"Flying Barrels" Backyard Ride

"Flying Barrels" Backyard Ride FARM HOME recreation 28-6-3 A combine wheel and axle form the base of a "flying barrels" backyard ride built by Wayne Bergsma of Carman, Manitoba. The ride consists of four 30-gal. plastic barrels suspended from 10-ft. long horizontal steel arms. The barrels are attached by lengths of chain to the end of each arm and go "flying" as the arms rotate. The 4 1/2-ft. dia. combine wheel is rotated by a 1/2 hp variable speed, 220-volt electric motor. The motor mounts above the wheel and drives a 172-in. V-belt. "I built it a few years ago for my kids, who had a lot of fun with it. Now my grandkids use it," says Bergsma. He started out by drilling a 12-in. dia. hole about 8 ft. deep and filling it with concrete. A 3-in. dia. solid steel shaft extends 10 in. above the concrete. A long pipe mounts over the shaft and supports the combine axle. A 6-in. thick concrete pad was poured on top of the ground to hold everything in place. Four lengths of 1 3/8-in. dia. steel pipe, curved inward at the top, are buried in the sides of the concrete pad and welded onto the sides of the center pipe to keep it stable. He cut out holes in the barrels for kids to sit in. He put hooks on both sides of all the barrels and attached lengths of chain to them. Contact: FARM SHOW Followup, Wayne Bergsma, P.O. Box 1501, Carman, Manitoba, Canada R0G 0J0 (ph 204 745-3462).

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