Learning to choose a fan rake. Repair of fan rakes Defects to write off fan rake
This is the rake we chose this time. Next in line is the purchase of a plate fan.
Fan rakes are a fairly popular garden tool. Once, flattered by stories experienced summer residents, I bought these, moreover, the first ones that came across, but I was very dissatisfied with this tool. And so I threw it into the shed.
Time has passed. Experience (alas, someone else's) showed that a fan rake is not such a bad and very necessary thing on garden plot. But, unfortunately, the last purchase turned out to be irretrievably lost, and I had to go back to the store for a fan rake. It was here that a number of discoveries awaited me.
“They are somehow small,” I complained, considering the only type of this tool currently available in the store. - The past I had more, and soft, flexible. And these rakes are tough.
- So it depends for what purpose to buy a fan rake. They are completely different in structure and size. And although the main purpose of the fan rake is garbage collection, they are designed for different jobs, - said Tatyana Kolach, sales assistant of a specialized store for gardeners.
Types of "fan"
It turns out that there are several types of fan rakes: wire, plate and rake with a plastic fan.
*Wire rake more rigid, their teeth consist of thick wire, and the ends are bent at a right angle. This helps when cleaning debris not to damage already sprouted plants.
But they are not intended for collecting foliage, as they will string leaves on themselves. After several movements, the tips of the fan are covered with a dense "skirt".
When cleaning a trimmed lawn, excessive stiffness and sharpness of the tips can harm the lawn. The surface of the earth will be scratched, the grass suffers from this or is completely uprooted.
*Lamellar rake are based on a series of narrow curved plates. They spring well and do an excellent job of working on uneven surfaces.
In dense grass they do not get tangled, the foliage is not strung and is swept away in whole piles. Garbage collection is fast and purposeful. The compliance of the material does not provide for excessive pressure, but in any case, the fan does not deform, and it always returns to its original position.
The bladed fan, due to its flexibility, cannot cope with tall, dense grass. He is unable to collect small knots and twigs. It is useless for collecting fallen apples, plums and other fruits, the teeth will sag and leave all solid objects on the ground.
*Plastic rake seriously inferior to the previous ones in terms of their characteristics and strength.
Plastic is not afraid of moisture and rust. But such fan nozzles lack elasticity, they are more fragile than iron ones. With strong pressure and vigorous operation, they can break. Most often, they suffer from a sleeve - a connecting place with a handle. This problem makes them short-lived.
How to choose a fan rake
- If you have decided on the type of fan, then when buying, you need to check the flexibility - put it on the floor or counter and press on the work surface, - continues Tatyana. - Make sure there are no cracks. On metal, check the integrity of the protective coating.
The best option would be a rake with maximum surface coverage. They consist of 22 prongs and are always sold with a handle. The handle can be chosen telescopic, aluminum or plastic.
If you have a small area, and you use a rake quite rarely, then buy plastic ones, they are much cheaper. In large areas where there are many garden trees and shrubs, metal models are needed. Caring for them is quite simple: treat with oil before winter storage and the rake will last a long time.
The cost of a fan rake may vary depending on the number of teeth, material, their general view and manufacturer.
A bit of history
Japan is considered the birthplace of the fan rake. Initially, they did not have a transverse ridge - the teeth diverged from the attachment point. Then, for convenience, the rake began to be modified.
A tractor rake is an indispensable thing when harvesting hay. Thanks to the features of production and ease of use, rakes and tedders quickly collect hay using a tractor machine or walk-behind tractor. Actually, there is no significant difference between a rake and a tedder. Their main purpose is to stir up mowed grass and collect finished products. Mounted rakes / tedders on a tractor can be purchased at a specialized store or do it yourself.
Design features
Wheel rakes / tedders
All tractor machines and walk-behind tractors accept 4 and 5 wheel tedders. Such rakes work well with low-power tractor devices (up to 25 horsepower), agricultural walk-behind tractors and walk-behind-type adapters. The rake is presented in the form of wheels with curved bars. The two most popular types are:
- Rotary. The design, which received the name "finger", is fixed on the rotating motor sections. Special beams are attached to them by installing springs that are directly involved in the assembly and tedding of grass and hay. This makes it easy to control and change both the height and the tedding angle.
- wheeled. Convenient to use: the wheels (their number can be from 3 to 5) are obliquely from each other. This significantly increases the productivity of work and the speed of their implementation. The wheels can replace each other, each of them is mounted on two bearings: this greatly simplifies the repair process in the event of a breakdown.
Regardless of the choice made, the quality of cleaning, tedding, and the speed of the work performed will many times exceed the quality and speed of manual execution.
Preparatory work
Rotary rakes / tedders
Any farmer can learn how to make a rake on a tractor with his own hands. If a person already has the skill of handling or creating such equipment, it will not be difficult to make a hay tedder for a tractor on your own. In order to independently manufacture a rotary tedder, it is necessary to make a metal frame from a pipe of round and angular section. The rotor, without which the tedder process becomes impossible, can be easily changed to rear axle ordinary car.
Before starting work, it is necessary to sketch out the drawings, which will gradually be embodied in the design. If a hay rake is made for a tractor, it is important to put a reduction gear on the power take-off shaft. In many tractor machines, the number of shaft revolutions per minute is approximately 540. And this is already an impressive figure for tedders. 10 tubes in the form of a “sun” are welded to the disk of the machine. Rake teeth are made of strong steel and are attached to the rotor with a welding machine.
Manufacturing process
Homemade tedders are easy to use, however, repairs may require the services of a master - especially if the rake was made from poor quality materials.
The manufacture of mounted wheeled tedders is carried out mainly for mini tractors and walk-behind tractors. For motoblock units, a three-wheeled tedder is used, for tractors - a five-wheeled tedder. To start making a tedder, you need to prepare the following tools:
- Metal pipe.
- Wire up to 0.7 cm thick.
- Steel layers 3-4 mm thick.
A frame is made from the pipe, brackets are placed on it. Wheels are attached to them. Special bends are made of wire - “fingers”, designed for raking mowed grass. They are attached to the discs with special bolts. To install the wheels, two bearings installed in the hubs are useful. After that, a hitch is made, and only then - the installation of a rake on a tractor.
Properly made rakes and tedders will help facilitate the process of gathering and tedding hay, as well as baling it. Rotary models are distinguished by careful handling of crops that require careful assembly (such crops include, for example, alfalfa). Tractors with tedders easily cope with heavy work: turning over and collecting wet, heavy hay.
The weak point of the sliding fan rake is the mechanism for adjusting the width of the grip. household models, equipped with tin clamps, break after two or three seasons of operation. Let's consider a simple way to restore the working capacity of a garden tool within half an hour.
The movable mechanism of a steel fan rake becomes unusable due to wear of the working part of the lever and deformation of its axis, usually an M4 screw. The clamp of the device ceases to compress the tube and fixing the position becomes impossible. The problem is solved by replacing the pin with a new one and adding a homemade insert that compensates for the development of the lever.
For a quick repair of garden tools you will need:
- Screwdriver;
- pliers;
- Open-end wrenches for "seven";
- Scissors for metal;
- Flat file;
- Measuring tool;
- Strip of galvanized sheet;
- New bolt, nuts.
The procedure for repairing a fan rake
1) Unscrew the nut from the rod using a wrench and a screwdriver.
2) Having pulled out the axis, disassemble the mechanism. 
3) Mark and cut out a strip of tin, determining the dimensions on the movable plate of the device:
- They will have the same width.
- To the length of the "tongue" add 20-25 mm to the bends.
4) At a right angle, bend the edge of a strip 10 mm long with pliers. 
5) The bent end of the workpiece is brought under the "tongue". 
6) Pressing on the tin, press it all the way. 
7) Using pliers, fix one side of the part. 
Perform a similar bend on the opposite side of the plate. 
9) Turning the part, finally squeeze both strips of metal together. 
10) Align the clamp so that its parts return to parallel positions. 
11) With a file, metal influxes are grinded off from the lever.
A do-it-yourself “current” repair of a fan-type metal rake takes less than 30 minutes and allows you to use the tool for its intended purpose for at least one more season.
A rake fanned out or thrown away cannot be repaired.
A good thing is a fan rake. They work more accurately than usual. Yes, but they don't last long. We think that the most weakness for fan rakes, this is the junction of the rake with the pole seat or "cup" in which the teeth are attached. At least in our household, both simple fan rakes (cheap) and adjustable (more expensive) broke off exactly the seat for the pole or the teeth fell out of the "cup". Here is one such breakdown, another rake, all the "teeth" fell out of the "cup".
Pay attention to the place where the teeth are attached - the "cup" - it is composite. One wall is held together by the curved edges of the other wall and traces of spot welding in two places. Steel is normal thickness. The construction seems to be very solid. And she is really strong, but not very. In the process of work, during the cleaning of debris or foliage, or something else, the teeth work like levers and the "cup" gradually expands. The teeth keep getting weaker and at some point they just fall off. How quickly this happens depends on your diligence, diligence and accuracy. 
It would seem nonsense. I inserted the teeth into place, hit a couple of times with a hammer and everything became as before. Yes, it was not there. Look at the shape of the teeth at the attachment point. Each of the teeth has a semicircular part at the top, and one of the walls of the landing cup has a depressed part (it is visible in the photo above). Obviously, in production, the teeth are first inserted, and then the landing cup is crimped. Those. for a really strong insertion of teeth, which is not inferior in strength to production, you will first need to bend one wall of the "cup", then insert the teeth into place and return and return the bent wall to its original position. But we will not get the former strength. After all, bending the wall without breaking the welding will not work. 
Therefore, we will have to make a new mount for the teeth. Sturdy and collapsible, in case of future possible repairs. Let's get started. We made a new mount from 10mm plywood. They took a small strip of plywood and attached a rake to it in order to determine the dimensions of the future fastening. The mount will be trapezoidal in shape and consist of two parts. Between these two parts we will clamp the rake. Strong, strong. 
For fastening strength, we decided to put a nail of a suitable size (diameter) in the grooves of the teeth. Cut off the excess part of the nail. 
The nail was cut off, now we will outline the places for the screws. Both parts of the mount will connect (pull the rake) in seven places. A self-tapping screw from each lower edge of the mount. Two more screws from each edge will not only tighten both parts of the mount, but also firmly hold the nail fixing the rake. And one self-tapping screw will tighten the mount at the top. 
Next, cut out the mount. And drill holes. Note. In one part of the fastener, holes are drilled with a larger diameter. These large holes should allow the self-tapping screws to pass freely. And in the other part of the fastening, holes are drilled smaller than the diameter of the self-tapping screw. This is necessary so that both parts can be pulled together with screws. The self-tapping screw freely passes through the first part, and then screwing into the second part attracts it very tightly. If, in one and the other part, the holes are smaller than the diameter of the self-tapping screw, these parts can only be connected to each other, but not pulled together. 
Now, we take the first part of the mount with small holes, put a rake on it, put a nail in the grooves. The nail must be laid so that it is between the screws on one side and the other. In this position, the nail will not loosen. We lay the second part of the fastener with large holes on top and tighten the entire structure with self-tapping screws. 
Now it remains to make a seat under the handle. We will accomplish this task with the help of a mounting tape. We take the handle, apply it to the rake and mark the place where you need to make fasteners. cut off required amount mounting tape. 
Marked out. We fasten. The lower mount for the handle is screwed with short self-tapping screws. Top fastening with long self-tapping screws through both plywood parts. 
Installing the cutting 
And we fix it for strength with three self-tapping screws. 
All. Now you can go to the garden. 
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Hello to all DIY lovers!
I recently broke an almost brand new fan rake.
And I managed to work with them only three times, for 15-20 minutes. Already during the second time, they began to bend so much that they constantly had to straighten them. And the third time, it became almost impossible to work with them.
Here's what they looked like.
Upon closer examination, it turned out that this rake was made of completely useless metal (in fact, as thick as roofing iron), which from the first minutes of work could not stand it and began to collapse at a literally catastrophic pace.
The photo below shows that quite large cracks have already appeared in the metal.
In general, what the hell are they doing! :e101:
In my heart I wanted to immediately throw this rake away, but, nevertheless, I felt sorry for the money spent and as a result, I decided to fix it anyway.
At the same time, I decided to make a rake out of these, a mini-rake with a short handle, since such rakes are also often needed.
As a result, I planted a spare fan rake on the long handle.
And the broken rake finally broke off the handle.
And the rest, somewhat straightened and at the same time strengthened with a hammer.
In order to turn a broken rake into a short-handled mini rake, I needed the following supplies.
Materials and fasteners:
Broken handle from an old shovel.
Two screws with a press washer 4x35 mm.
The broken rake itself.
Tools:
Drawing and measuring tools (pencil, tape measure and square).
Electric jigsaw with a saw.
Electric drill-driver.
Electroplaner.
Drill for metal with a diameter of 4 mm.
Hole saw for wood with a diameter of 19 mm.
Screwdriver bit PH2, for driving screws.
Sandpaper.
First, he cut off a broken handle from an old shovel with an electric planer.
Then I sawed off a piece about 40-45 cm long from it.
At one end of this handle, I drilled a hole with a hole saw through wood. This hole is needed in order to be able to hang the rake on a carnation or hook.
After that, I processed the handle with sandpaper and painted it with the paint that was at hand.
Then I drilled two holes in the broken fan rake (at the base and in the middle of the upper lintel) with a drill with a diameter of 4 mm.
And I screwed this rake to the handle with two screws with a press washer.
And this is how they are hung on the wall on a carnation, which is very convenient.
After a while, I tested this rake in leaf cleaning. It turned out that they are quite convenient to rake foliage, especially in hard-to-reach places eg under low bushes or low growing tree branches where it is inconvenient to use a long-handled fan rake.
True, it should be noted that due to the fact that I screwed the end of the handle to the middle jumper, this rake became somewhat more rigid. But I think that for such a short-handled rake, this is even better, because since they mainly have to be held with one hand during work, it will even be more convenient to work with them.
Well, that's all for me!
Good luck to everyone, and most importantly - useful homemade products!
