2018 - Volume #42, Issue #6, Page #36
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Pto-Operated Winder Wraps Up Wire Fast
The wire winder mounts on a home-built steel frame made using leaf springs off an old truck. It consists of a pto shaft, a gear reduction, a metal pipe, and an old car wheel rim that contains the wire. No new parts were used.
“It holds up to a 3/4 mile or more of smooth electric wire, which makes fencing an easy job,” says Zigler. “We run a cow calf operation and put up temporary fence around our corn fields after harvest so the cows can glean the corn.”
He mounted the reduction gear on the frame and bolted the pto shaft to the input side. A 2-in. dia. steel pipe is bolted onto the output side and has a steel plate welded onto the other end. Five long bolts welded onto the plate serve as studs and run through the wheel rim. Metal uprights welded onto both sides of the rim contain the wire.
“It has plenty of power to pull wire in from long distances. It’s unbelievable how well it works,” says Zigler. “It works best to have 2 people operate it, one on the tractor to operate the pto and the other to guide the wire evenly on the rim. That way if the wire knots, the pto can be shut down right away. Once the rim is full it can be quickly replaced with another one.”
The pto shaft came off an old manure spreader. Zigler got the reduction gear from a local feedmill that went out of business. “The reduction gear slows down the pto shaft’s speed by about 75 percent, which makes the winder safer to operate,” he says. “A horizontal shaft from the same manure spreader is welded on front of the frame and hooks up to the tractor’s lower lift arms. I also welded a metal upright on top of the frame that hooks up to the tractor’s top link.”
Contact: FARM SHOW Followup, Richard Zigler, 1083 Roper North Fork Road, Charles Town, W. Va. 25414 (ph 304 283-6799; rzigler01@gmail.com).
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