"Made It Myself" Roller Crimps Bt Stubble

"Made It Myself" Roller Crimps Bt Stubble TILLAGE EUIPMENT New Tools 34-5-10 Tired of Bt modified corn stubble ripping up his tires, Terry Jacob's answer was a roller to smash them and crimp his cover crops as well. He had a local machine shop make it for him for about half the $30,000 he estimates a commercial unit would cost. He says the 20-ft. roller works great and was well worth the money. "I bought a new planter this year and flattened a tire on the one field I hadn't rolled," he says. "I've used it on cover crops including sun hemp that I was late rolling because of rain. It was 4 to 5 ft. tall, and I knocked it right down. Even though I was going the same direction as the drill, it flattened it so drilling the wheat was no problem." Getting a smooth roll across his fields was vital for Jacob. It's one reason he didn't go with one of the smooth rollers on the market. He felt they bounced too much. Working with a local metal shop, he came up with a chevron pattern that grips the ground and crimps the crop as it rolls. Each roller has 23 angle irons mounted at 8-in. intervals with the edges welded to the roller. "It runs really smooth across the field," says Jacobs. "I can roll a field at 9 to 10 mph." Jacob bought a 7 by 7-in. toolbar with Brillion-style rollers on it, which he had the shop remove. He then had them cut a 20 ft. length of 30-in. diameter, 1/4-in. wall pipe in half and mount on the toolbar. Angle iron formed the chevrons. Jacob quickly learned the 3,800 lb. weight was too great for the original system. Double bearings and a bigger shaft were installed. The toolbar also had to be strengthened to carry the weight. One other change that was needed was to build a 24-in. wide tag-a-long unit. The two rollers left a 10-in. space untouched. While not a problem in corn stubble, it was needed for rolling cover crops. Since going to a 40-ft. wide, 16-row planter, Jacob has started planning for a 42-ft. roller. He has purchased a 42-ft. folding toolbar. Initial plans are for a 20-ft. center roller with two 10-ft. wings mounted to the rear of the center roller and slightly overlapping. "Even though we have flat ground here, the challenge is to design one that will float in three sections," he says. Contact: FARM SHOW Followup, Terry Jacob, 9317 S.W. 72nd St., Sedgwick, Kan. 67135 (ph 316 830-3692).

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