Making a landscape rake

I recently took my box scraper over it and found that the box just skips over the rocks. So landscape rake time, I guess.

Question: Instead of forking out $400 for a new one, been thinking of making one. Got scrap steel, but on the tines, can they just be bent wtih a jig, heated up and then cooled quickly? Will that provide enough strenght to keep them from bending back?

thanks for the thoughts.

We recently built a house on the surface of the moon - or at least the ground has enough rocks in/on it to look like the moon. I rented a trailer-type landscape rake thinking I could make short work of lawn prep. Basically the trailer type rake bounced over everything bigger than a softball. I probably carried 10,000+ rocks out of there by hand. They made a nice rock wall about 200 ft long. After all the big rocks were out the rented rake did an OK job - not great.

Anyway, the rented rake did such a poor job I tried my hand at making a rake. It works at least as well (probably a bit better) as the rented rake - still not great. I have not learned to weld yet and my roots are in woodworking. I took an 8 ft piece of pressure treated 6x6 timber. Cut it into 2 @ 4 ft lengths and bolted them together making a piece 6 in x 12 in x 4 ft (nominal). Basically I wanted as much weight as I could get. I drilled 3/4 inch diameter holes every 3 inches into one of the timbers along a straight line. I then pounded 20 in length of #6 ree-bar (3/4 in) into each hole. This gave me the teeth. Then I just mounted it with box iron onto my '73 Cub. The hydraulics lifts the thing up and sets it down. I can change the angle of attack of the tines, but I kept it simple and did not create a method of angling the entire rake with regards to the tractor. I put cement block on top of the 6x12 to add more weight. It helps reduce the bouncing effect. All told I think I spent about $65.

As a local farmer told me, removing rocks from fields is why you have kids. The entire family goes out and pitches in loading the rock onto a wagon.

Good luck.

Douglas Stockman
Penfield, NY

You think you have rocks...Myfields looked like the surface of the moon. I had the same problems with the blade skipping over the rocks. Best thing to do is run a cultivator over the area, I use a single row style purchased from Northern. This will loosen everything up. Pick out the BIG rocks, and believe me, they're in there...they're the ones that only show you the tippy top now! Then run the rake over the whole area in several stages. I let the rain settle the area for a couple days...brings the rest of the rocks to the top. Rake again. It takes time, but it's worth it. Bottom line is if there is a rock on the dirt, on grass will reow there.

As far as making a rake, I don't think so. Spend the $400 and buy one. I looked hi and low for used, but couldn't find one. You could always sell it when you're done.

Happy rockin' :-)

Check the local rental place, you can probably rent one for $20 or $25.

F14, from the rockbound coast of Maine. ":^)