Harrow

We've been working on changing out the bajillion harrow teeth this week.  OK, there are only 300 but it seems like a bajillion!  Those are the ones that Reynald hard surfaced a few weeks ago.  We knew it was going to be a big project and it is.  As of yesterday we are half finished.  Reynald has also been working on two of our tractors that needed some repair, and the combines are still in the shop.  A flurry of activity as we wait for the soil to dry enough to be worked.  The abundant rain is nice though, so we're not complaining!

Another look at the hard surfacing on the harrow teeth.

This little cart is a great way to tote the teeth to and from the field where we are working. 

There are 12 harrow sections and each section has five bars.  Each bar has five teeth.  It takes us about an hour and a half per section to change the teeth. We are refining our process though, becoming more efficient as we go along.

This is one harrow section.  The first step is to remove the top and bottom lengthwise flat iron.  This is the mechanism that adjusts the tilt of the teeth on the frame.  

Then you remove one of the bars that hold the teeth, by taking off the u-bolt that attaches the bar to the frame.  At first we thought we needed to take this section all the way out to work on it.

We discovered that it's just as easy to drop the bar. loosen the bolt and nut that attach the teeth to the bar, slide the old ones off and the new ones on, then re-attach the u-bolt and just like that, five new teeth in place!  The two holes that you see here in the frame are where the u-bolt attaches.  There is one on each side of the bar.

You can see the new teeth on the front bar, while the old ones are still on the bars behind.

This is a really handy invention.  A magnetic tray!  The magnet both hold the tray to what ever piece of metal you are working on or near, and the bolts, nuts, and tools.  Keeps things organized and avoids loss of tiny, or even not so tiny pieces.

And this is another handy thing.  This swivel socket.  

The swivel socket is the only way you can squeeze in and get to these tight space bolts and nuts.  

 Just when we think we can beat our one and a half hour mark, a problem arises.  It's OK, we will finish eventually!

It's never a good thing when you have to drag the cutting torch out to the job site!

The carriage bolts that attach the lift chain to the harrow frame were smashed so that we could not remove them with a socket and drill.  They had to be cut off with the cutting torch.

Happy that we have a trained technician on staff when such problems arise!

One morning, while I was waiting for Reynald to be ready to do harrow work, I pruned the two columnar apple trees in the garden.  I didn't get it done last year so these poor trees needed a good haircut.  You don't prune these like a regular apple tree.  They are supposed to be long and narrow.

Columnar apple trees.  I have already topped the one on the left.  They were just getting too tall.

Job done!  These poor guys look kind of naked now!!  You can see that it was raining a little bit while I worked.