Bale Mover

[farmersamm]

Ya gotta start somewhere

 

[rrlund]

Every journey begins with a single step.

 

[farmersamm]

Probably should give an update. It's been a slow go, what with the incredible heat. 100's every day.

Took about 15 minutes to move the truck, and pull the tubing off the back, then oooooch it over to the cut table. I'm not the guy I used to be. 13' of 3x3x3/16 steel tubing weighs about 91lbs. Used to be able to carry this across the yard, and put it where it needed to be (sigh)

I built the cut table many moons ago, back when I was still relatively young. Seems that it's getting harder to use as I age (sigh)

Here's one of the features of said table..........................

The chop saw sits on an adjustable platten. I can adjust it so that the cuts are mostly nearly square. Proof that a chop saw can be as good as a dry saw. You just need to work within parameters.

I DID have some problems with the saw. Apparently since the last time I used it............the table shifted. It just sits on wood sleepers. We've had a ton of rain, followed by a drought. Things move.

I cut a bunch of pieces before I realized that the saw was not set right.....................or...............that the blade was screwy.

Checking the blade alignment, nothing showed amiss. Switching the blade/wheel for another new one made the saw cut straight. Stuff happens. I'll put up some pics of how badly it was cutting before switching the blade..

Being as we're in a drought..........the garden hose with sprayer is always close at hand. It's easier to wet it down, than try to stop a fire.

 

[farmersamm]

So....................working mornings to avoid the heat. Which really impedes progress.

Tubing is cut with plasma, then smoogied to final diameter for the sleeve. If you're not familiar with these.............the stone mounted on the grinder is called a "cone stone".............for good reason

Excellent for taking a hole to its final dimension. I always cut shy of the line, then massage it with the grinder.

It's about time to start putting all this stuff together...........AND I GOT TO LOOKING AT THE SLEEVES.

They're both Conus 2, but the taper length is different on each one. I looked up some sleeves, and the Conus 2 comes in 3 different flavors. DANDY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I had originally thought I'd just make the sleeve, but decided it was easier to order one. THIS WAS BEFORE I REALIZED THEY COME IN DIFFERENT FLAVORS. Always go with your first instinct. Don't have a lathe for the sole purpose of admiring it.

While the outside length is close, the taper length is different for each different sleeve.

Most Ebay sellers just list these things as "Conus 2", without mention of the actual dimensions. Is what it is I guess.

So now..........I have to make a 150mi round trip to pick up some 2 1/2" CR 1018 to turn a sleeve

Thankfully these are German made spears, so they're Imperial measurements. Makes it a bit easier I guess...............although it's gonna be a PITA to bore the taper without a taper attachment. Have to use the compound, and reposition the boring bar to reach beyond the travel on the compound. Doing the bore in 2 setups. PITA!!

Can't get to the steel vendor till Tuesday. Labor Day(sigh). Woulda gone today, but the pup would have to go, and it's too dam hot to have him in the pickup without AC. You can lock him up in the house while you move the truck outside the front gate.........but he tears the door up trying to get out, and come with you. It's a 2 person job before K'kins has to leave for work.

Every time he goes with me, it's drama day. The crazy dog tries to go through the window when anybody walks within 20' of the truck. He's a protective pup.

 

[farmersamm]

You might be thinking that they sent me a Conus 1 sleeve...........not so. Even though the OD is different on my sleeves, they don't remotely resemble a Conus 1.

 

[Jim.ME]

Guess I have been lucky all the Conus 2 sleeves, a dozen or more, I purchased have been the same dimensions.

Well, the ID of the shorter one sure does not look like Conus 2, if you are saying the longer one is correct. Post dimensions if you want to give the whole story, pictures can distort things.

Did both sleeves come from the same place at the same time?

I have found some of the attachments (SSQA and 3point hitch carriers) with tapered sleeves are not Conus type and use a different taper and nut to hold the spear they use.

 

[farmersamm]

This will give you an idea of the variance for different spec'd Conus 2 sleeves.

https://www.amazon.com/Bale-Spear-W...18937ea585b8b44212&qid=1788555213&sr=8-7&th=1

I have SHW spears, which apparently come with the longest sleeves.

THERE IS A DIFFERENCE...................THIS IS A CONUS 1 SLEEVE.

Very different OD, and narrow opening.

 

[Jim.ME]

I gave you a picture of the shapes and dimensions of Conus 1 and Conus 2 sleeves. SHW is the manufacturer that started the Conus sleeves and spears as I understand it. It appears they have one size for each the 1, 2, and 3 sleeves, not 2 or 3 for each size spear sleeve, as seen on Amazon. Like a lot of things, the land of almost right jumps in and changes things.

The specs for the Conus 2 sleeves on the Amazon site you linked don't match SHW Conus specs in several areas, as you are finding out. Cheaper is not always the best route to take.

I don't see the tapered seat (for the tapered nut Conus uses to hold the spear) in the sleeve you say is a Conus 1. Again, the picture doesn't give info for true evaluation, we don't know what the other end looks like.

I think you got taken by at least one sub-quality knock-off sleeve. JMHO

 

[farmersamm]

I built a new bale spike for the loader around 6yrs ago. It's set up to take either Conus 1, or Conus 2, spears.

Tacking the Conus 2 sleeve in place.

This is a standard Conus 2 spear. 1 3/4 diameter.

The Conus 1 spears give me more clearance when feeding. I can drop a bale in the feeder without it tilting.

Simply lower it, while keeping level, and back out. The bale will drop square into the feeder. My feeders weigh on the order of 300#, so I don't care to try to tip them over a bale...........I just drop bales in.

So yeah...........I do know the difference between the spear/sleeve sizes.

 

[farmersamm]

I don't see the tapered seat (for the tapered nut Conus uses to hold the spear) in the sleeve you say is a Conus 1

This good enough for ya??

Yeah...........I'm the real deal........ I like pics when I build.

 

[farmersamm]

I think you got taken by at least one sub-quality knock-off sleeve. JMHO

Now there............I can't say I disagree. The original sleeve that came with the spare SHW spike is the longer one, and the one that fits right. Which was the original reason for my post........somethin' ain't right in Denmark.

 

[farmersamm]

You might also notice that the attachment is set up for the little stabilizer spikes used for the Conus 2 big spike. The small lengths of DOM hold the stabilizers.

If you want it done right...........it has to come straight from Uranus

 

[farmersamm]

GETTING TO THE BOTTOM OF THE MYSTERY..........................

Blued the spear, and tested the fit for both sleeves. When I have fitup issues, I grab the Dykem.

The line where the red arrow is, belongs to the new sleeve. It's riding on the outer edge, not the taper. It should slide over the bale spike another full 1 to 1 1/2 inches before it grabs the taper.

Now, here's the reason for the mystery.............................

Both sleeves are extra-long sleeves, DESIGNED FOR WIDER WIDTH TUBING. They're in the neighborhood of 6" long, enough to weld into 5" square tubing. This is why everybody was looking at the wrong drawings for the Conus 2 sleeve...............most are designed to work with 3-4" tubing.......

The wider end of both sleeves are bored straight for about 1.5 inches, before they transition to the Conus taper. That extra approx. 1.5 inches is the allowance for thicker tubing, and a sleeve that will still fit a standard Conus spear.

Another little aside.........................These are BPT spears, not SHW spears. I always assumed they were SHW (shrug)

products - BPTFORGING

www.bptforging.com

The BPT spear checks in at 1.788 diameter.

The sleeve that came with the BPT spear checks in at 1.830........... plenty of clearance.

The new sleeve checks in at 1.712......not even enough to clear a "standard" spear with a 1.750 diameter.

So.........................the straight length of bore isn't wide enough to allow the spear to settle into the taper...........which is why the threaded end of the spear doesn't stick out enough to get a nut on it.

This evening, when it cools off............I'll enlarge the bore on the new sleeve so that it will fit properly, THEN DECIDE IF I HAVE ENOUGH MEAT LEFT FOR STRUCTURAL INTEGRITY. Enough for a hot weld, and enough meat to support the sleeve adequately inside the tubing wall.

If it's a nay..................I still have the 2.5 CR on tap for pickup on Tuesday.

Had I just bought a standard 4 3/4 long sleeve, we wouldn't have had any issues. Instead, I looked for a sleeve the identical length as what came with the spear........not realizing how these were designed for the larger tubing.

SEE WHAT A LITTLE BIT OF DYKEM CAN DO FOR YA

 

[farmersamm]

BRAIN FART!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

All i really need to do is determine whether I can get rid of the extra length, and make the new sleeve into a standard 4 3/4 sleeve, completely getting rid of the offending straight bore.

Don't get old (sigh)

 

[farmersamm]

Thought I'd put up a pic to help anybody that's not quite understanding how these sleeves differ from standard sleeves..........and what the issues are.