Among farmers and gardeners, one of the pressing questions is how to make a rake for a walk-behind tractor with your own hands. This is a device that is far superior to a cultivator in terms of performance and convenience.
The walk-behind tractor will be useful not only for the farmer, but also for the owner of a small plot. This is quite an expensive technique. Therefore, many farmers try to make rakes for walk-behind tractors with their own hands. This will require a little time and a few auxiliary components.
Characteristics of attachments for walk-behind tractor
This type of device falls into the category of attachments. The rake is attached to the walk-behind tractor using an adapter. This is convenient, as it allows you to use various equipment on one walk-behind tractor. Very often one or more types of rakes are already included in the kit. However, there is also equipment where the package does not include any attachments. These options are cheaper. But you need to take into account that you will either have to buy the additions or do it yourself, using pre-prepared drawings.
Most walk-behind tractors have the ability to raise or lower the rake using a handle. This is convenient and allows you to carry out work and clean the device more efficiently.
Regardless of whether it is a homemade rake for a walk-behind tractor or a purchased one, it must be durable. Most often, manufacturers make such equipment from high-quality steel. It should have excellent anti-corrosion properties, since the rake will often come into contact with water. This is the option that will last a long time. Steel attachments do not bend or rust, so they can be used for more than 10 years. The service life of the device largely depends on the storage location. Any attachments must be kept in a dry room. After use, the rake must be washed and dried.
How to use and care for the turner
Since the design of the walk-behind rake is quite simple, it does not require constant maintenance. If a linkage is installed on the turner, the device will last a very long time. The farmer will have to periodically lubricate, affecting all rotating and connecting points. This will ensure uninterrupted and smooth operation. It is also worth paying close attention to the chain drive. The chain should not constantly fly off, so that this does not cause blocking of the rotating elements.
If over time one of the parts of the structure becomes unusable, it can be easily replaced with a new one. If the farmer wants to provide the turner with additional safety, he can equip this mechanism with special protective screens. During the work, you should also not forget about safety precautions, which it is better to familiarize yourself with even before picking up the tools.
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Types of nozzles
Various attachments can be useful on the farm. Therefore, the more of them the walk-behind tractor has, the better. There are belt rakes, cross rakes, or with turners; the choice depends on the purpose for which the walk-behind tractor will be used (for example, for collecting hay, leaves or garbage) and the model of the equipment. Some types can even be used for collecting snow and cleaning paths.
A huge variety of models are offered by specialized stores. Here you can find any attachments for a walk-behind tractor at very affordable prices. Making a rake yourself will cost much less.
Attachment for walk-behind tractor "Neva"
A special feature of this manufacturer is that it provides a special adapter that makes this attachment suitable for any walk-behind tractor. This is very convenient, since users of other equipment, and not just , have the opportunity to use high-quality rakes.
The nozzle is adjustable in width. Its working part is almost 1.5 m. This makes cleaning the area as fast and efficient as possible. At the same time, such a width allows you to conveniently work both in large spaces and in small areas.
A special feature of the rakes for the Neva walk-behind tractor is that they are made on a spring basis. As a result of this approach, they are not in one position, but slightly change their amplitude during movement. This allows you to better collect garbage, hay, leaves, etc. Moreover, such attachments are not afraid of stones, so their teeth will not break off. They can be lowered and raised using a special lever.
Option “Sun”: what are the advantages of tedders
This option is a rake-tedder for a walk-behind tractor. They are needed not only for harvesting hay or leaves, but also for moving them from place to place. Such manipulation is necessary to ensure that winter reserves do not rot, but dry out evenly. These rakes are very convenient to use. With their help, you can do all the work in a matter of minutes that previously took hours.
If a farmer needs to prepare hay for the winter, he must definitely purchase a rake-tedder for a walk-behind tractor. They can perform several types of work at once.
The “Solnyshko” rake comes in two-, three- and four-wheeled versions. Depending on this, the speed of processing the area will differ. The largest rakes can simultaneously turn over hay on a three-meter strip, and rake everything into a pile on 2 m. Thus, the walk-behind tractor can process about 1 hectare in an hour. These are excellent indicators.
Such an area would have to be processed manually all day.
Such nozzles can be of several types. The Sun rake is considered one of the simplest. More powerful rakes are also available for sale. Some of them can turn over not only hay, but also lumps of earth, as well as branches.
Hay tedder for walk-behind tractor
Rake-tedders for walk-behind tractors and mini-tractors are a wheel-finger type device. The main elements of the tool are rotating wheels with raking steel “fingers” installed on them. Due to the type of design, the name “sun rake” was assigned to the tedders. They are classified according to the following parameters:
- By type of machine being mounted - tractor (mounted or semi-mounted rakes) and horse-drawn (moto-block - like a mounted tool).
- By the number of installed agitator rotors. The most common devices are three-, four- and five-wheel. The more impellers installed on the rake, the higher the productivity will be - on average, the sun rake is capable of processing 6-8 hectares per hour of operation.
- According to the type of design, tedders are divided into:
- wheel-finger;
- drums;
- serrated.
Rake tedders are widely used on farm plots with difficult terrain, and thanks to their simple design, they can be easily repaired with your own hands in the field. The advantages of this type of rake also include the ability to turn the finished windrows to prevent the grass from rotting in case of high humidity.
Experts note that the performance of good turners is 1/3 higher than that of other attachments. Moreover, if you buy a really good rake, it will work for many years and will not require replacement. When choosing turners, special attention should be paid to quality. This model has a lot of mechanisms that can quickly become unusable if it turns out that the rake is made of low-quality parts.
Self-production of mounted and rotary tedders
Before you start making rakes for walk-behind tractors with your own hands, you need to understand how to correctly make drawings that will allow you to design mounted or rotary tedders. The first type of rake is also called the sun rake because of its round shape. Each of the designs has its own characteristics. They should be taken into account to ensure the efficiency of future work and the quality of equipment.
Rotary rake
After the drawings of the rake for the walk-behind tractor are made, you can begin making the frame. For this you will need metal tubes. Their dimensions are directly related to the traction power of a tractor or other agricultural machinery. For this purpose, you can also use square pipes if you don’t have round ones at hand. Many farmers point out that it is even easier to work with such elements, since there will be an opportunity to better join the parts, adjusting them exactly to size.
In the process of work, the first thing you need to do is make one side of the frame with the same size as the hinge, and the other is made according to the principle of narrowing towards the end of the part. The rotor is driven by a square shaft. It is used directly to operate the device. An alternative is sometimes an old rear axle from a Soviet car.
Important! For high-quality and correct assembly, it is not recommended to use such a part as the front axle from a car. This is due to the fact that only in the rear part you can find the entire necessary set of gears, as well as other parts that are necessary for assembling high-quality equipment.
If a person assembles a rake with his own hands not for a walk-behind tractor, but for a tractor, the take-off shaft should definitely be equipped with a reduction gearbox. This is explained by the fact that most of this equipment produces approximately 540 revolutions per minute. But this amount is too large for a homemade device. To replace the rotor here, you can use an ordinary disk from a car. At least 10 identical tubes must be welded to its body. The result should be a sun-shaped figure, since the tubes extend beyond the disk.
When the tubes are in place, at the next stage of assembling the tedders for the walk-behind tractor with your own hands, you can begin to attach the teeth.
They are usually made from ordinary thick wire and a strong steel rod. These parts are attached using a welding machine. If before work the master made the drawings correctly and assembled the device, observing the dimensions indicated there, the tedders will be of high quality and will last for several years without repair.
Classic turner “Sun”
If a master wants to assemble such a rake for his walk-behind tractor or walk-behind tractor with his own hands, he must understand that for the first type of equipment he can use a maximum of a three-wheeled design. For a tractor, the number of wheels can be increased by 2 pieces. To assemble such a device, you will need the following:
- Thick steel wire.
- Metal sheets with a thickness of at least 4 millimeters.
- Round or square tubes made of metal.
To cut and fasten steel tubes together, you will need a grinder and a welding machine. It is from these elements that the main frame of the turner will be assembled. Then you need to attach the brackets for the wheels to this structure. To make discs for future rakes, you can use steel sheets. Bicycle wheels are sometimes used as an alternative. But in this case they will have to be additionally reinforced with overlays and metal rods. If this is not done, the device will sooner or later fall apart at the time of use.
To make such a turner, you need to follow the instructions
Thick steel wire is needed to make fingers, that is, hooks that will serve as a kind of intake for straw, mown grass or leaves. It is better to assemble the structure in such a way that in the future these elements can be replaced with others. To do this, the device can be equipped with a clamping mechanism or these hooks can be attached with bolts, which will allow the device to be disassembled at any necessary time. To successfully install such needle wheels, it is better to use bearings that fold into the hubs.
Note! Experienced farmers advise using car hubs. Thanks to a metal cap on one side and an oil seal on the other side, this design will not allow the bearings to rust, even if the homemade rake is stored outdoors.
At the next stage of manufacturing the tedder, it is necessary to install the attachment, which is used to connect it to haymaking equipment or a walk-behind tractor.
This element is sometimes additionally equipped with steel springs for a shock-absorbing effect, as well as a lifting mechanism necessary for lifting the structure from the ground so that it does not deteriorate when moving on asphalt. If everything is done correctly, such a wheel-finger tedder will be as functional as, for example, the VM-3 model for a walk-behind tractor, for which you will have to pay approximately 11,500 rubles. This is interesting: how to make lugs for a walk-behind tractor.
Do-it-yourself rake for walk-behind tractor
If you don’t want to buy attachments, a homemade rake will do for your walk-behind tractor. To create a simple option, it won’t take much effort; the main thing is to prepare drawings of possible options. It is enough to have strong steel and skills in working with a welding machine in stock to make an ordinary fan rake for a walk-behind tractor with your own hands. This option is well suited for harvesting hay and leaves.
What tools and materials will be required for manufacturing:
- thick-walled steel pipe with a round cross-section of 30 mm for the manufacture of the axis, and a diameter of 20 mm for the handle;
- profile pipe (20-25 mm) for making the frame;
- steel corner;
- two wheels with a diameter of 30-50 cm;
- steel rods with a cross-sectional diameter of 8-12 mm;
- wire;
- steel sheet;
- drill and metal drill bit;
- Bulgarian;
- welding machine;
- M8 bolts and nuts.
Before you start creating a rake, you should study the drawings and dimensions, video tips from experienced craftsmen and photographs of ready-made homemade structures for the walk-behind tractor. The manufacturing process consists of the following stages:
- You need to start by determining the length of the axle that will be attached to the wheel hubs. First, it is necessary to create attachment points on the axle. To do this, you need to securely weld metal plates to it, located at a distance of 10 cm from the wheels.
- Using a grinder, cut 2-6 squares from a sheet of steel, weld the resulting plates (oblique supports) to the axis strictly parallel to each other.
- Determine the middle between the supports where the drawbar will be welded. It is made from the same pipe as the axle. Make a handle from a thin pipe, which can be slightly bent for ease of use.
- Weld perpendicular sections of pipe to two posts at one end, the diameter of which will be slightly larger than the axial one. An axle is inserted into the resulting fasteners, which should rotate freely in them.
- Install the axle, weld the working grip to it - a steel angle 1.5-1.7 m long. Take a pipe with a 20mm round cross-section, and weld a rod to its upper end. At the other end, the pipe will “sit” on the eccentric, reaching the center of the drawbar. This mechanism will be necessary to adjust the angle of the rake.
- Weld to the working bar or attach “whiskers” made of rod and curved in a semicircle into pre-drilled holes.
- Weak areas of the structure can be strengthened using welding and metal plates.
- Finally, it is advisable to paint the resulting tool to prevent corrosion, and before running in, lubricate the moving parts with grease.
Alternatively, you can not cook a new rake, but use old forks. They are welded to the pipe in an even row, and then attached to the walk-behind tractor. The result is a very convenient and effective rake. Most often, such equipment is constructed from 5-7 pitchforks.
Thus, per hour of work you can save up to 20,000 rubles. This is how much good attachments will cost in a store. The cost may vary depending on the model and manufacturer. But it’s not worth buying a rake for less than 15,000 rubles, since their quality will most likely be far from ideal, so the equipment will have to be repaired and replaced frequently.
Preparation of materials and tools
It’s quite easy to make homemade rakes yourself if you use ready-made drawings. The rake for the walk-behind tractor has a simple design without complex components and hydraulics. You will need the following materials:
- Wheels;
- Wire;
- Water pipe;
- Iron rods for traction and lifting levers;
- Steel profile;
- Rim.
List of required tools:
- Drill;
- Welding;
- Varnish;
- Ruler.
If you carefully study the diagrams, look at the proposed photos and videos, then there will be no problems with making the rake.
