Home-Built Reel-Type Rock Picker
About 35 years ago, when I was 19 years old, I worked for a farmer who had a factory-built rock picker. After using it for a few days, I had a long list of improvements I felt it should have to make it more efficient. The list included a larger bucket and bigger wheels for handling much larger rocks. So I built my own fork-type rock picker equipped with 20-in. wheels, a 6-ft. wide picking fork, and a large bucket. It can dig out rocks weighing up to about 3,000 lbs. and works better than any fork-type rock picker I've ever seen.
Over the years I've removed hundreds of loads of rocks and it still works good. I improved the machine by adding dual wheels and twin hydraulic cylinders on both the fork and the bucket.
Fork-type rock pickers don't work the best for small rocks, so I looked at all the reel-type rock pickers on the market. Again, I wasn't satisfied with any of them so I built my own. It has an 8-ft. wide picking fork and 3-yard bucket and rides on 11.00 by 20 tires. After breaking a couple of spindles, I mounted dual wheels on both sides.
As far as I know, these two rock pickers are the biggest working machines in the world. If anyone knows of larger ones I'd appreciate hearing from them. I'm willing to supply plans for a small fee. (Dale Rogers, Box 59, Mayfair, Sask., Canada S0M 1S0 ph 306 246-4577)
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Home-Built Reel-Type Rock Picker ROCK PICKERS Rock Pickers 27-2-43 About 35 years ago, when I was 19 years old, I worked for a farmer who had a factory-built rock picker. After using it for a few days, I had a long list of improvements I felt it should have to make it more efficient. The list included a larger bucket and bigger wheels for handling much larger rocks. So I built my own fork-type rock picker equipped with 20-in. wheels, a 6-ft. wide picking fork, and a large bucket. It can dig out rocks weighing up to about 3,000 lbs. and works better than any fork-type rock picker I've ever seen.
Over the years I've removed hundreds of loads of rocks and it still works good. I improved the machine by adding dual wheels and twin hydraulic cylinders on both the fork and the bucket.
Fork-type rock pickers don't work the best for small rocks, so I looked at all the reel-type rock pickers on the market. Again, I wasn't satisfied with any of them so I built my own. It has an 8-ft. wide picking fork and 3-yard bucket and rides on 11.00 by 20 tires. After breaking a couple of spindles, I mounted dual wheels on both sides.
As far as I know, these two rock pickers are the biggest working machines in the world. If anyone knows of larger ones I'd appreciate hearing from them. I'm willing to supply plans for a small fee. (Dale Rogers, Box 59, Mayfair, Sask., Canada S0M 1S0 ph 306 246-4577)
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