early American Tools will show what is possible. Just this past weekend I drove over a covered bridge in Vermont that is probably over 100 years old, almost completely made of wood and still solid as a rock.

-Jim

 

[Ford850]

The longer the spikes, the easier they will bend. If you go with rebar I think you'll have to use spikes that extend about half that length.

 

[Grand_Pooba]

I drag a wooden "float" behind my disk for finish work. It's made from 2x10s or 2x8s. I usually end up throwing some big rocks on it near the back. It works great and leaves it real flat. No protuding spike needed. I couple eye bolts bolted thru the front can be used for attaching it with chains.

 

[Carykong]

Thank you fellas for the comments.Time and some experience will finish this story. I do like G.Pooba's drag with the lapped boards. One could set the drag on its side for storage and it would shed water quite nicely. I will follow up on this thread after I drag the rugby pitch in sept.

 

[MESSMAKER]

Look into some rebar spikes. They are about 12" long, 1/2" around and pointed with holes drilled in them every so often. They are used to hold wire at the correct height when you pour concrete. They are about $2 each.