3-Pt. Fence Unroller Built From Junk Parts
Jonathan Childers’s home-built fence unroller makes it easy for him to unroll a roll of woven wire fence for attachment to posts. He used the rake wheel off an old hay rake and a cone-type fertilizer spreader to build it.
“I came up with the idea when my grandpa and I were manually replacing an old fence with new woven wire. We had to lift all the fence rolls upright and then unroll them by hand. After about six rolls we decided there had to be a better way,” says Childers. “Now we can just tie one end of the roll to a tree or post and start driving. There are no hydraulics or mechanical devices. In fact, we didn’t buy anything to build it.”
He removed the cone from the spreader and kept the frame, then welded 2 metal plates on the top and bottom of the frame to make a multi-positional base. He cut a hole in the center of each plate and inserted the rake wheel’s arm horizontally, leaving the bearing inside the wheel intact. He then replaced the wheel with a 16-in. sq. plywood platform. A 2-in. metal coupling is welded on over the bearing and extends up through the platform, where it supports a vertical 2-in. dia. threaded pipe. The top end of the pipe is braced by a horizontal metal rod that bolts onto the tractor rollbar.
To operate the unroller, Childers attaches one end of the wire to a tree or post and then slowly drives forward. “We can pull the fence tight by wrapping a chain around middle of the roll and then slowly driving forward. It unrolls perfectly,” says Childers. “Once the roll is empty we remove the pipe and brace rod, then set another roll on the platform and reinstall them. We can rotate the unroller to the opposite side of the tractor by removing a single bolt from the multi-positional base.”
Contact: FARM SHOW Followup, Jonathan Childers, Salt Rock, W. Va. 25559.
3-Pt Fence Unroller Built From Junk Parts Jonathan Childers’s home-built fence unroller makes it easy for him to unroll a roll of woven wire fence for attachment to posts He used the rake wheel off an old hay rake and a cone-type fertilizer spreader to build it “I came up with the idea when my grandpa and I were manually replacing an old fence with new woven wire We had to lift all the fence rolls upright and then unroll them by hand After about six rolls we decided there had to be a better way ” says Childers “Now we can just tie one end of the roll to a tree or post and start driving There are no hydraulics or mechanical devices In fact we didn’t buy anything to build it ” He removed the cone from the spreader and kept the frame then welded 2 metal plates on the top and bottom of the frame to make a multi-positional base He cut a hole in the center of each plate and inserted the rake wheel’s arm horizontally leaving the bearing inside the wheel intact He then replaced the wheel with a 16-in sq plywood platform A 2-in metal coupling is welded on over the bearing and extends up through the platform where it supports a vertical 2-in dia threaded pipe The top end of the pipe is braced by a horizontal metal rod that bolts onto the tractor rollbar To operate the unroller Childers attaches one end of the wire to a tree or post and then slowly drives forward “We can pull the fence tight by wrapping a chain around middle of the roll and then slowly driving forward It unrolls perfectly ” says Childers “Once the roll is empty we remove the pipe and brace rod then set another roll on the platform and reinstall them We can rotate the unroller to the opposite side of the tractor by removing a single bolt from the multi-positional base ” Contact: FARM SHOW Followup Jonathan Childers Salt Rock W Va 25559
