Handy Devices

May 2020 Handy Devices

Dan Miller
By  Dan Miller , Progressive Farmer Senior Editor
Lazy Susan (Progressive Farmer image by Ray E. Watkins Jr.)

LAZY SUSAN (Editor's Choice):
Tools are easy to find for Ralph Eiken, Centertown, Missouri. He built a revolving tool rack using an old corn cultivator wheel with spokes and an axle. He made hooks from 1/4-inch rods and suspended the 9 1/2-foot circumference device from the ceiling above his round workbench.

HINGE REMOVER:
Removing gate-hinge pins can be a difficult chore, especially if you are removing those close to the ground. Sherman Woods, Sulligent, Alabama, made a tool from a 3/4-inch x 3-foot piece of black pipe. He welded a 2-inch piece of the same material to the side of the pipe. Woods slips this over the hinge and uses leverage gained from the pipe to unscrew the hinge pins.

CHAIN GATE:
Rather than using stiff wire for electric fence gates, Tim Reed, Huntingdon, Tennessee, suggests using lightweight chain -- the same stuff used for a swing set. If the metal is properly conductive, it will create a gate that is easier to open and close than one made of wire, which tends to kink and twist.

> 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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Dan Miller