Pine straw baler

[jekjr]

I am gathering materials to build another pine straw baler. I am going to build it horizontal rather than vertical. I am going to put an air cylinder on it to compact with rather than using a lever and manpower.

 

[lawn mower fanatic]

I am gathering materials to build another pine straw baler. I am going to build it horizontal rather than vertical. I am going to put an air cylinder on it to compact with rather than using a lever and manpower.

Would like to see pics of your progress!

 

[DaveTN]

Are you bailing up pine needles and wrapping them in a bale? How do you separate the pine cones and sticks out of the needles? Sounds like an interesting machine you're re-designing! Keep us informed. That might also work with a modification to it to bale up lawn grass but unless you had animals to feed it to, it wouldn't sell like the pine needles.

 

[jekjr]

Are you bailing up pine needles and wrapping them in a bale? How do you separate the pine cones and sticks out of the needles? Sounds like an interesting machine you're re-designing! Keep us informed. That might also work with a modification to it to bale up lawn grass but unless you had animals to feed it to, it wouldn't sell like the pine needles.

Much of the straw we find is fairly clean. When feeding it into the baker we separate what is there. Course some goes in and is baled up with the straw.

 

[jekjr]

It is pictured on here in other places, but here is the baler I have been using. It is a vertical baler. It will only bale 6 to8 bales per hour. That includes me raking the straw with the tractor and rake pictured.

 

[jekjr]

Ordered cylinder, valve, and brackets today. Then started construction on main compactor. This one is going to make a bale 10 1/2" by 12" and 24" long. I can't wait for my cylinder to come.

 

[reynoldston]

So this is what you need the air cylinder for. What supply's the air?

 

[jekjr]

So this is what you need the air cylinder for. What supply's the air?

I am going to sit an air compressor on the trailer with it. I will power it with my deep cycle battery and a 1500 watt power inverter if it will run it. If it won't last long enough I will get a small generator to run it.

I have run an electric chainsaw with the inverter for a pretty good while as well as other power tools. If need be I can also charge the battery with the truck while I am raking straw if need be.

 

[jekjr]

Here we are started on the bale chamber. LOL It will be considerably shorter after completion. Just screwed it together that long to get some referance points.

 

[jekjr]

Got plunger installed, cylinder installed, all air lines installed. Hooked up to air and everything seems to cycle properly. Got a threader needle made and got the bale stop made. Hope to get it mounted on wheels of some sort tomorrow and mount string box on on it and figure out how to attach the air compressor and then going to try power inverter and deep cycle battery to see how many bales I can bale before the battery voltage gets too low to run air compressor on power inverter. Will post more pictures soon if anybody is interested.