We make a do-it-yourself tedder rake for a mini tractor

Tool description

Swathing is one of the main stages of hay harvesting. Therefore, the demand for efficiently performing such an operation is a tedder rake is constantly growing. To date, several types and modifications of similar equipment for the tractor have been developed. The most demanded environments are rotary and wheeled mounted models.

Tractor rotary tedders are a wheel-finger structure based on thickened rotor tubes. On these horizontally rotating rotors, the hay-raking fingers are attached by means of multi-tine springs. This ensures uniform load on the device and good reproduction of the relief of the cultivated area.

The torque is transmitted to the rotors by means of cardan-type hinges like automobile bars, 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 the angle of attack. They do not have their own travel and are mounted on a wheeled tractor, working through the hydraulic system and the power take-off shaft.

The wheel rake is a tractor-mounted structure of floating type wheels fixed on the 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, this is the popular name given to these tractor tedders.

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 the rotation zones of each other. The floating suspension provides excellent shock absorption, so the tedder handles uneven terrain well, easily navigating irrigation canals and embankments. Its wheels are interchangeable and each of them is fixed on two bearings, which increases the service 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, the tractor is available with four or five wheels. The difference between them lies only in the working width, which determines the working speed and productivity of tedding and raking mowed vegetation into swaths on a field of the same size. Also, such rakes are often made by hand tedders. As a rule, these home-made devices are designed for a shed 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 rake tedders on a walk-behind tractor for tedding and harvesting mowed grass in the field

What are the advantages

Both the rotary and wheel rakes of the tractor tedders rake the cut vegetation into swaths, which makes it easier to bale the baler later on. With their help, the layers of hay are turned over, substituting for drying under the sun's rays and blowing with the wind the desired side of the swath, thereby accelerating the drying process of the mows. Tractor rotary models have good speed and are the optimal tool for working with sensitive crops (for example, alfalfa). Also, a tractor with this type of tedder can easily cope with wet or heavy hay.

Wheeled tractor rake tedders are characterized by the highest productivity and work well at higher speeds. Their effectiveness is maximal at a straight long distance, but deteriorates in the corner areas of the cultivated area. They are easily attached to the tractor without requiring a PTO connection for operation.

The fingers on the wheels of such a tedder not only turn over the mown vegetation, but beat it up, thereby increasing ventilation in the hay swaths. A tractor with a similar attachment processes the field with the least loss of mowed foliage when harvesting hay for forage crops. In addition, such a construction such as a sun for a small tractor or walk-behind tractor can be done by hand.

How to do it yourself

For a small tractor or walk-behind tractor, a mounted tedder rake with certain skills is not so difficult to make 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 by enthusiasts, a large number of video clips have been posted on the Internet, where it is shown step by step how the authors created their tractor rake tedders.

For a walk-behind tractor, self-made tedders like the sun 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 making a welded frame, on which brackets for attaching wheels are installed. You will also need 4 to 7 mm steel wire to make the springs that rake the mowed grass. They are replaceable and bolted to the discs. Impeller discs are made of 4 mm steel sheets.

Two bearings are used to mount each wheel. You can install hubs from the classic VAZ car model with tapered bearings. Such a unit will be sealed thanks to a metal cap on one side and a gland on the other. Such tractor rakes can be stored outdoors 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 mounted tractor rakes, tedders, when harvesting hay, are practically in no way inferior to industrial models, and sometimes even surpass them in terms of assembly quality and thoroughness of parts manufacturing.

Video "Operation of a tedder rake on a tractor"

Description of the use of the tedder rake in special positions for various tasks