02 Sep Behind the Scenes of Forging a Field Roller
The welders at Kaymor are working on a new exciting project, a water-fillable field roller to be attached to the rear of a tractor. The capacity of this roller is astonishing. Without water, the steel weighs around 5000lbs, with water an anticipated 10,000lbs. You might wonder why this kind of field roller would be filled with water and what it is used for in the first place.
Field rollers are agricultural tools used to flatten land or break up large clumps of soil. They are usually pulled by tractors and used mainly after ploughing the field. You might remember scenes from the past, or have seen on TV, where rollers have been attached to animals such as oxen. This is how they had been used before the invention of, or in areas lacking, other mechanisms like tractors.
Field rollers flatten the land to facilitate easier harvesting, watering and weed control, as well as reducing moisture loss from the soil. In addition, rollers are used on residential lawns and cricket fields. They help compress the soil and level the ground for mowing. Historically, they were even used as for snow removal or control mechanism on the roads.
As to the weight and specifications of these rollers, they usually consist of one or more cylinders made of either (1) thick steel construction, (2) thinner steel filled with concrete, or, such as the one in the making at Kaymor, (3) a water-fillable cylinder. Having rollers filled with water has the extra advantage of controlling the weight as the water can be drained out if lighter weight is desired for certain uses or during transport. Remember, though, water is drained in the winter in cold areas to avoid expansion problems of the icing water.
We are excited to see the finished product being put to good use, rolling away in the field and will post pictures of the final product soon.