Widening a too narrow 3 point implement

icehorse

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Tractor supply sell a flat bar with pins on that will fit your cat 1 hitch . Get one of these & mount it to your implement
animal
I had a similar idea: If I got a high grade steel bar 32" x 1 3/8" and attached that to the baler, that would seem very strong. I'm a little worried that the long bar would be close to the PTO (above) and the area where hay feeds into the baler below - lot's of stuff going on in a small space.
 

woodman55

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Ah, interesting! So the pin would be supported from both ends! Any idea how to find a 3/4" x 8" piece of high quality steel? None of my local tractor dealers have pins that long..
The rod from a old/damaged hyd cyl would work.
 
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rc51stierhoff

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Does my answer on post #18 answer any of your questions? I've done just a tiny amount of welding - no way am I experienced enough to want to trust my baler to my welding :) I'm looking for a welder who will come to me, but so far, no luck.

As for swapping the "tabs" on the baler, I looked into that. It looks like a real "can of worms" project because the other ends of the bolts are behind all sorts of gears and rods and brackets and such.
Based on what you shared…I sort of think either try it without the QH…I really did not understand if there is a concern with not using the QH…to me that is a simple solution before I would chop on a perfectly fine implement. Or find a certified welder…I believe you need a real welder if you plan to chop it. But I’d consider either having a machinist make some extra long pins (you should want them hardened) before I would cut the frame on it…but honestly if you can’t find long enough pins at TSC or rural king or wherever near you, why would hooking up with out a QH not be an option?…be a lot easier to trim a PTO shaft than the implement itself IMO.
 

GreensvilleJay

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The problem may be that the baler is for a GARDEN tractor and NOT a CAT1 3pt setup.
There's lots of 'small balers' online...some say Cat1, some 3pt,some NOTHING !!!
If you post the mfr/make/model info we can lookup the specs.
IF it is a Cat1 3pt then it should fit ,with the QH adapters, providing he QH IS Cat1 speced for the implement end !
 

icehorse

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Based on what you shared…I sort of think either try it without the QH…I really did not understand if there is a concern with not using the QH…to me that is a simple solution before I would chop on a perfectly fine implement. Or find a certified welder…I believe you need a real welder if you plan to chop it. But I’d consider either having a machinist make some extra long pins (you should want them hardened) before I would cut the frame on it…but honestly if you can’t find long enough pins at TSC or rural king or wherever near you, why would hooking up with out a QH not be an option?…be a lot easier to trim a PTO shaft than the implement itself IMO.
I have four separate fields I'm haying. Each one is on it's own schedule as far as when it needs to be tedded, raked, or baled. The result is that when it's time to hay I have to switch implements back and forth many times. As I joked earlier, the real solution is to have two tractors, one for the tedder-rake and one for the baler. ;) And it's kind of not a joke, because most people that hay big fields do have a separate tractor dedicated to each implement.
 
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icehorse

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The problem may be that the baler is for a GARDEN tractor and NOT a CAT1 3pt setup.
There's lots of 'small balers' online...some say Cat1, some 3pt,some NOTHING !!!
If you post the mfr/make/model info we can lookup the specs.
IF it is a Cat1 3pt then it should fit ,with the QH adapters, providing he QH IS Cat1 speced for the implement end !
My baler is a Farm-Maxx, FMRB-330. The specs say you should have at least 25 HP. I think what's going on here is that this baler is made in India. I'm guessing that 25-50 hp tractors in India have narrower 3-point setups, but that's just a guess. Also, the baler weighs 1200 pounds.

My QH is a QH15 from Landpride. it's 27 1/2" inside to inside for the bottom links.
 
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rc51stierhoff

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I have four separate fields I'm haying. Each one is on it's own schedule as far as when it needs to be tedded, raked, or baled. The result is that when it's time to hay I have to switch implements back and forth many times. As I joked earlier, the real solution is to have two tractors, one for the tedder-rake and one for the baler. ;) And it's kind of not a joke, because most people that hay big fields do have a separate tractor dedicated to each implement.
You’ll get no argument from me about having a pair…in fact I believe a pair and a spare would be better…that’s my motto for EDC.
 
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rc51stierhoff

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Another thought before modifying your implement would be a pats easy change instead of your QH. I recently put one on my B for that reason and I wish I would have gotten that rather than the QH when I bought the Mx.
 

icehorse

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Another thought before modifying your implement would be a pats easy change instead of your QH. I recently put one on my B for that reason and I wish I would have gotten that rather than the QH when I bought the Mx.
Interesting! I've never seen that before. So how does the toplink work?
 

rc51stierhoff

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Interesting! I've never seen that before. So how does the toplink work?
There is no change to the top link…but the easy change sort lets the lower arms acts like a quick hitch except you have the versatility of adjusting the width….best of both worlds…more versatile. Google tractor Mike pats easy change and some videos should come up.
 

GreensvilleJay

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I had a look at baler and QH info. the baler should be 'Cat1'. The QH however appears to be Cat3 on the implement side. LP does offer several 'adapters'..

cut from the LP document...
20 320-048D SPCR TUBE 1.44ODX.9IDX1.28LG (S/N 388293+) Standard
20 320-044D SPCR TUBE 1.44ODX.93IDX1.50LG Optional Order as Required
20 320-045D SPCR TUBE 1.44ODX.93IDX1.93LG Optional Order as Required
20 320-050D SPCR TUBE 1.44ODX.93IDX2.18LG Optional Order as Required
20 320-051D SPCR TUBE 1.44ODX.93IDX2.43LG Optional Order as Required
20 325-017D SPCR TUBE 1.44ODX.93IDX2.88LG Optional Order as Required
20 320-052D SPCR TUBE 1.44ODX.93ID.3.50LG Optional Order as Required
...

One set of these 'spacer tubes' ,should allow the QH to carry the baler. ?
I'm thinking LP has made ONE 'btm hook' for quik and cheap mfg, hence needing 'spacer tubes'.
If you measure the baler's mtg width, you can decide which set of spacers will be needed.
 

icehorse

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I had a look at baler and QH info. the baler should be 'Cat1'. The QH however appears to be Cat3 on the implement side. LP does offer several 'adapters'..

cut from the LP document...
20 320-048D SPCR TUBE 1.44ODX.9IDX1.28LG (S/N 388293+) Standard
20 320-044D SPCR TUBE 1.44ODX.93IDX1.50LG Optional Order as Required
20 320-045D SPCR TUBE 1.44ODX.93IDX1.93LG Optional Order as Required
20 320-050D SPCR TUBE 1.44ODX.93IDX2.18LG Optional Order as Required
20 320-051D SPCR TUBE 1.44ODX.93IDX2.43LG Optional Order as Required
20 325-017D SPCR TUBE 1.44ODX.93IDX2.88LG Optional Order as Required
20 320-052D SPCR TUBE 1.44ODX.93ID.3.50LG Optional Order as Required
...

One set of these 'spacer tubes' ,should allow the QH to carry the baler. ?
I'm thinking LP has made ONE 'btm hook' for quik and cheap mfg, hence needing 'spacer tubes'.
If you measure the baler's mtg width, you can decide which set of spacers will be needed.
Thanks for checking on this. It looks to me as though what you found are the various bushings that can be used with this QH. These are useful for changing the diameter of the pins on the implement, but what I need to do is change the distance between the implement's two bottom pins.

Is that making sense?
 

GreensvilleJay

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yes,
how about these....
they are 5" long.
really need to now the baler's mtg plate spacing 'width', (should be 26" more or less ?)

If those cat 1 lower link pins are long enough, a 3/4" x8" grade 8 bolt and 2 nuts should work...

possible sequence is...
LP QH15 Baler frame
bolt->flat washer->LP spacer----->nut-baler frame-lock washer-nut

I know 'clear as mud'. It'd be easy if stuff was here, in the shop...grab 'this and that',done.
 

icehorse

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yes,
how about these....
they are 5" long.
really need to now the baler's mtg plate spacing 'width', (should be 26" more or less ?)

If those cat 1 lower link pins are long enough, a 3/4" x8" grade 8 bolt and 2 nuts should work...

possible sequence is...
LP QH15 Baler frame
bolt->flat washer->LP spacer----->nut-baler frame-lock washer-nut

I know 'clear as mud'. It'd be easy if stuff was here, in the shop...grab 'this and that',done.
I'm really thinking about the "Pat's QH" that rc51stierhoff told me about. I'm going to sleep on it, but I might see if I can return my QH15. This "Pat's QH" seems like a great solution for me. Some of my implements are land pride, but some are either older or foreign, and this "Pat's QH" thingy seems like it would handle all of them quite well.

Barring that, I think we're on the same page as far as the grade 8 bolt. I'm thinking it would be a bit stronger if I shim the bushing so it's tight to the bolt, AND I add nuts so that the bushing and nuts and washers are all tight to each other.
 

icehorse

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There is no change to the top link…but the easy change sort lets the lower arms acts like a quick hitch except you have the versatility of adjusting the width….best of both worlds…more versatile. Google tractor Mike pats easy change and some videos should come up.
From the "no good deed goes unpunished" department...

Ok, I really like this PAt's QH. Thanks for telling me about it. Now, I have a hydraulic top link, has anyone ever seen any sort of "top link extender"? IF the "pat's" thin adds 4 inches, thn i'd like to extend the top link 4".

And yes, I know that the very fact that it's hydraulic means I could skip that, but I know I'm often working at the most extended end of the top link as it is.
 

rc51stierhoff

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From the "no good deed goes unpunished" department...

Ok, I really like this PAt's QH. Thanks for telling me about it. Now, I have a hydraulic top link, has anyone ever seen any sort of "top link extender"? IF the "pat's" thin adds 4 inches, thn i'd like to extend the top link 4".

And yes, I know that the very fact that it's hydraulic means I could skip that, but I know I'm often working at the most extended end of the top link as it is.
If you look at some of the other posts and strings different people have different results on the necessity to get a longer top link. In my situation with my implements (B2650 w/ tiller, chipper, and ballast box) I have been fortunate and the original top link is fine (at least so far).
 

GreensvilleJay

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found this...
while trying to figure out 'dimensions'....

I think that the 'quick hitch' are all wider than the ASME CAT1 width of 26" spec,hence the need for 'adapters' or 'spacers'. They all(most ?) are CAT3 where the implement actually connects

You'll need 7/8" bolts to replace the lower link pins, seems 7/8 for the bottom 2, 3/4" for the top link.
The easy solution for now would be to remove the QH15 (obsolete now...) and connect baler to 3pt hitch. and get the crop baled.

Afterwards, THEN you can figure out the best setup for your implements. There's a LOT of posts about needing to modify implements to fit certain QH units, a terribly confusing system to say the least.
 
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icehorse

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rc51, gvjay, and bobinsd - thanks for your responses.

So the baling is done, the baler is unhooked (quite a chore), and I'm trying to get a solution now, while things are still fresh in what's left of my mind.

I have two approaches I'm focused on:

1 - Make longer bottom "pins" for the implement. The photo below shows my cheap steel mockup, which bent almost immediately (the green duct tape was my mock bushing). I've ordered grade 8, 8" x 3/4" bolts to see if I can make longer pins that are strong enough. If so, this effectively widens the width of the baler, so it'll fit on the QH15.

2 - Return my QH15 and get a set of the "Pat's QH". If I go this route, then I also want to effectively lengthen the toplink holders that are bolted to the tractor (by 3" or 4"). So I'm wondering if "longer" (from front to back) toplink holders are available? It appears that the "Pat's QH" would let me adjust the distance between the two bottom links easily for each implement, as opposed to having to make all the implements exactly fit the QH15.

pin-bent.jpg
 

GreensvilleJay

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Pretty sure the QH15 has been replaced by the QH16. LP may have changed the design to be Cat1 IMPLEMENT compatible ?? May be worth a phone call to find out .