Homemade Roller

[johnmonkey 4]

What is made of?John H

[Dutch 4]

John, The "roller" is a propane tank. The "axles" are spindle stubs, hubs, and bearings from the rear axle of a Dodge Omni. The "draw bar" is just scrap iron.

[MPH 12]

Dutch: I could tell it was a propane tank, and once again, I realized how much I like your style. I'm assuming you paid scrap price/lb for the tank--or less? But how do the hubs go on--just welded flat onto the ends, or did you cut any holes in the ends? How do you fill it/seal it? Do you plan on putting it in the "How To" section? Don't do it for me, because I'm not a "grass roller" (what??) but I was just curious. You painted it Simplicity Orange, right? Nice job! Peter

[Ron_B 0]

Hi Dutch- Leave it to you to come up with something that cool. I need one in the worst way, but not that big about half that would work just great for me.Picked up a small one last year,but it fell apart.Thanks for the plan.--Ron B

[gjh 0]

This board is a blast! Red Greene has nothing on you Dutch. I wish I had a neighbor that could help me out (read get in trouble) with some of my projects. Keep up the good work. My mind is a spinnning now!

[Dutch 4]

Peter, Stripped tank of top & bottom steel rings, as well as all plumbing and valves. Stripped backing plates and brake stuff off spindles. Located centers of tank, squared up spindles, and butt welded (didn't cut any holes). For filling & draining, cut hole in tank and welded in "mouth" from a rusted out 5 gal. jerry can. For the reasonable cost of a factory lawn roller, making a roller is a waste of time. But, I needed something thick walled with extra capacity for rolling RAP. It does work on the lawn too. Was going to paint it Deere green, but I heard that's about $1000 a can, so it got the Orange instead. Seems to still work okay though.

[Kent 436]

Orange probably works even better, Dutch. But, you may have lost some serious resell value....

[Putter 0]

The orange roller will make it just that much more reliable. Nice job Dutch. What is RAP?

[Guest]

Herb great job! I wish youd post a pic of that cool tractor. Would it be shabby to paint a solid black cat outline on the surface with its legs sprawled out? (just kidding) dont get to close to "the expert". Dougm

[MPH 12]

Herb, you apparently have a method figured cause your still here, How do you safey weld and cut on a propane tank??MPH

[Dutch 4]

May be a little big for the average home owner, but here it is. 48" wide x 30" high. 300 lbs. empty 1500 lbs. full. About half full (900 lbs.) seems good for lawns. Full for compacting gravel and RAP. 10hp lugs a little from a dead stop. 18hp pulls it fully loaded without a problem (just take it easy going downhill). Has a convertible hitch so it can be pulled with a larger tractor or pick up truck. http://home.att.net/~herb.niewender/roller.jpg

[Marion_Kerr 0]

Dutch, I made a roller about 30 yrs ago out of 5/8 inch thick 14 inch dia. high-pressure pipeline. I added an extra weight table on top. I also formed(from 1/16in. plate, 15 inch width(rear wheels), and 12 inch width(front wheels) bands that were 1/2 inch less in diameter than the tires. Let the air out of the tires, slip them over and blow tires back up to pressure. I use extra set of wheels and tires for this setup. Makes my tractor look like an ole' time steam engine. If I take the hood and fenders off, people stop and and ask "what is that?" No, it doesn't cut the turf up when turning.. I put 50psi on the yard across a 4Ft swath..

[MPH 12]

Marion: Give, man. You've gotta show us some pics o' that metalfooted monster! What do you do if you're rolling a golfcourse or big field in a lightning storm? Peter