Portable Irrigation Pipe Straightener

Portable Irrigation Pipe Straightener FARM SHOP Tools 25-2-38 Duane McHenry, Rt. 2, Box 302, Clyde, Kansas 66938 (ph 785 446-3554): "I operate an irrigation supply business and also an aluminum welding business. To make it easier to straighten out gated pipe with dents in it, I came up with a portable pipe straightener. It works on anything that has a round tube, including grain augers and combine unloading augers. "My pipe straightener rides on four wheels and is about 25 ft. long. I started out with a scissors jack and welded two steel pans onto it, one at the top and one at the bottom. The jack mounts at one end of a 20-ft. length of sq. tubing that's mounted inside a pipe. The jack is operated by a hydraulic cylinder mounted at the other end of the tubing. I place one end of the bent pipe on a stand and slide the bent portion of the pipe over the jack, then use a 2-way control valve mounted just above the jack to operate it. One way pushes the top pan up and the other way pushes the bottom pan down. I can reach 20 ft. into a pipe. Most gated irrigation pipes are 30 or 40 ft. long so by turning the pipe around I can straighten out the entire pipe. "The cylinder is operated by a car power steering pump that's belt-driven by a 1 hp electric motor. I can bolt on different size pans according to the pipe size. The unit has a handle at one end, allowing one person to push it in or out of my shop."

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