Handy Devices

POST TAMPER (Editor's Choice):

Kyle Wilkins, East Haddam, Connecticut, was in the process of setting fenceposts. As he was backfilling the holes, he thought there must be an easier way to tamp the dirt as he filled the hole around the posts. With that in mind, he built this tamper. First, he cut two pieces of 1/2-inch steel into half-moon shapes to fit around the posts. The two pieces serve as the top and bottom sections at the tamper end. He bent and welded a third piece of steel between the top and bottom halves of the tool end. A length of round bar welded to the working end of the tamper serves as a handle. To ensure good compaction, he purposely made the tool a weighty 21 pounds.

ROCK BASKET:

If you contend with rocks in fields, here's a place to put them after picking them out of the dirt. Bill Schroeder, Reynolds, Indiana, welded lengths of square tube steel and round bar to build rock baskets for his tractors. The baskets are mounted to the tractor frames with four 5/8-inch bolts. The baskets hold anything you don't want to drag into the cab: rocks, parts, tools, oil jugs and more.

GATE RACK:

F. Norbert Hector Sr., Browns Summit, North Carolina, has found a way to turn surplus cattle gates into portable storage units. Hector supports each gate panel with a pair of T-posts. Pretty quickly, he can line up as many "gate rack" pieces as he wants. The crossbars on the gates support the stored material. Note that Hector slid landscaping timbers under the gates to provide extra support. He uses the gate storage units to dry wood slabs. But, he has also used them to hold pipes, tools, steel and dimensional lumber, among other supplies.

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> 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 Handy Devices, 2204 Lakeshore Dr., Suite 415, Birmingham, AL 35209. Sorry, but we cannot acknowledge submissions or return photographs, drawings or documentation.

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