Implements

Here is one of the most used implements - the six foot hog. This machine is the prime weapon in the war against the Warthog bush - the most evil bush in the land. The Warthog has hundreds of pointy branches to poke eyes, ears, arms and legs. They grow in any fenceline and around any tree. They grow 3' to 4' per year.

This combination of the 50hp of diesel torque plus six feet of 4 inch by 1/2 inch steel makes dust of the warthogs as well as anything else that gets in the way.

A combination of handy tools. From left, the "boat,", the roller, and the landscape rake. The boat is a platform that goes on the hitch and carries stuff. Some folks call it a carry-all or lift. I've carried a bunch of stuff on it - mostly heavy stuff like logs and rocks. Grills, kids, and ladies in wheelchairs have also ridden.

Next to it is the roller. My dad had it when I was a little kid. Its a big round rock with a cast metal frame. Its pretty scary pulling up a hill hoping the ancient rusted metal doesn't break, allowing the 1500lb round rock to roll into oncoming cars.

Finally is the landscape rake. Since getting this, our driveway has been perfect. This thing is very forgiving when raking gravel or dirt. It lets most of it through and deposits stuff evenly. Of all the implements, this one is probably the most useful.

A great deal here - this is a three bottom John Deere 14" plow. Its a Category 2 hitch. It started as a four bottom, but that was more than the 50 horses of the 574 could pull at working depth. I picked it up real cheap because one of the bottom arms was bent. Since I only wanted three, I took off the fourth bottom and replaced the bad one with the one I took off. Put all new shares on it at $7 each. I have yet to remount the tailwheel though I think it would help. When plowing, the draft control on the tractor keeps the plow at the right depth. Pretty cool the engineering on these machines. I just wish I had more to plow.

The Disc Harrow. An International model painted blue to match the Ford tractor to which it belonged. This machine is great for cutting the sod busted by the plow - for smoothing out the dirt prior to seeding - for cutting lines in the soil for reseeding grass. Its got some cranks on it for adjusting the angles. 16" disks with notched up front and round in back.

Here's the bargain hay wagon. Its holding fence posts waiting to be cut to length. Note the fine rubber on the undercarriage. Those tires got pretty flat when I loaded the wagon with a couple of tons of dirt. I had to drag the thing to the barn with the compressor. It has a plywood bed instead of plank.

Another assortment of implements. In the foreground is the crane boom. This picks up heavy things. I used it to lift the engine up in the pickup when I was trying to remove the oil pan. Its pretty handy. Its also great for unloading heavy stuff from the pickup and moving them around like the yard tub and railroad ties.

In the background are the posthole digger components. The red thing is the boom and yoke. It holds the auger and gear box sitting on the pallet. Its great for setting posts and digging footers for pole barns.

You may also note the fencing wire. Its pretty heavy so the crane boom is handy for moving it about. The astute eye will catch the cheap, preformed electric fence posts with the weenie little 6 inch metal rods that stick into the ground (the yellow things). These are used for temporary electric fence to keep the hound dogs from getting to the pretty flowers and such.

Another yellow implement - its a scoop. It was supposed to take the place of an expensive front end loader. It disappointed me. If all I had to do was move a 36" wide by 5000' strip of dirt no more than 8" tall, it would be great. Unfortnately, I don't. If you do, drop me a line and we'll work out a deal.

The Finish Mower (made in USA, not Finland - Ha, Ha, Ha, Hee). Its a seven footer and discharges in the rear. Works nicely. Main drive is by a gearbox driven vs. belt. The gearbox then drives horizontal belts going to three spindles which turn blades which cut grass. It is well built, durable, and easy to use (note the height adjustable wheels).

This one is not mine. I only need it once a year (or exactly once so far). Its a Core Aerator. Those little pins dig little half-inch holes in the ground so air and minerals and seeds and anything else less than 1/4 inch. I hope this will help the grass grow a little better. I also hope I can get it from the rental place next year for the same price I got it this year - $40 bucks for a weekend.

These are Pallet Forks for Pallets. The black forks go on the EF-3 with a few simple turns of some levers. These are fantastic for moving the pallets of stone, bags of sand (in the white bags), and giant loads of timbers. These things are huge backsavers.

The Landscape Rake above, modified by the author. I use this all the time. But its hard to be efficient if I have to get off the machine every time I want to change the angle (about five times per driveway fix). So I made the little tabs and welded them on the rake at engineered locations. This gives full swing in one direction and about half swing in the other (though I don't use the other too often). Note once again, my favorite, flat blade spade.

Implement Communications