Home-Built Rock Rake Doubles As Rototiller

Home-Built Rock Rake Doubles As Rototiller ROCK PICKERS Gerald Johnston wanted a small rock rake to do yard work He ended up building a 3-pt mounted pto-operated machine that doubles as a rototiller “I used to own a company that manufactured field-size rock rakes When I retired there was nothing on the market sized for small acreages so I built this scaled-down version ” says Johnston “It works good for doing landscaping work and for establishing lawns I’ve used it on my own yard and to do work for neighbors I pull it with a Yanmar 16 hp 4-WD tractor ” The machine is equipped with a 4-ft long 4-in dia steel drum equipped with 3 rows of 7-in long fingers The fingers are spaced 3 in apart and measure 2 1/2 in wide at the base tapering down to 1 1/2 in The rig is supported on back by a large gauge wheel that’s free to swivel on a home-built coupler There are a series of holes where the machine attaches to one of the 3-pt ’s lower lift arms By changing the position of a pin Johnston can set the drum at an angle and use the unit as a rock rake To use it as a rototiller he positions it straight across the drum perpendicular to the tractor “Whether it’s used as a rototiller or a rock rake it leaves the soil level for seeding grass It digs about 4 in deep When I use it as a rock rake there won’t be any debris left on top of the soil ” says Johnston The rig’s pto shaft drives a right angle gearbox that connects to another shaft which chain-drives the drum The gearbox is protected by a clutch “The clutch came from a hay conditioner the gearbox from a potato harvester and the gauge wheel is off a cultivator so the machine didn’t cost much to build ” notes Johnston Contact: FARM SHOW Followup Gerald Johnston 5821 Crystal Rd Vestaburg Mich 48891 ph 989 268-5650; lavona@cmsinter net

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