Rubber Tire Roller Does Super Job Packing Soil

Rubber Tire Roller Does Super Job Packing Soil TILLAGE EUIPMENT New Tools 18-5-7 "I've been using my roller for four years to pack our sandy loam ground before we plant alfalfa," says Maurie Clayton, Woodstock, Ontario, of the center-hinged roller he made out of old tires he got for free. "It was cheap to make, costing me only about $600 for the steel, but it does a really super job" Clayton's goal when he decided to make a roller was to build one that would pack a wide swath but could still be transported easily. So he designed a main frame with one row of tires that folds out for packing and in for transport. "This will roll at any speed and you can't hurt it when you hit a rock," notes Clayton, who also uses the roller to push down small stones in oats, alafalfa, wheat and soybean fields when he's finished planting alafalfa. The outer frame of Clayton's roller is made of 3 by 2 1/2-in. tubing, while the tongue is made of 4-in. square tubing. Braces for the top front of the roller are 2-in. square tubing, as is the brace for its swinging hitch. Truck tires are mounted on four 2-in. dia. pipe 11 ft. long with three cross members made out of heavy 1-in. pipe. Old fork lift wheels fitted with truck spindles serve as hubs for the truck tires on the ends of each tire gang. Big chain links welded on the ends of each pipe hold the tires together in their frame. The hitch between the two sets of rollers hinges in the middle and is pinned in the corner when folded out. Contact: FARM SHOW Followup, Maurie Clayton, R.R. 7, Woodstock, Ontario, Can. N4S 7W2 (ph 519 469 3361).

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