FEBRUARY 1950 217

Above, an adjustable offset hitch of special designcouples the loader to the side of the truck frame.Below, the loader coupled behind truck for transport

UILT BY Lem Shaw and George Ham-merschmidt, California ranchers, this

efficient bale loader, coupled to the side ofa truck, picks up individual bales from thefield and elevates them high enough to en-able one man to build a six-tier load oneither a truck or trailer platform.

Fig. 1 pictures the offset hitch by meansof which the loader is coupled to the side ofthe truck. The manner in which the loaderis towed to and from the field behind thetruck or trailer is shown in Fig. 2. Figs. 3.to 15, inclusive, detail the construction andassembly of the unit. First, note in the topview, Fig. 4, that the loader axle is offset tobring the loader as close as possible to thetruck. The offset hitch is shown assembledfor attachment to the side of the truck

This bale loader is constructed almost en-tirely of discarded car parts and stocksizes of both angle iron and sheet metal

The neat, trim lines of the bale loader, shown abovein operation, will appeal to every farmer who likesto build efficient, labor-saving equipment in his shop

B

TOW AND PUSH BAR1½" PIPE, 92" LONG

¼" X 1½"FLAT IRON WELDED TO PIPE

FLATIRON

ROUND2½"1¼

PICKUP DOG( = 62 INTN'L. HARV. CHAIN)

36"

SPACERBAR

ELEVATOR DOG

1¼" 2¼"

TOW AND PUSH BAR

16' - 4"

7' - 5"

15°

30" 19"

36"

10"

28¾" CENTER LINE OF BALE LOADER

6"

19½"

TOP VIEW

8' - 10"

4

(CHAINS AND SPROCKETSNOT SHOWN)

WELDED

2" R.

CHANNELS FORPICKUP CHAINS

CHANNEL FORELEVATOR CHAIN

SPROCKETSNOT SHOWN

¼" X 1¼"FLATIRONTIP BENT

OUTWARD

STEELPLATE

FIXEDBEARING

SHOE WELDEDON PARALLEL WITH

LINE OF TRAVEL

3"

18"

¼" STEEL TRUCK-SPRING LEAF

4" SQS.

SHOE

PICKUP CHAIN, 30 LINKSOR 6' OF CHAIN.

ONE DOG EVERY 3rd LINKWELDED

5"

¼" X 1½"FLAT IRON

PICKUP SPROCKETS (FORWARD)

HOUSING FORBALL BEARING

9

SIDE VIEW8

ONE DOG EVERY9th LINK

52"

ELEVATOR CHAIN,330 LINKS OR27' - 6" LONG 26°

30°

15°

V PLATEFOR CHAINADJUSTMENT

BRACKET

ADJUSTINGBOLT

7

ADJUSTABLEBEARING

GALV. SHEET METALBENT AROUND SHAFT

CENTER OF AUTO AXLE 7"

OFFSET 41/2"

6½"

¾" BAR

SPACER BAR1½" PIPE, 32" LONG

5½"

X 1¼" X 1¼"ANGLE IRON

¼" X ¾"FLAT IRON

¼" PLATE FORCHAIN-ADJUST-MENT BRACKET

X 1½" X 1½"ANGLE IRON

¼" X 1¼"FLATIRON

½" PIPE

X 1½" X 1½"ANGLE IRON

¾" X 1¾"CHANNEL

WELDED

4½"X 1" FLAT IRON

½" PIPE

70"1" PIPE

11

FRAMEASSEMBLY

1½" PIPE,8½" LONG

BALLBEARINGENGAGED

POSITIONHOLES

FOR PIN SPLINEDSLEEVE

SPLINEDSHAFT

NEEDLEBEARING

¼" PIPE

DISENGAGEDPOSITION

12

SECTIONAL VIEW OFCLUTCH ASSEMBLY

WELDED

PIN

CLUTCHASSEMBLY

16"-WHEEL(6" X 26" AIRPLANE TIRE)

PIVOT

23"

½"PIPE

WELDEDTO

AXLE

LUGWELDEDTO AXLE

7"

VIEW LOOKING FORWARD15SMALL SPROCKET (5 REQD.)

HOLE

PIVOT

3¼"PITCH DIA.

LARGE SPROCKET,TEETH FOR #62

INTN'L. HARV.CHAIN (1 REQD.)

14

FORD,MODEL-A

REARAXLE

PITCH DIA.14"

CLUTCH

88°

2½

13

WELDED

6"

¼" PLATE

8' - 4"

4" SQS.

4½"

14-GA. GALV.SHEET METAL

PLATFORM SIDES

DEVELOPEDPATTERN OF

TOW BAR,1 ½" PIPE

WELDED

28¾"4½"

14-GA. GALV.SHEET METAL

19"

8"

10

7"

23" 4" SQS.

220 POPULAR MECHANICS

Above, chain tighteners are fitted on the pickupidler shaft. Below, ground drive is through car axle

Short pickup chains start bale on its way up theelevator bed, or "flight," to the loading platform

Lugs on the pickup chain are curved slightly to re-lease bale. Those on the elevator chain are straight

frame. The parallel spacing bars are ad-justable so that the loader can be located tosuit the width of the truck platform. Thelong member of the hitch, top detail in Fig.3 and also Fig. 11, serves the dual purposeof tow bar when the loader is towed on theroad and that of push bar when the hitchis assembled for operation of the loader inthe field. The three views of the drivemechanism, Figs. 13, 14 and 15, show theassembly of the drive unit. Note that theoffset axle brings the drive sprocket, Fig.14, in the center of the elevator bed. Thisposition lines up the sprocket with thechannel for the elevator chain, Figs. 4 and 5.

Two Ford Model-A rear axles are as-sembled to form the drive as in Figs. 13, 14,18 and 21. One axle, with the housings re-moved, is mounted on the end of the torquetube of the second axle which is used intact,including the radius rods, Fig. 15. The openends of the upper differential housing areclosed with steel plates, welded on. Oneplate extends to form a mounting bracket,Fig. 13, and is bored and slotted for mount-ing bolts and for the drive-sprocket shaft.The throwout clutch mounted on the endof the torque tube between the two differ-entials is assembled from stock parts asin Fig. 12. In addition to the large drivesprocket, Fig. 14, five small sprockets of3½-in. pitch diameter are required to car-ry the elevating chain and the pickupchains. The pickup chains travel in steelchannels welded into the lower end of theelevator bed as in Fig. 5. The pickupsprocket assembly, with fixed and adjust-able bearings, is detailed in Fig. 7, and isalso pictured in Figs. 16, 17 and 19.

The bottom of the elevator bed, or "flight,"is covered with galvanized sheet metal andthe sides are built up and braced as in Figs.

Above, rear view showing curved platform fenderwhich turns the bale at top of elevator. Below, dif-ferential and clutch are mounted on torque tube

4, 8 and 10. Sheet metal forms the floorof the bale platform at the top of the eleva-tor bed, Fig. 20. The sheet-metal guide, orfender, which forms one side and the endof the bale platform, is curved to turn thebale as it slides onto the platform. A lay-out pattern for cutting the sheet-metal partto correct size is shown in Fig. 8, and thedetailed pattern for the bottom of the plat-form is shown in Fig. 4. Note that a "bead-ing" of ¼-in. pipe is welded to the top edgeof the platform fender, Fig. 15. The wings,or gatherers, Fig. 16, are made up for bothright and left sides as in Fig. 6. A shoe iswelded to the bottom of each wing to carrythe lower end of the elevator. It is im-portant that each shoe be welded parallelwith the line of travel, otherwise it willwear rapidly and may cause side draft.

The lugs, or dogs, welded to the elevatorchain are straight while those on the shortpickup chains are curved back as in Fig. 3.This backward curve is important as it per-mits the lugs to disengage freely from thebale as they pass downward over the idlersprockets. Tension on the pickup chainsshould be sufficient to prevent buckling.Chain tension can be changed by adjustingthe idler sprockets, Fig. 7.

After the frame and elevator assemblyhas been completed, the axle assembly istrial-fitted in the frame and mounting lugsare welded onto the axle housings as in Fig.15. Bolts passing through holes drilled inthe lugs and the horizontal members of theframe hold it firmly in position. The upperend of the drive unit is bolted to a lugwelded to the platform frame. Slots in thedifferential lug, or plate, Fig. 13, permitadjustment of the drive sprocket to theproper height with relation to the chainchannel. The elevator chain need not runtightly as the weight of the chain ordinarilywill give sufficient tension to prevent buck-ling. Note in Fig. 15 that the tires specifiedare of the airplane type and are mounted on16-in. wheels. While tires of this type aresatisfactory under ordinary field conditions,it may be necessary at times to use tirechains or casings with high-traction lugs inorder to prevent slippage. The truck, ortractor pulling a trailer, should be drivenat uniformly slow speed and the unit guidedso that the pickup chains engage the endof the bale. To save time, bales which aredropped from the baler crosswise of theline of travel should be straightened beforebeing picked up by the loader. As designed,the loader will pick up the standard sizebale either flat or edgewise, depending onhow it is dropped. If the larger, three-wirebales are handled, the elevator flight shouldbe made correspondingly wider. Keep thedrum and clutch units well lubricated toprevent undue wear on the parts.

FEBRUARY 1950 221