Walter and Albert Hofer offer pre and post-solution options for rock-denting on Macdon and Deere feeder drums. Their preventive measure is to install their Rock Dam (Vol. 50, No. 1). If damage has already occurred or a rock slips past the Rock Dam, they recommend their Drum Reconditioning Tool (DRT).

“Drum fingers will jam a rock into the feeder house, denting the drum and often breaking or bending the finger,” explains Albert Hofer of TrueLine Manufacturing. “Draper headers are made out of thin metal, and it doesn’t take much of a dent before you can’t replace a finger.”

He notes that the damaged finger is usually where the dent is located.

“The dent doesn’t allow you to put the bushing and new finger back in place,” says Hofer.

After dealing with the problem on their own draper headers, they applied their custom metal fabrication expertise to develop the DRT. The first prototype was simply two steel plates connected by a nut and bolt. They tightened the nut until the dent disappeared.

They refined the concept to make it faster and easier. The DRT kit includes dies that match the drum’s curvature, a 15-ton hydraulic ram and a hand pump.

As with their first effort, a die is slipped into the drum over the dent. A second die is placed on the drum surface, and the hydraulic jack is attached.

“Simply pump the jack until it doesn’t go, then remove it and the dies,” says Hofer.

When a neighbor mentioned needing to replace his dented drum, the brothers took their tool over to see what it could do.

“Replacement can cost about $3,000,” says Hofer. “We took his dents out, and he never did replace it.”

As with other TrueLine products, once it was proven on their farm and on neighbors’ farms, it was added to their product line. The DRT is available directly from the company for $900 USD. The kit weighs 25 lbs. and fits a 14 by 12 by 12-in. case.

Contact: FARM SHOW Followup, TrueLine Manufacturing, 41328 Range Rd. 41, Rimbey, Alberta, Canada T0C 2J0 (ph 403-588-9420; www.truelinemfg.ca).