creative lawn rollers???

[52fordredbelly]

Spring is coming and with a break in the weather this weekend it got me looking at all the bumps ruts and settling in my 2-3 year old homes lawn. I can"t find too much in the way of heavy duty lawn rollers that are wide enough to smoothe out the agg tire marks of my 8n as I would pass by. I have read a few creative ideas referencing old water heaters. I guess I am looking to see what inventive ideas people have out there to make one vs. buy (if buy what are the recommendations). I am very limited on metal working/welding tools so looking to see what we can come up with for an "any DIY"er" can do. Pictures as always are a bonus... and thanks again in advance.

 

[TheOldHokie]

(quoted from post at 14:37:49 02/24/14) Spring is coming and with a break in the weather this weekend it got me looking at all the bumps ruts and settling in my 2-3 year old homes lawn. I can"t find too much in the way of heavy duty lawn rollers that are wide enough to smoothe out the agg tire marks of my 8n as I would pass by. I have read a few creative ideas referencing old water heaters. I guess I am looking to see what inventive ideas people have out there to make one vs. buy (if buy what are the recommendations). I am very limited on metal working/welding tools so looking to see what we can come up with for an "any DIY"er" can do. Pictures as always are a bonus... and thanks again in advance.

They are not usually one wide roller - they are typically ganged together to get wider coverage. A good source is local golf courses that might have an older one they are no longer using. It would not be hard to gang up three conventional lawn rollers....

TOH

 

[Maxwell 99]

You may know this:
But be very careful if you go welding on some old galvanized water tanks to make your roller.

The weld will produce fozgean (sp) gas that is very dangerous.

Just check it out before you weld!!!!!!!!!

 

[old]

I too have thought about building one and I have the perfect thing to do it with just never got around to it yet. I have an old road roller I picked up at an auction. I payed all of $125 for it and it ran.
Problems with water heaters is yep the galvanized coating which if you weld on it can make you very sick. Plus most have pipe fittings sticking out which would cause a problem.

 

[Den N Ms]

Plastic smooth sided 55 gal drum, or drums for gang roller would work good with a 1" or bigger pipe through the center for a axle.Then stand it on end with the axle in a hole in the ground and fill with concrete through the bungs,or 1/2 full of water.Then build a angle iron A frame hitch and some sort of pivot for the axle,spacers,pillow block bearings bolt on. Or even pipe couplings that would slip over the axle pipe, weld on, with a grease fitting would work.

 

[Den N Ms]

A 55 gal barrel full of concrete would weigh between 450-500 lbs.

 

[Money Pit]

i uses a carpet tube put a pipe in the middle and filled it with concrete. enough weigth in the right rolling condition which is critical.

only 36 wide glad thats all i did because the carpet tube form wouldn't have held up under too much more.

weighs quite a bit so i got curoius about how much 55 gallons would weigh; seems to be close to 1,000 pounds.
weight of a gallon of concrete

 

[TheOldHokie]

(quoted from post at 16:51:48 02/24/14) i uses a carpet tube put a pipe in the middle and filled it with concrete. enough weigth in the right rolling condition which is critical.

only 36 wide glad thats all i did because the carpet tube form wouldn't have held up under too much more.

weighs quite a bit so i got curoius about how much 55 gallons would weigh; seems to be close to 1,000 pounds.
weight of a gallon of concrete

Lawn rollers are typically loaded with water - 8.3lb/gallon. More than adequate for turf maintenance purposes AND the water can be easily drained when you need to transport the roller...

TOH

 

[newoxford2-n]

I wish I could send out pictures of the lawn rollers my dad made back in the late '40s. He had 36 inch wide steel rolled and mounted of 2-n centers which were placed on the tractor instead of the wheels with rubber. He devised an ingenious way of getting them mounted in that either he, or I in later years, could mount them alone without help. My senior year in college I worked for a poultry farmer who was turning his land into a golf course. I told him about these rollers and he had a set made for his Ferguson 30.

 

[Jimmyjack]

I took a piece of about 14 inch culvert, welded ends with bearings in it, added a hitch and filled it with sand. I use it like a cultipacker and it works great. You do get the corrigations in the soil which are fairly minimal and disappear after a rain or two. Use whatever diameter culvert is available, the bigger the heavier, depending on length. Works for me.

 

[kylemorley]

My impression has been that rolling lawns has gone the way of codliver oil and not swimming for an hour after you ate, as it was found that, by compacting the soil, it actually damaged the lawn. Certainly I can not recall seeing anyone rolling a lawn in many years, and yet when I was a kid anyone who had a lawn mower usually had a roller too.

 

[Hobo,NC]

I built one and not happy with it... My yard stays soft the tractor tires leave a mark I can not roll out I am gonna do another one and do like George Marsh and over build it ... Weight is hard to beat.... It never dawned on me the time to build it is the same and the cost if I can round up a mobile home frame....

http://forums.yesterdaystractors.com/viewtopic.php?t=1035668&highlight=yard

 

[New Oxford 2-n]

You are absolutely right. However when I was a kid most of the lawn we mowed was little more than blue grass that might show up between the field of weeds and was rougher than the proverbial cob.