3 in 1 Cultipacker Plans
Price: $14.95
Cultipacker Plans
3 in 1 Easy Step By Step Guide
Northwestern Design Solutions is now offering plans on how to build three styles of cultipackers. After looking at used cultipackers at farm auctions with worn out bearings and broken wheels, or even looking at new ones that cost over $1000 you will question: "Why buy a cultipacker when I can make a new one of my own?" The primary purpose of cultipackers is to provide a divot or channel in the soil for moisture to collect, thus promoting seed germination. This is an absolute must for farming and wildlife food plots. Save yourself the time involved in figuring out the correct amount of material and cuts required when its already done! The three designs included in this package are as follows:
Deluxe Model- Using new cast iron wheels and 2" square tubing for the framework, as well as optional flip-over-wheels for transporting, this model weighs over 300 lbs and gives the best seed germination and is the most functional of all models. While it is designed to cultipack just over a 5' wide swath, you can save yourself some money by removing some of the cast
iron wheels and only cultipacking 3-4 feet instead. The new cast wheels are the costliest part of the design, but much of the framework can be found in scrap yards. Or, if you come across old cultipacker wheels, the design can be accomodated to use old wheels, hence saving even more money! It is assumed that you have welding and steel cutting abilities or know somebody that does to complete this model.
Economy Model-As the name suggest, this is a cheaper version of a cultipacker. This design utilizes a poly-corrugated 6" pipe filled with weight and pulled by a chain. Due to the shallow grooves in the tubing, this model is best suitable for light soils (no clay or heavy loam). Even on light, sandy soils, it does not leave a deep-V groove like the Deluxe Model, but it will still help flatten out lumps in the soil and provide seed much better germination than leaving it sit on top of the soil or disking it too deep. Its primary advantage is that it can be fairly easily transported in the back of a truck if necessary and can be made to a variety of lengths. If an individual had access to a larger diameter piece of corrugated tubing, by using the guidelines described for the 6" model, one could easily make a heavier unit more suitable for heavier soils.
Super Economy Model-This model is probably the cheapest model to construct. It utilizes a 55 gallon drum (24" diameter x 34" long), but just about any steel barrel will work. Filling the unit with weight and adding multiple points around the circumference of the drum gives you a heavy unit that can press seeds into the soil as it rolls around; more so with this model than the Economy Model. If no points are added, you then have a very functional lawn roller. Transporting this model is more difficult than the Economy Model however.
