Making lugs for a walk-behind tractor with your own hands

Nowadays there are a lot of techniques to help farmers in their difficult task of growing various crops. Walk-behind tractors are very popular - a kind of mini-tractors capable of performing different operations - plowing, hilling plantings, and so on. Additional attachments are also produced for walk-behind tractors, which expand their functionality. This article will focus on grousers for motoblock devices.

The lugs are designed to increase the weight of the motoblock unit and improve the contact of the equipment with the ground, especially in areas with too wet and / or loose soil. They are a spike design that is fitted onto an axle instead of / over pneumatic wheels with soft tires.

Several lug configurations can be found on the market today. Distinguish between universal and special lugs. The first ones can be used on any walk-behind tractor, the main thing is to choose the right size. The latter are made for a certain brand (model) of the unit.

By design features, lug attachments are divided into those requiring dismantling of wheels with pneumatic tires and worn over the tires. The first type requires fixation on the wheel axle.

The use of lugs allows:

• it is better to process the soil layer;
• improve the cross-country ability of both the motoblock unit itself and the attached trailer with a load;
• to increase the stability of equipment due to an increase in its weight;
• hang other additional equipment.

When choosing a suitable model, first of all, you should pay attention to the brand of the walk-behind tractor. For the Neva and Neva MB model range, variations of 43-centimeter diameter are excellent, the depth of immersion of spikes into the ground of which is 15 cm. For motor-blocks of the Salyut brand, half-meter lugs are needed, in which the depth of immersion in the soil will be at least 20 cm For "Zubr" we need tall items - 70 cm in diameter.

Lugs are not required only for heavy motoblock units, their weight guarantees them stable movement on almost any surface. But if you decide to improve the cross-country ability of your heavy model of a walk-behind tractor (weighing more than 0.2 tons), choose wide lug devices - 70 cm in diameter.

The choice of a suitable lug model also depends on the type of soil and the nature of the outside of the products. Their surface can be shaped like thorns or arrows. Consider when purchasing products that the low height of the spikes is not suitable for wet and loose soils - they are ineffective and easily clogged with soil. Arrow hooks are the most popular and are considered universal.

When purchasing additional equipment for your unit, first consider options from the same manufacturer.

Pay attention to the cost - it depends on the manufacturer and modification.

Soil wheels can be made at home, without spending extra money on the purchase of finished products. There are several fairly successful methods of making this equipment.

The first method is to remake old tires. To do this, you just need to "dress up" them in a structure that will prevent slipping.

To do this, you will need:

• welding machine;
• saw for metal;
• metal sheets with a thickness of 2-3 mm;
• metal sheets with a thickness of 4-5 mm.

From a thinner metal sheet, you need to cut 2 strips slightly wider than the width of the tire. The length of the strips should be such that, when twisting them into a ring, the wheel fits freely inside them. Pull the strips into rings, fix with bolt pins. In this case, it is desirable to bend the long edges inward.

From a thicker iron sheet, cut the blanks for the hooks, then bend them along the middle at an angle of 90 degrees and again - across at an angle of about 120 degrees. You should have a kind of beveled corners in the middle.

Then weld them to the base of the lug at regular intervals. This is a very important point, because if the identity of the distance is not observed, the walk-behind tractor will wiggle from side to side.

The second method is even easier to execute. You will need:

• 2 discs from the wheels of a Zhiguli car;
• a sheet of steel of sufficient thickness (4-5 mm);
• welding machine;
• angle grinder;
• electric drill.

A strip of metal must be welded onto car wheels - the ring base of the lug. Strong teeth are already installed on it.

Cut triangular blanks of the same size from the sheet and cut the corners. Weld them neatly perpendicular to the metal strip, making sure that they are evenly spaced. The dimensions of the teeth depend on the mass and size of your walk-behind tractor.

Approximate dimensions of lug devices for various brands of motoblocks

Self-made lug devices are attractive primarily because you design them for a specific walk-behind tractor, i.e. they will be perfect for your particular device. You save your money, because often additional attachments (which include lugs) are quite expensive, especially for motoblock units of foreign, in particular, European production. It is also worth noting that for the manufacture of homemade lug devices, not only car wheels are suitable, but also motorcycle wheels, and even gas cylinders - any round metal parts of a suitable size. To make teeth, you can use corners 5-6 cm wide (cut into pieces of a suitable size), cutters or a thick sheet of steel.

Use parts made of metal alloys with high strength characteristics, and pay more attention to the teeth of the lugs, because the main load when immersed in the soil goes to them.

To increase the service life, paint the finished products with paint for metal products or cover with an anti-corrosion compound.

You can learn more about how to make grousers for a walk-behind tractor with your own hands.