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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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
miners 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 cant 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∫ 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 calfs 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 dont 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 theyre 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. Its 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, its 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