DIY garden rake. How to make high-quality fan rakes with your own hands. Manufacturing of the working part

Even in our time, it can be quite difficult to do without the simplest agricultural tools, for example, such as an ordinary garden rake. With their help, you can loosen the soil, remove debris from the area and rake up the mown grass. This is a common device, invented many years ago, and to this day remains a faithful assistant to gardeners and gardeners.

Construction and materials

The design of this garden tool is quite simple and consists of two parts: a handle and a transverse bar with teeth attached to it, which serves as the working part of the structure. The number and size of teeth may vary depending on different modifications tool and depend on its purpose and the material from which it is made.

Simple garden rakes are most often made from the following materials:

– iron coated with paint (disadvantages: large mass and rapid wear);

– steel (advantage – long term services; deficiency – very severe);

– aluminum (advantages: good quality and relatively light weight);

– plastic (advantage – lightness; disadvantage – low strength);

– wood (advantages: lightness and strength).

Currently, you can buy all the gardening tools in stores, but high-quality metal rakes are quite expensive, and wooden rakes are practically not available for sale at all. That is why many summer residents and gardeners prefer to make the tool they need with their own hands.

Making from wood

To make the handle and the main working part from wood with your own hands, you need to stock up on several types of wood. To make a cutting, it is better to take light wood species, for example, the following:

– pine – light, moisture-resistant, but not too durable;

– birch – light, durable, easy to machine;

– poplar – light and easy to process.

To make a working part with teeth with your own hands, you will need harder and more durable types of wood, such as oak, rowan, elm, etc. They are quite heavy and difficult to process, but they will last longer.

First you need to make a block of suitable wood measuring 60x5x3 centimeters and plan it using a plane. Then use a drill to drill several holes with a diameter of 1 to 1.5 cm in the resulting wooden block for the teeth at a distance of approximately 4 cm from one another.

The next stage is the production of teeth. It will be easiest to plan them from wooden blanks using a sharp knife. The length of the teeth is from 10 to 12 cm. Any shape, but the ends of the teeth must be sharpened. It is important to remember that the diameters of the tooth heads should be 1-2 mm larger than the diameters of the drilled holes in the block.

The tool handle is usually made straight. It is advisable to sand the surface of the wood with sandpaper. At one end of the future cutting, make a cut about 25 cm long and secure it with a coupling and nails. Then spread the sawn parts in different directions to a width of 15 cm and sharpen each one a little.

Manufacturing from metal pipes and fittings

In order to make a more durable metal rake from scrap materials with your own hands, you will need a welding machine.

First you need to find a suitable steel pipe with thin walls and cut two pieces of different lengths from it: one larger (from 30 to 35 cm), the other smaller (15 cm). Teeth will be welded onto the long section, and the short section will connect the handle and the working part. Then you need to make about 6-7 teeth up to 15 cm long, sawing them off from a reinforcing rod.

After this, you need to flatten a long piece of pipe to a flat state (for example, using a sledgehammer or hammer), then weld the teeth to the resulting strip at an equal distance from each other. In the middle of the strip, at an angle of 90 degrees to the teeth, weld a handle holder (a short piece of pipe), in which a hole should be drilled for attaching the handle using a self-tapping screw.

Do-it-yourself rakes often become the most convenient and favorite tool for working on the site. This is not surprising, because homemade equipment is adjusted to the physical parameters of its owner, as well as to the types of work for which it was made.

Those who cultivate even a small plot of land know that when performing gardening and earthworks it is impossible to do without a rake. This tool is a priority in the list of garden tools and performs several basic and auxiliary functions.

Device and purpose

The device of the rake is very simple. The design is a handle with a transverse rail with teeth mounted on it, which perform the function intended for the rake. Garden rakes are used for a wide variety of jobs. Using them you can:

• clear the area of ​​dry leaves;
• rake grass clippings;
• remove plant roots from the ground;
• rake hay;
• loosen the soil;
• level out uneven ground.

Some enterprising gardeners even use rakes to pick berries, such as lingonberries. To do this, use a special tool with long, fine teeth.

Varieties

In practice, both at home and for industrial purposes, they use different types rake. Conventionally, they can be divided into several types:

• traditional (transverse);

• rakes;

• fan;

• horse-drawn;

• rotary;

• for berries.

The berry rake is designed in a special way. They are best suited for collecting lingonberries. The product is a cross between a rake and a scoop. The teeth in them are thin and set close to each other. This device makes it possible to harvest berries from bushes with convenience and with virtually no losses.

Manufacturing materials

Currently in retail trade you can find the most various types garden tools, including a rake. They are relatively inexpensive, but those who want to save money can make this device themselves. The manufacturing process is simple and almost every summer resident or amateur gardener can handle it.

The following materials are used to manufacture the product:

• iron, which is subsequently painted with anti-corrosion agents;
• steel;
• aluminum;
• plastic;
• plastic;
• tree.

The most durable and long-lasting rake will be steel. However, they have one drawback - they are heavy.

To ensure that the heavy weight of the product does not interfere with work, it is better to choose an aluminum option. Perhaps such a rake will last a little less, but your hands won’t get tired of them. Products made from plastic or resin are considered comfortable and lightweight, but they will not last long. An alternative would be wooden products.

DIY rake

Those who decide to make a rake themselves will immediately understand that this tool consists of only two parts: a handle and a transverse bar mounted on it.

Cutting

The cutting is made mainly from wood. For this they most often use:

• pine, which is not afraid of moisture, and is also quite strong and light;
• birch, easy to process and light in weight;
• beech, famous for its good strength, but requiring additional processing;
• oak, which, although durable, can only be used by strong men due to its heavy weight.

At the factory, if the necessary equipment is available, an even round beam 3-4 cm thick is cut from these types of wood and cleaned well. When making a rake at home, you can use the trunk of a young tree of the above varieties, cutting out a stalk of the required length from it.

The finished piece of shoot is sharpened on one side and the other cut is sanded. The handle should not be painted or cleaned, as it will slip and turn in your hands when used.

Transverse work surface

At home, the easiest way to make a working surface is a rake from wood from scrap materials. The same types of wood that were considered in the manufacture of the holder are suitable for this. For a better result, it is best to first make a drawing of the proposed model. This will make it easier for you to navigate the process.

The process of manufacturing a bar with teeth consists of several successive steps.

• From a block 5 cm wide you need to make a block 3 cm high and 50-60 cm long.
• In its center, on the side of the width of the bar, make a hole, the diameter of which will coincide with the diameter of your cutting.
• Using a thick drill, make holes in the work surface workpiece along the width of the block. The distance between them should be 35-40 mm.

• From a suitable material, make blanks for teeth 10-11 cm long and with a diameter equal to the width of the prepared teeth.
• For ease of use, each tooth should be sharpened on one side.
• Insert the teeth into the holes prepared for them with the blunt end inside the bar and secure with self-tapping screws on the side of the block height.

Insert the prepared cutting into the hole for the holder and also secure it with a self-tapping screw. The finished work surface must be painted or treated with another wood material that prevents moisture from penetrating into the wood.

Homemade cross rake is ready. They are suitable for collecting leaves, hay, and cleaning the lawn. With light loads and proper care, the tool will serve you usefully for a long time.

Homemade rakes

Currently, many farmers who have to cultivate large areas of land use walk-behind tractors. This unit is considered universal, since it can be used to automate cargo transportation, harvesting, and loosening the soil. It is possible to connect rakes and tedders to such mini-tractors. Making them at home is not difficult. It will be enough to just build just three metal wheels.

In order to make a tedder rake for a walk-behind tractor, you need to prepare:

• metal rail for the frame;
• brackets on which the wheels will be mounted;
• strong steel wire to make raking springs;
• a pair of bearings that need to be attached to the hubs to install the wheels;
• steel sheets with a thickness of 4 mm or more, from which the impellers will be made.

You will also need parts for mounting, with which the product will later be attached to the walk-behind tractor. When manufacturing the unit, do not forget about safety precautions. If the work is done incorrectly, not only the mini-tractor, but also a person can suffer.

A rake is an important, indispensable element of gardening equipment. With their help you can do a lot of work. It’s up to you to decide which rake you choose for working in the garden, but you should know that the tool is selected based on the types and scope of functions that they will perform.

To learn how to make a garden fan rake, watch the video below.

The weak point of the sliding fan rake is the mechanism for adjusting the working width. Household models, equipped with tin latches, break down after two to three seasons of use. Let's look at a simple way to restore the functionality of a garden tool within half an hour.

The moving mechanism of a steel fan rake becomes unusable due to wear of the working part of the lever and deformation of its axis, which is usually an M4 screw. The clamp of the device stops compressing the tube and fixing the position becomes impossible. The problem is solved by replacing the pin with a new one and adding a homemade insert that compensates for the wear of the lever.

To quickly repair garden tools you will need:

• Screwdriver;
• Pliers;
• Open-end wrenches set to "seven";
• Metal scissors;
• Flat file;
• Measuring tool;
• A strip of galvanized sheet metal;
• New bolt, nuts.

Repair procedure for fan rakes

1) Unscrew the nut from the rod using a wrench and a screwdriver.

2) Having pulled out the axle, disassemble the mechanism.

3) Mark and cut out a strip of tin, determining the dimensions using the movable plate of the device:

• They will have the same width;
• Add 20–25 mm to the length of the “tongue” at the bends.

4) Using pliers, bend the edge of a strip 10 mm long at a right angle.

5) The bent end of the workpiece is placed under the “tongue”.

6) Pressing on the tin, press it as far as it will go.

7) Using pliers, fix one side of the part.

A similar bend is made on the opposite side of the plate.

9) Having turned the part, finally squeeze both strips of metal together.

10) Align the clamp so that its parts return to parallel positions.

11) Use a file to grind off the metal deposits from the lever.
Do-it-yourself “routine” repairs of fan-type metal rakes take less than 30 minutes and allow you to use the tool for its intended purpose for at least one more season.

How to make a garden rake with a wooden handle according to the ancient method, using modern woodworking tools.

Let's look at what they consist of:

Metal ring
block
teeth
stalk

METAL RING

We cut the required size from a thin-walled metal pipe (preferably stainless steel), the sharp edges of which are rounded with sandpaper.

SHIT

We will make it from raw wood of elm, ash, maple, birch or rowan. The diameter of the workpiece of the thickened part (without bark) should range from 30...40 (mm). We fit a metal ring tightly onto the thin part of the workpiece. On both sides of the ring we cut the blank to the required size. In the middle of the thin part, we split it and insert a wedge, setting the required distance between both workpieces and fixing it.

In this position, let the cuttings dry, after which we proceed to further processing.

After the wood has dried, we round off the spread ends of the workpiece and, as accurately as possible, reach a diameter of 14…15 (mm).

Using sandpaper, we round the entire workpiece until it gives it a marketable appearance.

BLOCK

We will make it from a similar material. We mark the inclined holes for attaching the handle along the extended ends, place the workpiece on the block and determine the angle of inclination through holes. The block can be made from freshly sawn wood.

Reference: Domestic breeds (the most common) when completely dried lose in volume from 11 to 17%, i.e. when its humidity is 0%.

Consequently, when the block dries out, the parts in its holes will shrink.

TEETH

We will make wooden dowels, which you can buy or make yourself, as shown in the video:

Preface

There are so many different rakes available, from tiny berry picking ones to huge tractor rakes, and it's important to know how to use them to get the most out of them.

The design of the first rakes was extremely simple. For surface loosening of the soil, either a snag with several curved root processes, or a branch with a stump of a trunk on which there were several short knots, was used. It is logical that there was no need to rake the leaves then, due to the lack of even the slightest concept of landscape design. Of course, there are no photographs of such primitive tools; there are rough sketches in museums.

Subsequently, a tool for raking the soil was made from wood by turning wooden teeth and driving them into holes made in a transverse bar - a “ridge”. Such products are still used today. In accordance with the name of the equipment in question, the so-called specialties of the workers also sounded: rower or rower, from the word rake, row. There was also such a concept as heaping up the grass after mowing it, hence the names of those performing this work: heaper or heaper.

IN rural areas These words are still in use, but are used less and less as more and more varieties of large agricultural rakes for tractors are used today. Among hand tools, the most popular item is given to metal toothed rakes, which are produced by stamping in large quantities. Wooden ones are more difficult to manufacture (it is necessary to grind the teeth separately and then insert them into the “ridge”), but they are cheaper because the cost of wood is lower.

Various models of fan rakes are made from elastic rods, which are very convenient for clearing leaves from the lawn and home lawn, as well as cleaning the area in general. Landowners also have numerous options for small plastic rakes for loosening the soil in a greenhouse, in flower pots, and in flower beds. You can select them from photos in catalogs.

As a rule, any garden tool for working with soil is equipped with a long handle, this also applies to rakes, with the exception of small plastic models. For the most part, you have to work with this tool in the garden, among bushes and other plantings, which is why you need a fairly long handle. The rake movement is always self-directed. First, the tool is thrown forward, and after grabbing grass, leaves or clods of earth, it is pulled up.

When leveling loose soil, alternating movements directed towards and away from oneself is allowed. Often, large clods of earth are broken up with a rake; after digging up a garden with a shovel, flat, turned teeth are convenient for this purpose. Leaves and grass clippings are best raked and turned using a tool with wide, flat teeth with narrower spaces between them.

It is convenient to carry out such work with the help of milling double-sided rakes; an awl-shaped fine comb of teeth in one row will allow you to clean lawns from leaves and pebbles, and rarer flat knives will help in removing moss and grass. Such rakes are sometimes equipped with wheels at the ends of the transverse “ridge” to reduce the effort put into movements, which looks very unusual in the photo. For everyday care of the garden, flower beds, and home lawn, it is more effective to use one of two types of fan rakes. There are plate and wire.

The first ones are made of narrow elastic strips of metal; they spring slightly during operation, which allows cleaning in areas with a large number of uneven areas. Wire models are given greater rigidity, which allows you to work on flat areas with high useful plantings without damaging their stems and leaves. Movements of any type of fan rake can be performed both longitudinally, forward and towards you, and transversely - from side to side, holding them vertically.

In a small area, you can level the loosened soil, break up clods, and collect grass into piles after weeding using hand-held garden tools. But if we are talking about several tens of acres, you will need at least light equipment and appropriate adaptations for it. It is in such cases that agricultural rakes are used, large ones for tractors, and small ones for use. The only thing they have in common with hand tools is teeth, the number of which, however, has increased to a greater extent.

The width of the beam with mounted teeth reached from 2.17 to 2.74 meters versus manual ones, whose working area ranged from 10 to 73 centimeters. Once upon a time, when cultivating large areas (crushing clods after plowing before sowing, harvesting hay and ears of corn into stacks), horse rakes were not needed. An attachment with long curved teeth was installed on the frame, which was brought to the working or idle position using a special lifting tool.

The frame was mounted on wheels, and the entire structure was attached to the horse harness by means of a drawbar, or was equipped with shafts; in front there was a seat for the worker driving the horse. The most popular were various models of English rakes for horse traction. All this equipment can be seen in museums in the photo. Today, completely different devices are attached to heavy equipment.

For example, it is difficult to overestimate the efficiency and productivity of side rotary rakes, which consist of several short combs with long teeth, the bars of which radiate from a centrally mounted rotor. Such equipment is installed in at least one pair, with counter rotation towards the center, but there can be 5-6 such paired devices on two rods placed at a slight angle to the sides. With such a rake you can rake and rake hay, wrap ready-made windrows, double them into one, and, if necessary, scatter them.

The productivity of another type of side rake is also high - wheel-finger, the effectiveness of which is ensured not only by its own rotation, but also by the speed of the tractor. The design of these devices is more complex: spring fingers are installed on the base of the wheel on the outer side of the rim. They are inclined against rotation, so that grass or hay is easily thrown away.

Such wheels are installed in sections of 5–6 pieces on wedge-mounted rods, depending on the direction of which, the raked stems or ears are collected into windrows or, conversely, scattered. But the simplest and most convenient is the transverse rake model, which is based on a wheeled frame attached to a tractor or walk-behind tractor, depending on the size of the device.

The transverse ridge can rotate around its longitudinal axis, raising and lowering long curved teeth. To clean the latter, there are rods rigidly fixed in the middle horizontal position, one per section of ten teeth. When the raked hay accumulates under the arcs of the teeth, the hydraulics of the lifting unit are activated and the beam rotates, the rake rises and releases the windrow. On a walk-behind tractor, you have to turn the “ridge” manually using a special lever.

For side rakes, the windrows are laid, stretching in the direction of travel, and for cross rakes, they are raked perpendicular to the tractor's travel.

Gardening tools can take on quite original forms, but they rarely cause surprise. Another thing is the non-standard use of devices with familiar names. For example, there is a practice of expanding the functionality of a regular hand scythe by using a rake that is attached to the handle above the blade. With this addition it is much easier to stack the ears of mown rye or wheat into even sheaves.

This device is called a rake and is equipped with especially long teeth, which is why it vaguely resembles. True, today farmers know about such equipment only from photographs. Even in ancient times, the forest supplied the villagers not only with mushrooms, but also with berries. And it would be a mistake to think that women, going for blueberries or lingonberries, picked the berries individually, as they would have wasted too much time and did not have time to manage the farm.

To collect the “harvest” in forest clearings, special devices were used - rakes. They are most similar to a scoop with a comb along the edge, however, they are a type of hand rake. In the past, this equipment was made of wood; such specimens were preserved mostly in photographs; today there are handicraft models made of metal. The disadvantage of the rake is that along with the ripened berries, unripe ones are also picked from the bushes.

Another interesting rake option has nothing to do with agriculture. They do not have the usual beam, the teeth are located around a rotating cylinder in several rows, and powerful magnets are located inside. In addition to the cylindrical one, there is also a flat variety, with wheels at the ends of the crossbar with teeth. These rakes are used by criminal investigation investigators to search for metal objects at crime scenes in difficult conditions, in puddles and mud. That is, this adaptation to rural areas is indirectly related, since most often the need for such rakes arises outside the city.