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Quick-Release Shank Holders
Adapting his cultivator to different row widths and beds is easy for Craig McMillan thanks to his quick-release shank holders. In a few minutes he can shift cultivator shanks or change shank types.
    “I have a standard 3-pt. hitch cultivator that I use on a 2-acre garden along with a 1-row planter,” says McMillan. “Row widths vary depending on what is planted. Removing shanks to match the rows took time.”
    McMillan does a lot of metal fabrication for people, which provides him with a good selection of scrap metal, including a couple feet of 3/4-in. thick, 2 1/2-in. square tubing.
    “A spring tooth shank fit nicely into the tubing,” says McMillan. “I cut it into 4 to 5-in. pieces and welded them to the angle iron toolbar where the shanks had been bolted in place.”
    Once he slipped the shanks into the tubing, he drilled holes through the top of the tubing and the shank ends using the old bolt holes as guides. Initially, McMillan secured the shanks in place with bolts and nuts. After losing several nuts, he realized neither the bolts nor the shanks fell out. He no longer uses the nuts.
    “When I need to change spacing, I just pull the bolts, slide out the shanks, flip them over and put them back in with points up,” says McMillan. “I added extra tubing alongside the first set. This lets me move shanks over for closer spacing.
    “The concept works great for me and should work just as well with larger equipment,” adds McMillan. “Just match the tubing to the shanks.”
    Contact: FARM SHOW Followup, Craig McMillan, 1249 Linersville Rd., Buffalo, S. C. 29321 (ph 864 426-5266).


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2019 - Volume #43, Issue #3