Rerod Measuring Wheel Works Great On Rough Terrain

Rerod Measuring Wheel Works Great On Rough Terrain MISCELLANEOUS EQUIPMENT Miscellaneous 19-6-38 Marshall and Kendall Litchfield, Macomb, Ill., used rerod bar and a toggle counter to make a simple but highly effective measuring wheel. "It's bigger than most conventional measuring wheels and has a serrated surface so it works better on rough terrain," says Marshall. They used 8 ft. of 1/2-in. dia. rebar to make the wheel, welding 1/4-in. dia. steel spokes 1 ft. long to the center hub made from a short piece of pipe. A toggle counter mounts on the steel handle that's made from 1/2-in. dia. steel tubing. Plastic from an antifreeze bottle was used to make a flipper that mounts on an arm at the end of the counter. Every time the flipper contacts a spoke it makes a click on the counter, indicating 1 ft. of travel. "We made 100 of them and sold them to our neighbors for about $35. They really like them," says Marshall. "However, we had problems with the plastic flippers which wore out on the spokes and didn't last very long before needing replacement. We haven't pursued the idea any further al-though we still think it's a good idea. We considered using magnetic counters like the ones found on corn planters but couldn't find one in the right price range. We might look into using low-cost bicycle speedometers." Contact: FARM SHOW Followup, Marshall Litchfield, 15340 N 700 Rd., Macomb, Ill. 61455 (ph 309 254-3481).

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