«Previous    Next»
“No Hydraulics” Big Bale Cutter
Levi Fisher devised the Quikut to slice big round bales for his dairy herd. Five years later, his first unit is still working great with only an occasional sharpening needed with a hand grinder.
    “It’s practically maintenance-free,” says Fisher. “It has a grease zerk on a brass bushing, but it never spins, only turning slightly each time a bale is sliced.”
    The Quikut consists of a sharpened disc coulter blade. The blade on its bushing is mounted to a tubular steel arm sized to slide over a skid steer or forklift fork.
    “Just slide it on and a quick-attach pin locks it in place,” says Fisher. “Drive up to a bale and lower the arm. The down pressure alone is enough to slice through bales.”
    Control provided by the down pressure makes it easy to adjust how much of the bale is sliced open. Fisher and his son Michael use it to slice bales into quarters for forking off layers for hand feeding or into a TMR mixer. Bales can be sliced open whether wrapped or unwrapped.
    “We leave the plastic and net wrap on as we don’t use plastic on the ends,” says Fisher. “It slices right through the plastic and into the bale. If it hesitates on the plastic, we know we have a dull blade. It takes only a couple of minutes with a hand held grinder, and it’s good to go again.”
    Fisher estimates having to sharpen the blade a couple of times a year. He has seen no other wear on his 5-year-old unit.
    “I see no reason it won’t last another 20 years,” he says.
    The Quikut is made locally, and Fisher ships them direct from his farm. The 52-lb. unit sells for $295, plus shipping. While most sales to-date have been within Pennsylvania, he has shipped units to surrounding states and as far west as Missouri.
    Contact: FARM SHOW Followup, Levi Fisher, Wireless Valley Farm, 409 South Groffdale Rd., Gordonville, Penn. 17529 (ph 717 355-2068).



  Click here to download page story appeared in.



  Click here to read entire issue




To read the rest of this story, download this issue below or click here to register with your account number.
Order the Issue Containing This Story
2016 - Volume #40, Issue #6