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Build a Pine Straw Rake

#1

jekjr

jekjr

Since my Pine Straw Baler turned out so good I think I am going to build a rake as well to tow behind my Craftsman Tractor.

I had a friend tell me where I can get two acres of Long Leaf Pine Straw to rake and bale.


#2

lawn mower fanatic

lawn mower fanatic

jekjr said:
Since my Pine Straw Baler turned out so good I think I am going to build a rake as well to tow behind my Craftsman Tractor.

I had a friend tell me where I can get two acres of Long Leaf Pine Straw to rake and bale.
Click to expand...

Nice! Let us know how the build goes! :smile:


#3

S

SeniorCitizen

Build it as a dozer, so you can see what's happening, and push into large wind rows . When you back up it should pivot forward and tines clean themselves when dragged backwards.


#4

jekjr

jekjr

SandburRanch said:
Build it as a dozer, so you can see what's happening, and push into large wind rows . When you back up it should pivot forward and tines clean themselves when dragged backwards.
Click to expand...

Interesting I had not thought about that. I was planning to build a tow behind 48" wide to pull behind my 16hp Craftsman tractor mower.


#5

lawn mower fanatic

lawn mower fanatic

jekjr said:
Interesting I had not thought about that. I was planning to build a tow behind 48" wide to pull behind my 16hp Craftsman tractor mower.
Click to expand...

Yeah, but Sandbur Ranch has a good idea! I would have never thought about putting it in the front! :thumbsup:


#6

jekjr

jekjr

lawn mower fanatic said:
Yeah, but Sandbur Ranch has a good idea! I would have never thought about putting it in the front! :thumbsup:
Click to expand...

I already have the materials to do a pull behind and not a front end one but I will file that one in the back of my mind and if we continue to deal with a lot of straw I will figure out how to build one of those. I bet it would be much better than a pull behind.....


#7

lawn mower fanatic

lawn mower fanatic

jekjr said:
I already have the materials to do a pull behind and not a front end one but I will file that one in the back of my mind and if we continue to deal with a lot of straw I will figure out how to build one of those. I bet it would be much better than a pull behind.....
Click to expand...

Yeah, but I'm sure there are positives and negatives to both ways. Let us know how the build goes! :smile:


#8

jekjr

jekjr

lawn mower fanatic said:
Yeah, but I'm sure there are positives and negatives to both ways. Let us know how the build goes! :smile:
Click to expand...

I got a lot accomplished today. Got a couple of bugs to work out and it will be ready to rake straw. Got a set of rear wheels off of a John Deere Tractor type mower on it. Will post pictures when I finish.


#9

lawn mower fanatic

lawn mower fanatic

jekjr said:
I got a lot accomplished today. Got a couple of bugs to work out and it will be ready to rake straw. Got a set of rear wheels off of a John Deere Tractor type mower on it. Will post pictures when I finish.
Click to expand...

Nice! Can't wait to see it! :thumbsup::thumbsup:


#10

jekjr

jekjr

lawn mower fanatic said:
Nice! Can't wait to see it! :thumbsup::thumbsup:
Click to expand...

Here is the rake at work. It rakes straw pretty clean if the ground is relatively smooth.

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#11

lawn mower fanatic

lawn mower fanatic

jekjr said:
Here is the rake at work. It rakes straw pretty clean if the ground is relatively smooth.
Click to expand...
I like the nice and big tires on the rake! :thumbsup:


#12

jekjr

jekjr

lawn mower fanatic said:
I like the nice and big tires on the rake! :thumbsup:
Click to expand...

A neighbor that works on mowers gave me that set of tires. They came off of the back of a John Deere mower or some kind that he junked out. The smaller ones that are on my baler were on the front of a Craftsman mower also.


#13

lawn mower fanatic

lawn mower fanatic

jekjr said:
A neighbor that works on mowers gave me that set of tires. They came off of the back of a John Deere mower or some kind that he junked out. The smaller ones that are on my baler were on the front of a Craftsman mower also.
Click to expand...

Cool! :cool:


#14

D

DRH

so glad I found your post about the rake. it is the first and only one I have found that might help me out.
I've an acre and a half of low land I keep mowed regularly, marsh grass actually. looks good when cleaned up. but this time of year it is still too damp down there to work easily. after 2 cuttings I need to rake up or lawn vac the area, the clippings get too thick to mow again. I use the wheel rake, aka estate rake, ( the vee shaped one) which windrows the clippings very nicely, when it is too thick I need to remove a center wheel to allow the windrow to pass through rather than plugging the rake.
my big problem is that I need to gather the windrows into small piles with a hand rake , then drive around with a trailer and fork the piles onto the trailer to haul away. I am quite tired of handraking 1+ acre into 70 piles to fork up.
I have no 3 point hookup so have been searching for a trailer rake that will gather up the windrows into piles and work similar to an old fashioned dump rake.
yours seems to fit the bill quite nicely. I usually gather up about a 20 foot length of windrow from both directions into a pile.
later in the year when it is much drier down there I can simply mow one day, and the following day do it again with the lawn vac and dump all of it at a convenient place. ( the lawn vac doesn't pick up windrows too well, it dozes the clippings ahead of the mower deck. works just fine on the broadcast clippings)
then I use the pine straw baler that I built and bale up the clippings into tidy bales, easy to handle then.
my next question for you is, does your rake have teeth on the lower edge? how long, how many, what spacing? does the unit need to be locked up vertical to prevent it from dumping when you don't intend to just yet?
Denny
DRH


#15

jekjr

jekjr

DRH said:
so glad I found your post about the rake. it is the first and only one I have found that might help me out.
I've an acre and a half of low land I keep mowed regularly, marsh grass actually. looks good when cleaned up. but this time of year it is still too damp down there to work easily. after 2 cuttings I need to rake up or lawn vac the area, the clippings get too thick to mow again. I use the wheel rake, aka estate rake, ( the vee shaped one) which windrows the clippings very nicely, when it is too thick I need to remove a center wheel to allow the windrow to pass through rather than plugging the rake.
my big problem is that I need to gather the windrows into small piles with a hand rake , then drive around with a trailer and fork the piles onto the trailer to haul away. I am quite tired of handraking 1+ acre into 70 piles to fork up.
I have no 3 point hookup so have been searching for a trailer rake that will gather up the windrows into piles and work similar to an old fashioned dump rake.
yours seems to fit the bill quite nicely. I usually gather up about a 20 foot length of windrow from both directions into a pile.
later in the year when it is much drier down there I can simply mow one day, and the following day do it again with the lawn vac and dump all of it at a convenient place. ( the lawn vac doesn't pick up windrows too well, it dozes the clippings ahead of the mower deck. works just fine on the broadcast clippings)
then I use the pine straw baler that I built and bale up the clippings into tidy bales, easy to handle then.
my next question for you is, does your rake have teeth on the lower edge? how long, how many, what spacing? does the unit need to be locked up vertical to prevent it from dumping when you don't intend to just yet?
Denny
DRH
Click to expand...

The rake has teeth on it that I bought at Tractor Supply. I put them on a piece of oak board that I then bolted to a wider pine board. All are 2 by. Since this thread I have experimented more with this and actually took the rake off of the trailer and build a different mount system and now mount it on the front of my craftsman lawn tractor and push it like a blade. I built a simple pulley rope system on it to raise and lower it as needed. I got it built and actually used it one time and then we started cutting grass and I have to used it anymore.

There is also a company in Ga. That makes a small dump rake that can be towed behind a lawn tractor as well that is probably as good as mine if not better.

Message me and we can establish contact and I will be more than glad to do anything I can to assist you.


#16

jekjr

jekjr

DRH said:
so glad I found your post about the rake. it is the first and only one I have found that might help me out.
I've an acre and a half of low land I keep mowed regularly, marsh grass actually. looks good when cleaned up. but this time of year it is still too damp down there to work easily. after 2 cuttings I need to rake up or lawn vac the area, the clippings get too thick to mow again. I use the wheel rake, aka estate rake, ( the vee shaped one) which windrows the clippings very nicely, when it is too thick I need to remove a center wheel to allow the windrow to pass through rather than plugging the rake.
my big problem is that I need to gather the windrows into small piles with a hand rake , then drive around with a trailer and fork the piles onto the trailer to haul away. I am quite tired of handraking 1+ acre into 70 piles to fork up.
I have no 3 point hookup so have been searching for a trailer rake that will gather up the windrows into piles and work similar to an old fashioned dump rake.
yours seems to fit the bill quite nicely. I usually gather up about a 20 foot length of windrow from both directions into a pile.
later in the year when it is much drier down there I can simply mow one day, and the following day do it again with the lawn vac and dump all of it at a convenient place. ( the lawn vac doesn't pick up windrows too well, it dozes the clippings ahead of the mower deck. works just fine on the broadcast clippings)
then I use the pine straw baler that I built and bale up the clippings into tidy bales, easy to handle then.
my next question for you is, does your rake have teeth on the lower edge? how long, how many, what spacing? does the unit need to be locked up vertical to prevent it from dumping when you don't intend to just yet?
Denny
DRH
Click to expand...

It is actually 50" wide and the teeth are on 2" spacing a. Slightly further apart might be as we better for your application. Te teeth are the universal ones at tractor supply. They are seated in rubber like for a mechanical rake.

http://www.tractorsupply.com/en/store/rubber-rake-teeth-for-1-5-8-bar


#17

K

kobeneko

HAS THIS RAKE HELD UP. ANY WAY TO GET MORE PICS OF HOW YOU BUILT IT, TINE SET UP, AXEL SET UP ETC... WOULD LIKE TO BUILD ONE MY SELF.

THANKS,
JR


#18

M

motoman

I put wheels on a big Craftsman rake to try to remove weed roots in my front 1/3 acre. Pulling without wheels with my DYT 4000 would be suicide as the rake without wheels is too much a load. I really need a true garden tractor so a hitch can be used. The wheeled rake worked but loaded up too much and reqired manual cleaning after a short run. I have been using a small Brinly "rake,"the one with the spring fingers. I put a two position hitch mod on so the height can be adjusted. It works, but primitive. Again loading up a problem, but the Brinly is light enough to clean easily. This setup works best to clear downed fir branches on the blacktop road. I lower it and raise it for transport on the hitch mod.

PS Perhaps of interest the big rake has ?24 spring steel curved teeth. I also tried thinning the "smile" by removing half the teeth to reduce loading. Did not help.


#19

jekjr

jekjr

kobeneko said:
HAS THIS RAKE HELD UP. ANY WAY TO GET MORE PICS OF HOW YOU BUILT IT, TINE SET UP, AXEL SET UP ETC... WOULD LIKE TO BUILD ONE MY SELF. THANKS, JR
Click to expand...
Sorry I just saw your post. I don't come here as Soren as I once did. I finally had to mount the rake on the front of the tractor to get it to work good.
Here is a short video of it. I don't have any videos of it working. It works great though. I need a little better tractor to put it on. One with hydra-static drive would be great.

http://youtu.be/cv2-CG_U3vA

Here is a link to a short video of my baler a good while ago as well. It works great. i only got time to bale about 100 bales with it this year but had NO problems with it.

http://youtu.be/srA2OWBhWoA


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