rake/roller

Ha! Thanks for the encouragement, but I’m hardly John Deere… Yes, it is a concrete roller. I poured it in a cardboard Quikcrete footing tube 12 inches in diameter. I read farmers used to roll fields with oak logs about 2 feet in diameter, which gives about the same pounds per square inch as a 1 foot diameter concrete tube (assuming 1/8-1/2 inch compression). Of course it doesn’t roll as well as a 2 foot diameter tube, and when it was “naked” sometimes pushed a little dirt starting off. I wrapped a small section of wire fence around the roller, which increased traction quite a bit and prevents the dirt pushing. The axle is 1 inch black pipe and was placed in the tube before pouring (so it’s fixed to and rotates with the concrete). I used a couple plastic plumbing attachments to act as bearings between the wooden shafts and the steel axle. They might wear fast, but they only cost 31 cents and I figure I can just replace them as needed.

PS. I estimate that this thing weighs about 500 pounds and with the increased traction, it’s tough to turn. I think that 4 feet wide (the width of this roller) is pretty much the limit for how wide these can be made in one piece and still turn OK. If someone wants to make a wider roller, I would highly recommend making several independantly rotating rollers. The old style oak roller I was using as a model had three rollers to span about 10 feet.