[Donn Hewes]

No, I let go of the AC as it had bad wheels. This is a Case V or VAC. the tractor was from about 1948. I actually think the case worked really well. Some of the AC tractors have a final drive that added resistance for the PTO cart. donn

[Donn Hewes]

Lot’s of people have hooked a cart to a baler without the tongue going up in the air. The only way to say for sure is to hook it on. As for as PTO. I use 24 hp. I am going to guess the 336 will need at least that much. Does this baler have a kicker on it? I am not sure how that will effect the power required. In either case I think the haybine will require less than the baler, certainly the 7′ but the 9′ I would think would run fine on the 24 hp. 16 seems a little small to me. I would hate to put the whole thing together and then find out it was under powered. good Luck. Donn

[Donn Hewes]

I use a four star rotatory tedder. I am not sure of the manufacturer; New idea perhaps. I think it is a 15′, but it fits on two swathes from 7′ mowers perfectly. here is a link to the tedder with my new PTO Cart.

http://vimeo.com/70153744

[Donn Hewes]

While some balers do have a pretty heavy tongue weight, that cart is hooking up pretty close between the wheels, it should handle the tongue weight fine. How will you run the PTO? That sounds like a good project. Keep us posted. Donn

[Donn Hewes]

With a haybine you will notice the biggest difference in stalky crops like mature red clover and things like that. It also depends on the weather and other drying factors. For late first cutting that will dry fast any way it might only be a few hours which can be hard for a horse farmer to take advantage of. In the early first cutting, crimping doesn’t have as big of an effect as tedding does, in my opinion. I also run two seven foot mowers with the same number of horses and one extra person, so I can effectively lay down hay quicker this way.

[Donn Hewes]

Hi Peyton, I ran a 477 with my horses for a few years before switching back to a sickle bar mower. I was using four horses because my cart was all set for four for baling. Three would have pulled it easily. I also could have pulled the 9′ easily but didn’t know before hand how the home made cart would do. It worked great, but in the end I like the sickle better. More fun to work horses with. I have tried to make up for the loss in crimping with better tedding. You can see pictures of horses with haybine on my web album if you poke around a little. Got a run. Donn

[Donn Hewes]

I hope to make my self some britchens of this style. One thing I learned on our last trip to Virginia was the idea of using baler belting a a material for harness parts. These can be cut by hand and riveted with out sewing. I have been meaning to try this all winter. D

[Donn Hewes]

I am pretty sure there is another one or two. Possibly on the economics of draft power, and equipment. Peter and i did these interviews about four years ago. Now he is just figuring out how to cut and slice the raw footage into usefully segments.

[Donn Hewes]

I am not one to suggest there is only one way to do something. There are potential mishaps walking behind a harrow as well. There used to be a harrow cart which provided wheels and a seat, but you sat right behind the harrow. Another nice set up you don’t see as often today. After a mishap towing a disc last year while walking I built a wooden platform that made it so I could stand on it. It was a good four horse disc before and now you might say it is a five horse disc!

[Donn Hewes]

I am glad you figured something out. Sure be frustrating when you are trying to figure out what is the cause of what.

[Donn Hewes]

Often when working in larger fields a cart will not be used in front of the tillage tools as there is a loss of horse power used to pull the cart that can not be used to pull the harrow. In a small market garden application these factors may not have a big impact in what you can get done; but in working with several acres of gardens or grains, the same number of horses can pull a larger harrow or pull the smaller one farther. Without a cart you are left to walk behind the implement (make sure your lines are long enough). In some of the newer versions of these tools the teamster can sit right on them. While the horses work harder, at least the teamsters weight is being applied to the tools making them more effective.

[Donn Hewes]

Hi Peyton, I am glad you got to post the pictures. It is hard to tell for sure from the photos, but it looks like the collar might be too big for the horse. This will usually work OK if you are training or not really working hard. Of course it could just be the photo.

The hames seems to fit the collar OK. Does the hames start out in the groove of the collar and then come out while you are working? When the strap is tightened initially it should be tight enough so you can’t pull it out like that. If it is tight but comes out when you pull on it with your hand then the hames might be too long. How is the hames set at the adjustment at the top? If the hames is the right length and doesn’t come out easily by hand but comes out while working another possibility is that the quarter straps and pole strap are too long. When the harness is on the horse but not hooked yet, pulling the breast strap snap forward and it should not reach in front of the collar. There should be a straight line following the hames and continuing down to the snap. If the snap is free to come forward of that line it may lift the hames off the collar (like in the picture) when you stop or back.

Just some things to look at. good luck, Donn

[Donn Hewes]

Jay, Those are really nice, but I will need a pair of stocks before I ever lift their feet!

[Donn Hewes]

Hi Stephen, I use five forecarts on my farm. They are all homemade to one extent or another. As a self taught (read not very good) welder I can say making homemade forecarts is fun and productive. I have two plain forecarts (tongue, seat, railing, and hitch) for tedders, rakes, and manure spreaders. Both of these are completely homemade and to some extent have been salvaged and rebuilt from previous carts. One of these has a bench seat which is great for teaching; and the other has a tongue which is easy to move off center which is nice for three abreast.

When making a basic farm forecart use three pieces of 4″ channel facing down to frame your deck. if they are 18″ apart you can easily bolt your tongue in center, left or right. These carts also move hay wagons, poultry houses, weaned lambs, water haulers, and a firewood cart. You can’t have enough of these basic carts.

A good design might also have a basic log arch built into it. This could be achieved with a drop-in piece for your farm tow hitch.

Last year I built a small forecart with a 36″ wheel base and a truck type tow receiver. I have modified a potato plow to fit in this hitch and plan to make other bed marking tools and other things that will fit in this hitch. It would even be handy to have a little cart with the same 36″ wheel base for harvesting or spreading mulch etc.

I use a three wheeled, gas powered PTO cart for baling hay, and hopefully this year to pull a combine. It has worked well for me for several years, but if I were building or buying a new one I would stick with the two wheeled designs as mine is almost impossible to back up once hooked to anything. The 24 hp honda engine is quiet and efficient. I bale about 1,000 bales for every five gallons of gas.

For several years I have wanted a ground driven PTO cart and I have tried to build a couple. My first attempt was built on a #7 mower body and just wasn’t heavy enough to do everything I wanted it to do. It looked good until I challenged it with real farm conditions and then it just wasn’t what I wanted. Those that saw it will be glad to know that it is returning to the world of work this summer as a new one horse mower.

Last summer we held a Farm Hack (thanks, Greenhorns) on our farm and built a ground drive PTO Cart from an old Case tractor we took apart. This cart has been a great success. It pulls a tedder anywhere, anytime with four speeds to chose from. This summer at the Draft Animal Power Field Days we even pulled a baler with three horses. It was a long time coming, but it was fun and satisfying to build it on the farm.

You can find most all of these somewhere on my web album: Donn’s web album.

[Donn Hewes]

Hi Peyton, Unfortunately I don’t have cell phone. can you get it on to your computer? Is it a file? if so you should be able to scroll down and hit the “Browse” button under attachments. find that file and “open” it to attach it. I will try to attach a photo here. Donn

Attachments:

You must be logged in to view attached files.

[Author]

Posts