Brush Rake Moves Big Branch Piles
Norman Bennett says his 1951 Oliver OC-3 dozer has been a workhorse for many years, but moving downed tree branches with the blade is sometimes difficult. He solved the problem by building a sturdy metal brush rake that mounts to his dozer when the blade is removed.
“I picked up some old 3/4-in. thick metal cutting edges for free that the highway department discarded,” Bennett says, “then I cut two of them for horizontal pieces and five of them for uprights.” He spaced the 7-ft. long notched bars horizontally about 12 in. apart and held them in place by welding the vertical uprights into notches on both bars.
The horizontal bars mount to brackets on the front of his OC-3 that hold the dozer blade. Two 1-in. draw pins hold the rake securely in place. He mounted a pickup tailgate protector on the backside of the three center uprights to keep brush away from the grill and radiator. The black poly protector fits snugly against 1-in. bars welded to the three uprights.
To prevent brush from sliding over the top of the rake, he welded 10-in.long pieces of rebar to the top of each vertical bar. The bottom of those bars extends about 8 in. below the horizontal bar of his rake to grab brush that’s piled tight to the ground. Each vertical bar has a point at its base to lift branches as he raises the rake.
Bennett says the rake, just like his 72-year-old OC-3, is as dependable as the day is long. “The rake picks up and piles branches much better than the blade. Better yet, in 5 min. I can switch back to the dozer blade if I need it.”
Contact: FARM SHOW Followup, Norman Bennett (bigtrukr@icloud.com).
Click here to download page story appeared in.
Click here to read entire issue
Brush Rake Moves Big Branch Piles AUGERS Norman Bennett says his 1951 Oliver OC-3 dozer has been a workhorse for many years but moving downed tree branches with the blade is sometimes difficult He solved the problem by building a sturdy metal brush rake that mounts to his dozer when the blade is removed “I picked up some old 3/4-in thick metal cutting edges for free that the highway department discarded ” Bennett says “then I cut two of them for horizontal pieces and five of them for uprights ” He spaced the 7-ft long notched bars horizontally about 12 in apart and held them in place by welding the vertical uprights into notches on both bars The horizontal bars mount to brackets on the front of his OC-3 that hold the dozer blade Two 1-in draw pins hold the rake securely in place He mounted a pickup tailgate protector on the backside of the three center uprights to keep brush away from the grill and radiator The black poly protector fits snugly against 1-in bars welded to the three uprights To prevent brush from sliding over the top of the rake he welded 10-in long pieces of rebar to the top of each vertical bar The bottom of those bars extends about 8 in below the horizontal bar of his rake to grab brush that’s piled tight to the ground Each vertical bar has a point at its base to lift branches as he raises the rake Bennett says the rake just like his 72-year-old OC-3 is as dependable as the day is long “The rake picks up and piles branches much better than the blade Better yet in 5 min I can switch back to the dozer blade if I need it ” Contact: FARM SHOW Followup Norman Bennett bigtrukr@icloud com
To read the rest of this story, download this issue below or click
here to register with your account number.
