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Gone are the days when hay was turned and harvested with a hand rake. Today, this is successfully, quickly and effortlessly handled by mounted tedder rakes, designed specifically for tedding mowed vegetation and raking it into windrows. Depending on the model, this equipment is intended for a tractor, mini tractor or walk-behind tractor.
Description of the tool
Swathing is one of the main stages of hay harvesting. Therefore, the demand for tedder rakes that efficiently carry out such an operation is constantly growing. To date, several types and modifications of such equipment for the tractor have been developed. The most demanded environments are rotary and wheel mounted models.
Tractor rotary tedders are a wheel-and-pin design based on thickened rotor tubes. On these horizontally rotating rotors, the hay-raking fingers are fixed by means of springs with several teeth. This ensures uniformity of the load on the device and good reproduction of the relief of the cultivated area.
The torque is transmitted to the rotors by means of a cardan-type hinge, similar to automobile shafts, which ensures the equality of angular velocities. The drive is smooth and has protection against spontaneous start during transportation. Tractor tedders of this type have the ability to adjust the tedding height and angle of attack. They do not have their own stroke and are hung on a wheeled tractor, working through the hydraulic system and the power take-off shaft.
A wheel rake is a tractor-mounted structure of floating-type wheels mounted on a console. They are equipped with bent wire fingers-springs for tedding hay. Since outwardly such a device resembles a sun drawn by a child’s hand, these tractor tedders received this popular name.
The efficiency of their work is increased due to the fact that the wheels are located at an angle relative to the direction of movement of the tractor and somewhat overlap each other’s rotation zones. The floating suspension provides excellent shock absorption, so the tedder copes well with uneven terrain, easily overcoming irrigation channels and embankments. Its wheels are interchangeable and each of them is mounted on two bearings, which increases the life of the device and facilitates repairs. The rotation of the wheels is independent and is carried out by means of a cardan, chain or belt drive. Therefore, such a tedder rake can be used as attachments for a tractor, mini tractor or walk-behind tractor.
Depending on the model, tractors are available with four and five wheels. The difference between them lies only in the working width, which determines the speed and productivity of tedding and raking mowed vegetation into windrows in a field of the same size. Also, such rakes are often made with their own hands. As a rule, these home-made devices are designed for hanging on a small tractor or walk-behind tractor used on the farm.
Video “Homemade rake on a walk-behind tractor”
The process of using homemade tedder rakes on a walk-behind tractor for tedding and harvesting mowed grass on the field
What are the advantages?
Both the rotary and wheel rakes of the tractor tedder rake the mowed vegetation into swaths, making it easier for the baler to bale later. With their help, layers of hay are turned over, substituting for drying under the sun’s rays and blowing the wind on the right side of the roll, and thereby speeding up the drying process of the mowing. Tractor rotary models have good speed and are the best tool for working with crops that require careful handling (for example, alfalfa). Also, a tractor with this type of tedder will easily cope with wet or heavy hay.
Wheel tractor tedder rakes are characterized by the highest productivity and work well at high speeds. Their effectiveness is maximum at a straight long distance, but worsens in the corners of the cultivated area. They are easily attached to the tractor without the need to connect the power take-off shaft for operation.
The fingers on the wheels of such a tedder not only turn over the mowed vegetation, but fluff it up, thereby increasing ventilation in the hay swaths. A tractor with a similar attachment handles the field with the least loss of mowed foliage when harvesting forage hay. In addition, such a sun-type design for a small tractor or walk-behind tractor can be made with your own hands.
How to make yourself
For a small tractor or walk-behind tractor, it is not so difficult to make a mounted tedder rake with certain skills on your own. On the Internet, you can freely download detailed drawings that allow you to choose for implementation a frame option with two or one section and the optimal number of wheels. For those who want to make such a device with their own hands, enthusiasts have posted a large number of video clips on the Internet, which show step by step how the authors created their tractor tedder rakes.
For a walk-behind tractor, home-made sun-type tedders have no more than three wheels, and those intended for hanging on a small tractor may well be five-wheeled. To create a tedder with your own hands, you will need a metal pipe for the manufacture of a welded frame on which the brackets for attaching the wheels are installed. You will also need steel 4 – 7 mm wire for the manufacture of springs raking mowed grass. They are replaceable and are attached to the discs with bolts. Impeller disks are made of steel sheets 4 mm thick.
To install each wheel, two bearings placed in the hubs are used. You can install hubs from the classic VAZ car model with tapered bearings. Such a unit will be airtight thanks to a metal cap on one side and an oil seal on the other. Such a tractor rake can be stored outside without fear that the bearings will rust.
You will also need to make a special hitch in order to hang such home-made devices on a tractor or walk-behind tractor. Its design is created according to the selected drawings and includes an adjustment mechanism using powerful steel springs. Such home-made tractor-mounted tedder rakes when harvesting hay are practically in no way inferior to industrial models, and sometimes even surpass them in build quality and meticulous manufacturing of parts.
Video “Operation of a tedder rake on a tractor”
Description of the use of tedder rakes in special positions for various tasks
