Solving Rotary Rake Tine, Arm Problems

Solving rotary rake tine, arm problems HAY & FORAGE HARVESTING Rakes (44) 12-3-7 Broken tines and bent arms on his Deutz-Allis rotary rake led John Grimm, Faribault, Minn., to improve the rake's de-sign with 2 major modifications - which might work on other brands of rotary rakes as well. Grimm's 10-ft. dia. rotary rake features 8 arms extending from a hub mounted above 2 wheels. Each arm is factory equipped with 3 sets of 10-in. tines, and each set of tines has 2 coils supporting them. Grimm had problems with both the tines and arms. He describes the tine problem as "a manufacturer's goofup." "The coils are supposed to take the shock as the tines sweep up hay," he says. "Unfortunately, the coils were positioned 1 1/2 inches below the arm. A single rod, 1 1/2 inches long and clamped onto the arm, was taking the shock and breaking way too often. I went through a whole set of tines." To solve the problem, Grimm got the help of neighbor Floyd Caron, who owns a machinery repair business. Caron cut off the top single rod and slid the coils over the arm, using the same clamps to secure them. "The coils now take the shock, not the single rod," says Caron. The rake's other problem was that the arms were bending, especially when Grimm used the rake in rough ground with gopher mounds or dead furrows. To solve the problem, Grimm. and Caron connected the ends of all 8 arms with a series of welded-on pipes, 4 ft. long and 1 in. in dia. On the end of each arm, Caron welded a 4-in. rod with a self-centering bearing. This bearing fits inside a hole cut into a 10 x 4 in. steel plate. The bearings allow for the pivoting motion of the arms as they raise or lower the tines. The pipes are welded to these plates, forming an octagon-shaped barrier which protects individual arms from obstructions. "Before, when the rake hit an obstruction, at least one or two arms would bend badly," says Grimm. "Now, all eight arms work together to take the shock, and the whole rake slides over. "You can't beat a wheel for strength. Also. I feel it's now a safer rake because a person isn't as likely to get hit by the swinging arms." Since making the changes, Grimm says he's broken only 1 tine - and bent no arms. "I don't know how many other brands of rotary rakes have similar design flaws, but for those that do, these modifications just might be the cure," he adds. Contact: FARM SHOW Followup, John Grimm, 18820 Cannon City Boulevard, Faribault, Minn. 55021 (ph 507 332-8325).

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