Off-Set Baler Makes 8-Ft Round Bales

Off-Set Baler Makes 8-Ft Round Bales HAY & FORAGE HARVESTING Balers (6) 19-6-1 You've never seen anything like this big, off-set baler that was built from scratch by a St. Brieux, Sask., farmer on the frame of a pull-type combine. "It makes big 8-ft. long, 5-ft. dia. bales that are just as easy to handle as conventional 5 or 6-ft. bales," says inventor Joe Laczko. The baler works so well he and his son, Dale, plan to have production units on the market by next spring. This isn't the first innovative baler Laczko has built. Last spring, his built-from-scratch self-propelled baler was featured in FARM SHOW (Vol. 19, No. 3). Laczko says his self-propelled baler worked great but wasn't practical for commercial development. He's optimistic that his big new offset baler will catch on big. "It's a simple but effective design," he says. "You've got exceptional visibility behind you because it's off to the side and is only 5 ft. high. It has a low-profile 8-ft. belt-type Melroe pickup that allows you to pick up material closer to the ground - shorter straw from a rotary combine, for example. And the offset design makes it easier to pick up all the hay on corners , turn tighter, and to zigzag on the windrow better than with a conventional pull-behind baler." Laczko mounted his prototype baler on the frame of an old Massey 405 pull-type combine he bought from a neighbor for $600. He stripped it down, keeping only the frame, pto and gearbox for use on the baler. He made the baler housing shell and ejector door out of 3/8-in. metal plate. Fourteen 5-in. dia. rollers mount on 1 1/2-in. bearings and roller shafts that mount in the sides of the housing. The baler has six 14-in. wide conveyor belts, which start rolling hay as soon as it hits the back belts. The belts overlap and are bolted together rather than laced to make repairing them easier. A hydraulic bypass cylinder on the bale ejector door is used to adjust tension on bales. The prototype featured a tandem axle fitted with 15-in. implement tires. The production model will have a single axle fitted with 1100 by 15-in. flotation tires for better performance on wet ground. An average 8-ft. long alfalfa bale weighs about 1,550 lbs. Laczko says the bales are no more difficult to handle than conventional round bales. In fact, he says they're easier to transport because they extend across the full width of his 8-ft. flatbed so they pack a lot more solidly. Laczko pulls the baler at speeds up to 5 mph with a late 1960's Deere 4020 equipped with front-end loader and 6-ft. bale spear. He uses the spear to load bales on-end into round bale feeders. Dale Laczko is putting finishing touches on an informational video. Price of the baler is expected to be around $15,000. Contact: FARM SHOW Followup, Joe Laczko, Box 188, St. Brieux, Sask., Canada SOK 3VO (ph 306 367-4240) or Dale Laczko, Daleco, Box 266, St. Brieux, Sask., Canada SOK 3VO (ph 306 275-2177).

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