Four Rakes Turned Make One

Four Rakes Turned Make One HAY & FORAGE HARVESTING Rakes (44) 32-5-33 After putting four used Vicon rakes together to create a folding wheel rake, Raymond Janisch now finishes hay raking in record time. "I can rake about 35 acres in an hour and a half," the Lake City, S. Dak., farmer says. His rake covers a 44-ft. wide swath and folds to 18 ft. when he transports it. "I can rake road ditches or anything because each rake is very flexible," he says. "A lot of people are amazed how it works." After traveling up to 100 miles to buy the inexpensive rakes, Janisch put them together with a cart he welded in the middle to pull the back two rakes. He took the wheels off of two of the rakes, turned them around and put them back on. Since the rakes were well worn, he beefed up the wheels by going to the salvage yard and purchasing car parts to make front wheel spindles. Janisch has used the rake for six years without any problems or having to make any changes. He estimates it cost him about $2,000. Most of the materials came from junk he had on hand. "I'm a patcher from way back. I've been welding for 50 years," Janisch says. Contact: FARM SHOW Followup, Raymond Janisch, 11800 Hwy. 25, Lake City, S. Dak. 57247 (ph 605 698-7738).

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