Gallery, Projects and General > Project Logs
Mounting a Tractor Hedge Flail
awemawson:
Now that the tank is pretty well empty I could remove the hydraulic pump and put it on the back of the tractor to help in measurements. Needless to say the hoses are in an atrocious condition having had the pump swinging on them every time the flail was disconnected from its host tractor. Another reason for making it detachable. The hoses are not in fact under any significant pressure but they definitely need replacing.
I had one little oops when draining the oil - there is a little plastic cap on the lower end of my transfer pump that popped off and fell to the bottom of the tank :bang: Need somehow to rescue it so it doesn't get dragged through the gear pump.
So here is the pump mounted on the PTO shaft of the tractor:
awemawson:
This then allowed me to make a mock up of the tank position, which is represented in these pictures by the 'builders trestles'
They are positioned in the photos as close as is possible to the back of the tractor, but I think in practise I will move the tank structure back 3" to make access a bit easier and make more room for the bracket that holds the 'control standard'. This is a 1" vertical rod, cranked like a starting handle, with the hydraulic levers mounted on it - they project about 4 foot forwards and need to 'arrive' poking through the rear window and comfortably close to the drivers seat. The crank in the standard allows some adjustment, but I suspect that it will be 'suck it and see' when it comes to mounting it.
Anyway, a bit more of the mock up. The timbers represent the new spars, and will be slotted to fit round the 'jaw plates' and welded in place - and yes I know they aren't level - hopefully the real thing will be :ddb:
awemawson:
Managed to retrieve the lost plastic cap from the hydraulic tank. A torch showed nothing through the filler as it was always in the way, so I soldered a 12v torch bulb to the end of some stiff 'twin and earth' wire, poked it into the tank, and lo and behold there it was.
Harpooning with a sharpened 2.5 mm welding rod, and then hooking it up saved the day. All this is really putting off the time when I have to crawl under the tank and unbolt the original spars - just not decided how to support it yet - the legs it stands on are integral with the spars :bugeye:
vtsteam:
Looking good, Andrew. I like the remote flashlight idea, too. Another thing to remember.
awemawson:
Today has been a superb morning as far as progress is concerned :ddb:
I started by removing the 'standard' that holds the hydraulic controls - I had previously removed it so bolts were not seized. Bit awkward in that a 1" bar with a lot of weight on top slots into a pair of holes - you can fairly easily lift it out of the lower holes, then it starts wanting to twist - brought in the heavy guns, used the fork lift to take the weight, and laid it all still connected to its plumbing across the tank
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