Who else uses a scythe?

I wonder where the North Wayne Tool Company started at? I ask as it is 24.5 miles from North Wayne, ME and as a kid my family used to rent a cabin in Wayne. John
PS the last time I was in ME, about 1984, we visited a museum in Augusta, ME and they had a farming display, with tools used. The sad thing was they said at the turn of the century, 1900, there were something like 5,000 farms in ME, and at that time less than 500 farms were left, and I expect now even less remain. John
 
John A. Larsen said:
I wonder where the North Wayne Tool Company started at? I ask as it is 24.5 miles from North Wayne, ME and as a kid my family used to rent a cabin in Wayne. John
PS the last time I was in ME, about 1984, we visited a museum in Augusta, ME and they had a farming display, with tools used. The sad thing was they said at the turn of the century, 1900, there were something like 5,000 farms in ME, and at that time less than 500 farms were left, and I expect now even less remain. John
Click to expand...

They started off in North Wayne in 1881. :)
 
zxMvA6h.jpg

finally had some time to get out and cut, it was the first of the season so i only had a rough, ground edge on it but it was sharper than i thought. I saw this cup and gave it a slightly-quicker-than-usual slice.
on one hand Im happy that it managed to do that, on the other im a little upset someone littered in my yard
 
Got hay?

Get a hardwood closet rod and cut a long slot in it. Keep in mind that perhaps no one has ever made a hay rake handle that's "too long"!
49961087671_81c281ae88_c.jpg


My closet rod wood turned out to be impossible to steam or boil bend sufficiently for the large span I desired without cracking. (I think the closet rod was labeled as hemlock) so I discarded my practice rod and...

Tie a wire near the end of the slot and 3D print some curved forms. I made my forms out of orange ABS. They don't have to be orange. ;) I used two forms per split handle arm. My 3D printer couldn't print a single form of sufficient length, but it turned out to be a blessing to use shorter forms when pounding the forms on and off of the dowel arms.

Oh yeah--make your rake head from hardwood dowels and lumber too.
49960645338_8887e9a817_c.jpg


If you drill the head lumber from both sides, you can actually benefit from the almost inevitable slight mismatch where the through hole halves join mid depth, because the mismatch will help to make the press fit of the teeth dowels. No glue required! (I learned this trick from a website describing how people nailed wooden structures together with wooden pins rather than metal nails back in "the old days".) Use water as a lube when hammering the teeth into position.

I boiled the split handle ends in an extra long extended stainless "mud pan" for about an hour. I made my extended pan from two normal pans by cutting the ends off the pans and bonding the pans together with high-temp silicone RTV sealant.
49960645368_3ae47fda27_c.jpg


Pound the forms onto the ends very quickly after a good steaming or boiling to minimize cooling. Boil with the wire tie already installed. I let my handle sit to cool and dry for a couple of days during last year's hot summer before I drove the forms off, one at a time.
49960645403_ec9878a3e6_c.jpg


A large rubber mallet works well for driving the forms on and off the handle.
49960645438_bf42f06e91_c.jpg


Carve and sand the split handle ends and drill the holes into the head for a tight press-fit. If you get it just right, you'll not need glue or nails here either.
49961161741_2c4c449f9a_c.jpg


Rake up some hay! :)
49961161791_e99e5e4748_c.jpg


I used this design as a starting guide but my rake is larger and I used straight teeth, which I think work best for raking hay into windrows. Perhaps the angled teeth work better for lifting and turning the hay.
https://www.motherearthnews.com/diy/hay-rake-zmaz79mjzraw
 
Last edited:
I find angled heads work best overall, as they're less prone to snagging. But square heads work fine, too! Did you taper the teeth at all? Very tidy work.
 
FortyTwoBlades said:
I find angled heads work best overall, as they're less prone to snagging. But square heads work fine, too! Did you taper the teeth at all? Very tidy work.
Click to expand...
Thanks, FortyTwoBlades! I only put a very short chamfer angle on each end of the teeth. No overall taper. In addition to the linked hay rake design above, I also copied the Cheesebrough flex-frame hayrake on Botan's site. There he says, Because of the perpendicular teeth, I especially like this rake for spreading out fresh cut hay to dry Since the teeth are not angled it makes it easier to grab and swish the fresh cut green grass out.

I had to make a choice on my first rake but I'll try angled teeth next time. Then I, myself, can try to find where straight vs. angle works best.

You brought something to my mind, too. The teeth can individually be angled or the entire head can be angled on the handle attachment. Any thoughts of one vs. the other? I think it would be easier to fabricate an angled head, which is what you specifically weighed-in on in your most prompt and thoughtful reply.
 
Angling the head is generally easier to do from a construction standpoint. You have fewer slanted holes to get right that way. :D
 
calinb said:
There he says, Because of the perpendicular teeth, I especially like this rake for spreading out fresh cut hay to dry Since the teeth are not angled it makes it easier to grab and swish the fresh cut green grass out.
Click to expand...
This seems to me to imply that the question of the angle is something other than a matter of personal preference or construction and more a question of use and function or at least technique because this grab and swish is certainly effected by whether or not the pegs are at an angle. My rake has no front-to-back angle but a side to side angle which I like for raking rows and stacking. Of course this precludes the nice split forked construction and calls for other measures for attaching and reinforcing the head.
 
Ernest DuBois said:
My rake has no front-to-back angle but a side to side angle which I like for raking rows and stacking. Of course this precludes the nice split forked construction and calls for other measures for attaching and reinforcing the head.
Click to expand...
Interesting! I don't think I've ever seen one like that (or photos of one, because the only real and true hay rake that I've ever seen is the one I made myself ;)).
 
calinb said:
Interesting! I don't think I've ever seen one like that (or photos of one, because the only real and true hay rake that I've ever seen is the one I made myself ;)).
Click to expand...
Try looking up "Fries Hooiharken" it seems particular to my region, well it's all I know or use except once a neighbor gave an aluminum which I promptly chucked under the hedge.
 
Glenn Bailey said:
Help! Part 1
What's the difference between G v C pattern for American scythes?
Click to expand...
Patterns vary depending on the specific manufacturer, but because of the reference to a G pattern I presume you're talking about Rixford's C vs. G pattern (a Rixford C pattern is not the same as a NWT Co. C pattern or an Emerson & Stevens C pattern) in which case Rixford's C pattern has a fairly gradual curve to it while the G pattern has a much stronger curve to the heel. As far as I've seen Rixford is the only company with a "G" pattern designation (though there may have been others--I just don't have documents supporting that) but other companies had curves of similar shape under different names. A NWT Co. C pattern or D pattern are very similar to the curvature of a Rixford G, while a NWT Co. B is similar to a Rixford C. It's not especially meaningful to use that nomenclature unless you have a positive ID on the maker and have a reference of their curvature designations, or if you're referencing a specific curve that was offered under a certain name, in which case you need the manufacturer name to go along with it.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top