Home Built Corn Reel

Home built corn reel COMBINES Down Corn 9-4-8 "I have used this spider reel on my cornhead to rake in down cornstalks for seven years with no troubles at all," says Willie Fichtenberg, Mesa, Wash. "It's designed so that wherever you position it, fore and aft, it always remains the same distance from the gathering chains. It's equipped with hydraulic lift arms so the operator can lift it up out of the way in fields with both down and standing corn. If you don't raise the reel in standing corn, the batts will knock the ears off before the corn gets into the head. "The reel removes by simply unbolting two bolts and there's nothing welded to the header. The batts are fastened to the reel shaft with clamps because, if you welded them or drilled a hole through the shaft, it would weaken the shaft. I do a lot of custom work around here in rows varying in width from 29 to 34 in. You have to change the head to match and the clamps let us easily make the switch. "To drive the spider reel, I rigged up a No. 50 chain from the main corn head drive. The drive sprockets are shear pin protected and all pivot points are greased. The best way to drive it would be to run it off a hydraulic reel motor, which is possible on later model Massey combines. "This reel lets me harvest corn other custom operators can't handle. Other farmers often call me to harvest downed crops they can't get with their own machines," says Fichtenberg. Contact: FARM SHOW Followup, Willie Fichtenberg, 4452 Ironwood Rd., Mesa, Wash. 99343.

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