Handy Devices

By Dan Miller, Senior Editor

LIFT A TON (Editor's Choice):

Brandon Kuznia, DK Farms, Greenbush, Minnesota, tells how the farm installed an equipment- and supply-lifting system. The lift moves equipment to an upper mezzanine 12 feet off the shop floor. The mechanism was salvaged from a junked forklift. The Kuznias added an electric motor and a hydraulic pump with a reservoir to power the lift. They welded a 5- x 5-foot steel floor to the forks of the old forklift. For safety, they added a similarly sized piece of diamond plate steel to the back of the lifting platform and a rail. The assembly lifts 2,500 pounds.

ADAPTED TO THE JOB:

Chuck McGlothren, Enterprise, Alabama, designed an easy way to hook his John Deere H360 loader to a hay spear, hay slide or boom pole. He built this adapter to accommodate all three. The adapter includes the sliding brackets that allow for easy alignment and top link spacing on his implement of choice.

GATE WITHOUT A GATE:

William Gammon, Chatham, Virginia, designed a way to enter a pasture without a gate. Gammon built the walk-through with six wooden posts and four treated 1 x 6 boards, each board 10 feet long (cut in half). He put the posts into the ground, each one spaced about 5 feet from the next. Then, he attached two boards to each section of the walk-through to finish the project.

> WINNING IDEAS: Win $400 if your idea is chosen as the month's "Editor's Choice" Handy Device. Win $200 for other ideas used on this page. To submit a Handy Device, please send clear photographs, detailed drawings and a complete explanation of your idea. With each entry, include your name, address and telephone number. Send Handy Device entries to Progressive Farmer, 2204 Lakeshore Dr., Suite 415, Birmingham, AL 35209. Sorry, but we cannot acknowledge submissions or return photographs, drawings or documentation.

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