Straw Chopper Chops Stalks

Straw Chopper Chops Stalks ATV'S ATV'S 90-10-77 A $10 straw chopper picked up at auction does a great job chopping stalks. All the Sands had to do was mount it on Category I brackets and power it. "We built framing out of 2 by 2-in., 1/4 in. thick steel tubing to match existing brackets on the straw chopper and the hooks on our 3-pt. lift cart," explains Kyle. "The biggest expense was a $250 engine we bought to power it. We mounted it on a stand at the end of the chopper to match up with existing drive pulleys." Kyle fabricated an idler pulley mounted to an arm that can be locked in place under tension to engage the chopper. The arm pivots on the end of the chopper. A short piece of strap attached to it rides on a piece of angle iron also bolted to the end of the chopper. When the arm pivots to engage the idler pulley, the strap fits into a slot on the angle iron. When the handle on the arm is pushed down further, the strap end jumps out of the slot, and the arm can be released to disengage the idler pulley.

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