[AT] Semi-O.T. One man baling?

[Ralph Goff]

Farmer, my hay baling is a one man operation but I don't think you'd be very
satisfied with it. Its a six bale automatic stacker that builds a triangular
shaped stack behind the baler. Trip rope unloads it when its full. In a
perfect world it would be just fine. However, this one likes to give the
tractor driver plenty of exercise jumping on and off to straighten a bale
that landed crooked and will ruin the whole stack. Good square, tight bales
do help but no guarantee either. Some days it just seems to work perfect,
others, I'm off and on the tractor at least once for every stack it feels
like. Its a no-name cheap piece of machinery and maybe the name brands work
better. I know Inland made one that looked like a good machine.
 Farmhand was always big in the hay handling market and made one of those
low flatbed 10 bale accumulators to hitch behind the baler too though I have
never seen one in use to know how well they work. I have an early 70s
vintage  brochure showing it behind a baler appearing to work just great.
Farmhand also made a front end loader attachment to pick up this
accumulation of bales.
Scanned images available if you are interested.

Ralph in Sask.
http://www3.sk.sympatico.ca/lgoff/latestpage.html

----- Original Message -----
From: Robinson <robinson at svs.net>
To: 'Antique tractor email discussion group' <at at lists.antique-tractor.com>
Sent: Wednesday, February 25, 2004 11:39 AM
Subject: [AT] Semi-O.T. One man baling?


> I'm switching another dab of acreage (about 10 more)
> over to hay this year and my biggest problem is and
> has been handling small square bales alone. There are
> a lot of devices made that will do the job but at a
> serious $$$$$ level. I MUST keep cost way down. I was
> just wondering if any of you has ran across anything
> recently "low cost" that will let one man bale alone.
> The closest thing I've seen so far is a large trailer
> type hauler with a pipe framework that the baler
> pushes the bale up a chute and drops them down from
> the top. You then pull it to the barn and back up to
> the elevator/conveyor and open the whole back. It
> didn't look too hard to build but lately I haven't
> even been able to find a picture of one. I think I
> first saw it at the state fair a few years ago.
> Most accumulators I have seen were just too $$$$ at
> least to start. I haven't even seen one of those side
> pick-up conveyors that you attach to a wagon or truck
> lately.
> Scott works too many hours in good weather to be
> reliably available. Diana keeps volunteering to ride
> wagon and stack bales but I won't let her. She also
> couldn't drive the baler.   :-)   Last year a neighbor
> (much younger) was running back and forth between the
> tractor and baler every few bales and stacking the
> wagon. Most of the time he has family to help. If my
> joints were not giving me so much trouble I would
> trade work with him but I'm afraid he would be getting
> a very short end of the stick.  :-)  We would also
> always be wanting to bale on the same sunny day.
> I plan to bale some small round bales with my best
> Allis Chalmers Roto-baler which won't be hurt by a
> quick rain. That market is limited though. I also plan
> to pick up a large round baler too but again that
> market is limited (and very competitive here). We do
> have a huge horse market for small square bales here.
> I'll have a total of about 16 - 17 acres of hay this
> year (maybe twice that next year) and that is more
> than I want to bale 3 cuttings off of all the hard
> way.
> Once at the barns I expect to be handling the small
> bales mostly on very large pallets with a fork lift.
> Pallets will be stacked on the ground and lifted to
> the loft where they will be positioned with one of
> those manual pallet dollies. We have been looking at
> hoop barns for a while now for more storage. It all
> becomes a lot simpler down on ground level.   :-)
> I have been thinking of trying at least for this year
> of using the old sweep rake I bought a few years ago.
> I made brackets to mount it on the tractor loader and
> that worked decent for loose hay. If I made it an all
> new set of teeth of straight oak it should sweep up
> about 20 bales a trip.
> I have also thought of making a large very low
> platform sled to load bales on with out the lifting to
> the height of a wagon. Would be a temporary solution.
> I even thought of making such a thing with a row of
> very small wheels down each side to keep it very low
> and still not tear up the ground like a sled.
> I keep leaning toward the pick-up conveyor that bolts
> onto a wagon or truck (Diana could drive that) but I
> am trying to look at the problem from all possible
> directions. Later I might pick up a good baler with a
> kicker on it but that is out of the question at the
> moment.
>
> Just fishing for ideas. I know that some of you make
> hay.
>
>
>
>
> "farmer"
>
> My most recent list
> mailto:budget_muzzleloading-subscribe at yahoogroups.com
>
> Francis Robinson
> Central Indiana, USA
> robinson at svs.net
>
>
>
>
>
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