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Big Bale Feeder Fits Any Front-End Loader
"It's the best bale handler ever built," says the inventor of the "Claw", a round bale feeder that attaches to front-end loaders, picking up and feeding out bales of any size and shape.
Tod Townsend, White Sulphur Springs, Mont., says the Claw works like a grapple fork, pivoting perpendicular to the ground to gr
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Big Bale Feeder Fits any Front-End Loader HAY & FORAGE HARVESTING Bale Handling (5) 9-1-27 "It's the best bale handler ever built," says the inventor of the "Claw", a round bale feeder that attaches to front-end loaders, picking up and feeding out bales of any size and shape.
Tod Townsend, White Sulphur Springs, Mont., says the Claw works like a grapple fork, pivoting perpendicular to the ground to grab onto bales or picking them off trailers. To feed out you simply activate the feeding mechanism.
"The bale rests on four rollers driven by a hydraulic motor. Three of these rollers turn at slow speed, causing the bale to rotate while the fourth roller, fitted with sharp sickle section knives, turns at a faster speed that strips hay from the bale. Unlike bale feeders that support bales from the center, it will support a bale if it falls apart because it's supported from underneath. You control which direction the bale rotates from the tractor seat and you can unroll hay as thick or as thin as you like," says Townsend.
When you're not feeding bales, you can simply use the Claw as a bale handler to bring bales in from the field. One advantage of its design, according to Townsend, is that it doesn't tie up the rear of the tractor so you can pull a wagon with it for transporting bales. Attaching the Claw is no different than hooking up a front loader bucket. It's designed for a tractor hydraulic system with a 20 gpm, 2,500 psi capacity.
The Claw is fitted with two hydraulic motors. One is a high torque, low speed motor that drives three of the rollers and the other is a high speed motor for the 4th roller which peels off the hay. Speed can be modulated on both rollers to control amount of feeding. Unit will handle either soft or hard core bales.
The Claw sells for $3,900. "If you already own a bale trailer, it'll give you a multiple bale handling and feeding system for a fraction of the cost of other systems on the market,' points out Townsend.
For more information, contact: FARM SHOW Followup, TAC Enterprises, Box 179, White Sulphur Springs, Mont. 59645 (ph 406 547-2121).
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