Progress on the spreader (scrap metal revival)

I am almost done fixing on our manure spreader, just got a few small welds I gotta do yet and then on to cleaning up for paint.

















Can't say what all of the steel was in it's former life, but other than the new steel on the front, it's all been salvaged from other things, either from my brother's work or machinery on the farm. Basically cut off the bad and use the smaller pieces over again...

The rubber belting is from a place that cuts it down/makes it. They pretty much just give you the scraps because they have so much and they just throw it away.

Donovan from Wisconsin

Nice job. I couldn't operate without my scrap iron pile. When I scrap something I save all the straight pieces of metal for futher use.Stan

Im about to run out of steel....I'll have to start fighting the 'scrappers' again for "useable"steel!lol

Good job!! Be sure you keep after those pivot points with waste oil. The moisture stays in there and eats at them.

About 20 years ago my wife got to complaining about my iron pile behind the barn. Too big, looks bad to the neighbors, don't need it anyway, etc. Finbally I loaded up a truckload and took it to the scrap yard. Got paid $8, drove over a screw, cost $12 to fix the tire. Iron pile is bigger than ever now, and just a useful.

Let me guess an H&S 220 or 180. I still use a 220 on the farm here. We do small parts runs yet for those old spreaders but I'm sure they would be pricey. Nice job on the refurbishment.

I saw a little too much of that Saturday. Luckily the spreader was pretty well empty,but those front idlers that the apron rides up over in front on my New Idea 3732 are steel not cast. The chain wore right through one and let the chain fall back. It ran just long enough to get crossed up underneath then all h#ll broke loose. It broke the chain on one side,broke two teeth off the sprocket that drives it on that side and broke the idler on the other side.

We had to finish taking the chain apart in the field to get it home. I had some thick walled pipe the same size as those idlers,so I made two new ones. I found one of the teeth off the drive sprocket and welded that back on with nickle rod. Made one to replace the other one and welded that one on and built it up to size with nickle. We had enough slack to take a link out of the other side and had it going by 4 o'clock after it broke about 10 o'clock in the morning.

Enjoyed the rebuilt pixs. Son has an Idea about getting a truck load of belt scraps, place em on the ground for tractor wheels - any implement wheel units so the ground wont rot tires.If you could tell us where this place is located,if it's not to far from us, maybe we can call em and see if we could get a bunch for our equipment shed for parking our "stuff" on? Thanks for the pics and any info you could give us. Regards LOU

Good eye K. peters. It's a 220. We had another one that broke the gear box on the back and then we got this one a short while later. While ours is down, we're actually borrowing the neighbor's 180 w/out tail gate, just to keep it away from the barn. Last year I built a new toungue for it, and several years before the side steel was replaced. Cheaper to fix this one than to buy someone elses used spreader. Kinda funny, the beater that's in this one was in the last one, and Dad bought it used to go in that one. So the beater has been in atleast 3 different spreaders.

To RR- be careful with that pipe. One side on ours busted a few (maybe 10) years ago, and Dad made one up out of pipe the same size. That broke this year, leading into this major unertaking. The neighbor (same one we're borrowing the 180 from) has a spreader that's junk on the ground, that had good idlers. He let us take those off his. The pipe was almost wore through because it's much softer than the original, but it was Dad's weld that gave in. It didn't go as far as yours, but it twisted one slat, and tore up the steel on the floor in the front that holds the poly down.

For Lou- I think it was Applied Industrial. They've got locations all over, this one is in Appleton. If I remember correctly you're clear across the state in the North Western part? Any place that sells industrial belting has the scraps, and most just throw them away (or sell really cheap) because they have so much and they can't possibly get rid of it all. Pretty sure they just let Dad go dumpster diving for the couple rolls he brought home, but I wasn't there so not sure how it worked to get it.

Donovan from Wisconsin