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  • From: Rob <becida AT comcast.net>
  • To: homestead AT lists.ibiblio.org
  • Subject: [Homestead] Tvo post -Successful Farming excerpts from 1998
  • Date: Fri, 14 Oct 2005 19:50:05 -0700

Date: Sun, 15 Aug 1999 14:13:47 -0400
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Subject: Successful Farming excerpts from 1998
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All Around the Farm book for sale

Solve more problems with nearly 500 ingenious farmer ideas for home and garden, repair and maintenance, livestock, tools, fences and gates, buildings and machinery. This 80-page book also gives a reference guide packed with tables and standards. The cost is only $7. Send you order to: Successful Farming 1716 Locust Street/LS416 Des Moines, IA 50309-3023

This adjustable boom fits on the back of my three-point hitch and we use it to trim trees or pick apples. I welded pieces of angle iron to a 12-foot pole, forming a bail to which I bolted a plastic barrel.

Another piece of angle iron welded to the pole makes a stabilizer bar at the bottom of the barrel. With an experienced driver, I can stand in the barrel and be lifted to just the right height.­E.M., Missouri. [Image]


An angle iron welded to form a V-shaped bracket with two 45-degree angles makes the perfect welding jig for drilling holes in round stock for cotter keys or shaft bolts.

This one can be bolted to the drill press platform to add stability and allow perfectly centered holes every time. It also assures the jig will not turn during drilling.­B.S., Missouri. [Image] During calving season I use a miner’s hat with a light on it instead of carrying a flashlight. This frees up my hands to carry a newborn calf to the barn if necessary.­J.P., Iowa.


I made a base for each of our car ramps out of 1/2-inch plywood.

The plywood is longer than the ramp, which allows the vehicl e to drive onto the plywood at the rear of the ramp before it gets to the ramp.

A 2"x4" fastened across the plywood at the rear of the ramp keeps the vehicle from pushing the ramp ahead instead of climbing onto it. The plywood also helps protect the shop floor.­H.H., Missouri. We made this drill stop by cutting a short length of vacuum hose of the correct dimension and slipping it over the drill. We leave the bit sticking out equal to the depth of the hol e we want. The rubber does not scratch the work surface.­T.B., Oklahoma. [Image]

This heavy-duty hinge has stood the test of time for over 20 years. My garage doors ar e 10 feet wide and 16 feet tall and surrounded with 3-inch pipe. I made the hinge from 180 roller chain. One side of th e link was welded to an angle iron and bolted to the building with bolts 6 inches apart. The other side was welded to th e edge of the door. There are two hinges on the door.­H.B., Nebraska. [Image]

Removing bushings or a tapered bearing cup from the housing, when you can’t get at it to drive it out, is often a problem. We found that by welding a bead all the way around the insid e face of the bushing we could more easily remove it. Th e welding process causes the bearing cup or bushing to loosen and it can be removed more easily. ­D.B., South Dakota.


These wood-post insulators ar e actually more durable than many commercially availabl e styles. We made them from polyethylene tubing. PVC pipe is OK, too. Usually inch pipe works best. Cut them off diagonally at 45&int; angles about 3 or 4 inches long. Cut a groove just deep enough for the fence wire and pin to fit snugly. Use heavy wire or nails to make the pin. Works well on corner and end posts.­G.B., Tennessee.

[Image]


We no longer worry about pulling wagons or equipment after dark. We made this device, which plugs into a cigarette lighter and is equipped with a 12-volt flasher fuse. We used an old extension cord and attached the lights to a spring clamp so they could be mounted on the rear of the trailing vehicle.­J.J., Michigan. [Successful Farming, AATF, 1998]


A respirator lfor a newborn calf is easy to make. Cut the bottom out of a liter plastic soda bottle. Place the bottle over the calf’s nose and blow in the end. I replace the cap on the bottle to keep the end clean when not in use. Cheap, but effective for emergencies in the calving barn.­­­J.C., Wyoming. (Photo 3K.) [Successful Farming, AATF, 1998]

These ice-gripping boots really work for choring after a big ice storm. I made the cleats from mower sickle sections. I heated the corners with a torch to bend them down, then took a pair of rubber boots and removed the liner. I used carriage bolts through the two existing section holes to fasten them to the soles of the boots. Just don’t wear them on any surface that can be damaged by the sharp points.­S.C., Missouri. (Photo 5K.)

[Successful Farming, AATF, 1998]



Plastic buckets on our farm were always sticking together when empty and stacked inside each other. To eliminate the frustration of tugging and pulling to separate them, we took soap and rubbed down the outer surface of each of the buckets. Now they seem to slide easily apart.­.S., Ohio. control of the 16x16-foot doors­­O.B., Illinois.(Photo 6K.)

I built this catch pole to catch, tag or doctor small calves when they’re a little too frisky to run down on foot or from my ATV. I started with a piece of PVC pipe 10 feet long. I added a 25-foot section of 5¦16-inch rope with a loop in it, which I tied back to the pipe as shown below. Soft braided rope works best. I added a chain hook on the back end for securing it to the machine or a fence, once the calf is caught­­E.H., Missouri. (Photo 8K.) [Successful Farming, AATF, 1998]

This hollow boxed-steel sleeve with an attached strap-steel bar and ball hitch slips nicely over the hitch on my tractor and can be pinned in place with a standard drawbar pin. It’s very handy for quickly moving a trailer or implement with a ball hitch. It saves time when attaching and removing a ball hitch, but should be considered only a temporary hitch, not used over the road at high speeds. ­L.H., Wisconsin. (Enlarged picture 12K.) [Successful Farming, image]



I keep this self-coiling air hose (with chucks on both ends) with my vehicle at all times. In addition, I keep a tubeless tire plug kit and a pair of locking pliers. I can repair punctures without removing the wheel and reinflate a tire for limited travel by borrowing air from another tire. One chuck can be locked on the valve stem, the other has a quick coupler to allow chuck and hose to be used on other hoses and tanks.­J.E., Ohio. (Enlarged picture 16K.)

[Successful Farming, image]This simple device puts an end to the

frustration of never having the right size ball hitch on my pickup receiver. To the tubing that fits in the receiver, I welded two 7¦8-inch flat irons about 10 inches long to the top and bottom. I put my two most common ball sizes on the receiver so the correct size can be flipped over and pinned in place.­B.W., South Dakota. [Successful Farming, image]

IDEA OF THE MONTH

The nozzle tip of my garden sprayer was continually being plugged with the slightest bits of debris from chemicals or the water that I was using to mix them. I cut the hose and installed a fuel filter at about the halfway mark, and I've had no problems since. ­T.R., Arkansas. [Garden sprayer filter]

IDEA OF THE MONTH

The nozzle tip of my garden sprayer was continually being plugged with the slightest bits of debris from chemicals or the water that I was using to mix them. I cut the hose and installed a fuel filter at about the halfway mark, and I've had no problems since. ­T.R., Arkansas. (Enlarged picture)


Send your ideas! You can win up to US$100.





This T-post gauge helps me set all the posts at the same height. I cut a 2-inch pipe to the height I wanted the posts to extend out of the ground. You can use a loader bucket to press down on the post until it touches the top of the pipe. It will keep posts from bending and every one will be even. For safety and ease of handling, I welded a handle to the pipe. Don't let anyone stand too close to the tractor bucket..­J.G., North Carolina. (Enlarged picture) [T-post gauge] I built this devise to install temporary water lines in pastures for intensive grazing. I started with a single shank, three-point subsoiler. I bent a 1-inch piece of black pipe at a 90 degree angle and welded it to the back of the shank as shown below.

I use half-inch pipe, but 3/4-inch pipe (with corresponding bigger guide pipe) could be used. I built the guide just above the shank to hold the roll as it is being installed.­J.S., Indiana. (Enlarged picture)

[Water line layer]

An old kitchen double sink works really well as a vegetable cleaner when mounted on legs and placed at the edge of the garden. You can attach a hose to the faucet portion and PVC pipe to the drain and return water to the garden. ­ V.R., North Dakota.

Cutting holes with an oxygen-acetylene torch is much more exact if several thick, flat washers are used as a guide. Washers should be chosen that are 1¦4 inch larger than the desired hole. This allows the inside edge of the washer to serve as a guide for the tip of the torch. I use Vice-Grips to hold the washers in place in a predetermined location. The result is a smooth, accurately sized hole.­B.S., Missouri. [Image]

When starting new trees or evergreens, place a used tire over them and fill with mulch. They grow faster and are protected when mowing. Tires make it easy to cut around trees with a weed eater or mower. ­L.G., Iowa. (Enlarged picture) [Image]

A 15-inch auto rim is always carried in the back of my pickup. When positioned against a post with a block in front of it, it’s the perfect lever for vertically lifting out a wooden or steel post. When hooked to a vehicle and pulled, a chain or rope fits snugly in the rim groove.­T.T., Kentucky. (Enlarged picture)

[Image] WA simple double-snap hook attached to the bail of a calf feeder bucket and to the fence keeps the calves from dumping the milk from the pails.­M.G., Indiana. (Enlarged picture) [Image] With an older barn that needs to be whitewashed every year, the coating on the lightbulbs was always a problem. We keep burned-out bulbs for this purpose. We use them to replace the good bulbs when the whitewasher comes, instead of having to clean the good bulbs every time. Saves a lot of time. ­R.W., Wisconsin.

Cracks in tractor parts are often hard to detect with the naked eye. Axles, shafts or casings can be checked by first removing grease or dirt, then applying a coating of correction fluid and alcohol. After this has dried, tap the part with a hammer. Enough of the lubricant has likely been retained in the cracks and will now show through the correction fluid. -T.L., New Mexico.



















  • [Homestead] Tvo post -Successful Farming excerpts from 1998, Rob, 10/14/2005

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