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Pto "Turning Tool" Helps Make Repairs
A Tennessee man says his "turning tool" lets him safely turn the pto on machines without the need for a tractor.
  Albert Patterson is a 21-year-old mechanical engineering student at the University of Alabama in Huntsville. He lives on a farm in Taft, Tenn., and works on farm machinery in his spare time.
  "Often, when I'm working with machinery like hay balers and haybines with a lot of moving parts, I need just a small bit of movement so I can inspect or adjust something. I have to hook up a tractor or find a helper to turn the machine's flywheel for me while I work. I tried using a crowbar in the joints of the pto shaft but that can cause damage.
  "The tool I made allows one person to move any baler, haybine, mower or bush hog requiring up to 50 hp. Almost anyone with basic shop tools can make it for very little money."
  The tool attaches to a breaker bar that's about 20 in. long with a 1/2-in. or larger drive, or to a large ratchet socket. It uses the male 540 rpm pto shaft û one that's 6 in. or longer û off a tractor. Patterson inserts the shaft into the socket after grinding down the shaft as needed to fit. Then he welds it in place.
  To operate, he inserts the male end of the shaft into the machine's female pto drive until it clicks and then inserts the breaker bar/ratchet into the socket. "In most cases I can turn the machine's pto with a single hand."
  Patterson says he thinks the tool would also help when shopping for farm equipment. "The prospective buyer could see the machine move without needing a tractor," he notes.
  Contact: FARM SHOW Followup, Albert Patterson, 1309 Ardmore Hwy., Taft, Tenn. 38488 (ph 931 425-6535; mechengineeral@aol.com).


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2010 - Volume #34, Issue #6