Leaf-Raking Toolbar Fits Tractor 3-pt.

Leaf-Raking Toolbar Fits Tractor 3-pt. FARM HOME Miscellaneous 30-6-2 Thanks to a strange-looking contraption that attaches to his tractor's three-point hitch, Bartt Nettleman can rake 20 acres of campground in about two hours instead of the two weeks it used to take doing the job by hand. As owner of Green Valley Campground in Sturgis, Mich., Nettleman dreaded raking leaves in the fall because the camp area is so wooded. He decided there had to be a better way. His first prototype had two spring-steel broom rakes on one handle to widen the area he could rake. As he pulled the heavy load of leaves to the road he thought, "I wish I had nine more people helping me pull." It occurred to him that his tractor would be better than people. He welded up a 9-ft. wide frame out of 1-in. tube steel with pegs to hold two rows of steel broom rake heads. He experimented with the angle and found 45 degrees worked out the best. It didn't dig up the soil and left enough spring in the rakes to do a good job. "People laugh at it until they see the results," says Nettleman. The campground looks hand raked when he's done. Nettleman uses a leaf blower in areas where his tractor won't go and pulls his multi-rake contraption over the rest of the area. Besides leaves, Nettleman uses the rake to level the campground's roads. The rake heads are tough enough to last at least one season "if I don't hit any trees," Nettleman laughs. While Nettleman is handy in the shop - he also customizes new and used golf carts - he hasn't built any rakes to sell, except to a neighboring golf course. Contact: FARM SHOW Followup, Bartt Nettleman, 25499 W. Fawn River Rd., Sturgis, Mich. 49091 (ph 269 651-8760; gvalley@voyager.net).

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