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3-Point Mounted Cable Layer
Indiana handyman Don Myers built a 3-point hitch attachment for his Deere lawn tractor that works slick for installing invisible dog fencing. With a few simple add-ons and take- offs, the hitch also works as a subsoiler, a chisel plow and a rack to hold tractor weights.
    Myers says he came up with the idea because installing invisible fencing with a self-propelled spade was difficult and time consuming. His invention lets him drive the tractor while the shank digs a trench and the invisible fence wire is smoothly placed in the ground through a curved stainless steel pipe.
    “It works on the same principle as a tiling machine installing perforated drainage pipe in a farm field,” says Myers. “It doesn’t require much power because the cable is only going 2 to 3 inches deep in the ground.”
    The foundation for the device is a Cat. I 3-pt. hitch that mounts on the back of his garden tractor. Myers bolted a 24-in. long piece of 1 1/2-in. angle iron to each side of the hitch frame and extended a 1/2-in. stainless rod between the top of the 2 pieces. The rod provides lateral support and holds a spool of invisible fence wire.
    For digging trenches, Myers bolted an 18- in. long piece of metal bar to the back of the 3-pt. hitch frame. It has 3 holes to adjust the depth. The 1/2-in. by 2-in. bar is curved forward at the base to create a pointed shank that automatically pulls itself into the ground as the tractor moves forward.
    Myers bolted a curved piece of 1/2-in. tubing to the back of the shank to route the cable into the ground behind the trench. “It’s simple and effective and works like a charm,” says Myers. “Sure beats the heck out of walking behind a self-propelled trencher.”
    Using the device for subsoiling or chisel plowing simply requires unbolting the curved install tube from the shank, then removing the vertical support bars and spool from the hitch frame. Removing the shank allows wheel weights to hang from the hitch frame if a snowblower or other implement is mounted to the front of the tractor. Myers can make plans available if others are interested in building one like it. He says the device should fit other brand garden tractors with 3-pt hitches.
    Contact: FARM SHOW Followup, Don Myers, 3221 W. 700 S., Berne, Ind. 46711 (ph 260 589-2080; Don55myers@gmail.com


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2016 - Volume #40, Issue #4