[AT] OT - using pitchfork

[Al Walker]

DAVIESW739 at aol.com wrote:

>Just take a soft hammer and tap gently on the top of the forks they will  
>slide right out of the handle then tap it back into the new handle. Boy I  
>thought you guys were old farm hands, you must have not ever broke a  pitchfork 
>handle.
> 
>I like the older handles if you can get one they are smaller in diameter  and 
>a lot easier to use.  Those new ones are made for big Apes. 
>
>  
>

Easy now, Walt !!!   I resemble that remark.   Being a "big ape", I like 
the larger diameter handles because it gives me more leverage to handle 
the twisting torque of a load that is not perfectly balanced.  The hay 
for the dairy cows went into the barn in bales, but the leftovers were 
hauled out loose for the youngstock to pick over and/or use for bedding 
outside. For that job, I used a 5 tine fork that was 14 inches wide with 
16 inch long tines. Like Ralph's dad, I used that fork to load straw 
bales, too, as I had excellant upper body strength in those days.  As I 
remember it, fork handles were available in 48", 54", and 60" versions. 
We used the 60" handles on the 3 tine "hay" forks with the roto-baler. 
If I remember correctly, there were brackets to carry that fork right on 
the baler.

Al in NW MN