“Rock Block” Bolts Onto Mowers

2018 - Volume #42, Issue #3, Page #26

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“Our patented Rock Block kits are designed to protect you and your tractor from flying rocks and debris. They bolt on easily in front of rotary/disc-style mowers, hay cutters and conditioners,” says inventor John Horter, Bristol, S. Dak.
  The Rock Block is designed for Deere, Case New Holland, MacDon, and Vermeer rotary and disc-style mowers, haybines, and conditioners. It consists of a rubber “curtain” that bolts onto the front of the machine using side and center-mounted metal brackets. On larger kits, the curtain hinges in the middle and by loosening a side-mounted knob, you can swing the curtain out from either end to service the cutterbar. The knob is attached to a threaded rod that runs through a nut welded onto the bottom of the side-mounted bracket.
  “The kit doesn’t hinder visibility and looks like it was factory made. It’s a relatively inexpensive solution when you consider that it often costs less than replacing a broken window,” says Horter. “It can help even if you don’t have rocks, because a lot of people get hurt when mower blades come loose and go flying.”
  Horter sells kits made specifically for 12 of the most common brand machines, and says he’s adding more all the time. He also offers universal kits that fit most other mowers.
  “Our kits are well built and we’ve field tested them for years on our farm. All parts are powder-coated. The rubber curtain we use is specially formulated to be durable, yet flexible. We offer a 1-year warranty on parts,” he says.
  He came up with the idea when he bought his first disc-style cutter about 10 years ago. “I was very hesitant because I had heard horror stories about people breaking windows on their tractors. There were other very crude styles of devices on the market, but nothing that I wanted to mess with so I started hanging rubber flaps from a framework that bolted to the mower. I had no intention of selling a kit.
  “Then in 2013 I had my 3-year-old son, Dane, riding along with me in the tractor as I was disc mowing. We didn’t have any sort of rock guard on the mower at the time. I hadn’t used the new mower for more than an hour before I heard a loud boom, and the side window exploded. Dane was in shock and said, “Holy cow dad, what happened?” It was quite scary. The window cost $1,300 to replace and about 2 days of downtime. Fortunately, we weren’t injured from the rock that was thrown.
  “The next day we started designing a kit.”
  Retail prices for Rock Block vary from $450 to $850 plus S&H, depending on the model.
  Contact: FARM SHOW Followup, John Horter, 225 Main St., Bristol, S. Dak. 57219 (ph 605 216-4852; horterfarm@nvc.net; www.therockblock.net).

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“Rock Block” Bolts Onto Mowers HAY & FORAGE HARVESTING Mowers 38 “Our patented Rock Block kits are designed to protect you and your tractor from flying rocks and debris They bolt on easily in front of rotary/disc-style mowers hay cutters and conditioners ” says inventor John Horter Bristol S Dak The Rock Block is designed for Deere Case New Holland MacDon and Vermeer rotary and disc-style mowers haybines and conditioners It consists of a rubber “curtain” that bolts onto the front of the machine using side and center-mounted metal brackets On larger kits the curtain hinges in the middle and by loosening a side-mounted knob you can swing the curtain out from either end to service the cutterbar The knob is attached to a threaded rod that runs through a nut welded onto the bottom of the side-mounted bracket “The kit doesn’t hinder visibility and looks like it was factory made It’s a relatively inexpensive solution when you consider that it often costs less than replacing a broken window ” says Horter “It can help even if you don’t have rocks because a lot of people get hurt when mower blades come loose and go flying ” Horter sells kits made specifically for 12 of the most common brand machines and says he’s adding more all the time He also offers universal kits that fit most other mowers “Our kits are well built and we’ve field tested them for years on our farm All parts are powder-coated The rubber curtain we use is specially formulated to be durable yet flexible We offer a 1-year warranty on parts ” he says He came up with the idea when he bought his first disc-style cutter about 10 years ago “I was very hesitant because I had heard horror stories about people breaking windows on their tractors There were other very crude styles of devices on the market but nothing that I wanted to mess with so I started hanging rubber flaps from a framework that bolted to the mower I had no intention of selling a kit “Then in 2013 I had my 3-year-old son Dane riding along with me in the tractor as I was disc mowing We didn’t have any sort of rock guard on the mower at the time I hadn’t used the new mower for more than an hour before I heard a loud boom and the side window exploded Dane was in shock and said “Holy cow dad what happened?” It was quite scary The window cost $1 300 to replace and about 2 days of downtime Fortunately we weren’t injured from the rock that was thrown “The next day we started designing a kit ” Retail prices for Rock Block vary from $450 to $850 plus S&H depending on the model Contact: FARM SHOW Followup John Horter 225 Main St Bristol S Dak 57219 ph 605 216-4852; horterfarm@nvc net; www therockblock net

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