Tooth Design For Hay Rakes "Lasts Longer, Works Better"

Tooth Design For Hay Rakes "Lasts Longer, Works Better" HAY & FORAGE HARVESTING Rakes (44) 24-5-10 After he got tired of having to constantly replace teeth on his 12-wheel, bi-fold hay rake, Mel Kuehn came up with his own patent pending design that, he says, lasts much longer and also works better than conventional teeth. He calls it a "camber twin hay rake tooth". "It uses a trailing action rather than pushing into the direction of travel, which results in less stress on the tooth and longer life," says Kuehn. Unlike conventional S-shaped teeth, which have two sharp bends, Kuehn's teeth have only a single, gentle bend near the bottom. The tooth is dragged forward instead of being pushed into the ground as with an S-shaped tooth. "I've used these new-style teeth on more than 900 acres and couldn't be happier with them. They do a beautiful job raking hay," says Kuehn. "A big problem with conventional rake teeth is that they catch on rough, uneven ground and break. My rake teeth don't stick out as far from the band so they have more support. The distance from the band to the tip of the tooth is 10 inches compared to 15 inches for an S-shaped tooth. One time I pulled my rake through a pasture with 2-ft. high grass and didn't break a single tooth. Also, hay is less likely to slide under the teeth without getting raked. The design really shines in green chop where the grass is heavy. Another advantage for shorter teeth is that they're less likely to tangle with the teeth from another wheel. "I call it a camber tooth because where the bolt goes into the tooth, the tooth has a little bit of a camber, or arch, which gives it strength and keeps it from bending. "I generally wait until there are several broken teeth on a wheel before I replace all of them. It wouldn't work to replace individual ones because my teeth are shorter than the original ones. The tooth is designed to be inserted into the band and bolted to the hub the same way as the original teeth. However, only one bolt is needed per tooth instead of two which makes them easier to install. Also, I don't have to change the hub or the outside band. It takes 20 sets of teeth per wheel. Each set of teeth sells for $1.35. "Another advantage is that the same size tooth will fit any size wheel on any rake, whereas conventional S-shaped teeth with their sharp bends have to be designed to fit a certain size band." Contact: FARM SHOW Followup, Mel Kuehn, Rt. 3, Box 3000, Aitkin, Minn. 56431 (ph and fax 218 927-3260; E-mail: melkhn@melcmn.net).

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