Cheap, Easy Way To Make A Grain Auger Hopper

Cheap, Easy Way To Make A Grain Auger Hopper AUGERS Augers (29B) 26-1-35 I came up with a cheap, easy way to make my own grain auger hopper. All I used was a 55-gal. plastic barrel, two short lengths of light chain, a 5/16-in. dia. redi bolt or light chain boom, and a piece of 10-in. rubber belting. I used a jigsaw to cut the top end of the barrel to the desired width of opening just below the top lip, then made a cut down the full length of the barrel. I used a torch to heat both sides of the barrel along the crease that such barrels have on both sides. This allowed me to bend the barrel open. I held the barrel in place until it cooled. Then I cut out the bottom of the barrel to fit the auger. I trimmed the lip away from the top of the barrel so I could bolt the belting in place. I drilled two holes on the bottom of the barrel, one on each side, and used a redi bolt to secure the chains which go over the top of the auger to hold it in place. I added a U-bolt at the belted end of the hopper so I can hold it in place when the auger is moved. There's only about one bushel of grain left in the barrel when the auger is removed, so cleanup is minimal. I made two of these hoppers - one for a 14-in. dia. auger and the other for a 12-in. one. (Paul Geist, Towner, Colo.)

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