Introduction: Hay Bale Dolly Assistive Technology

About: I started out my agricultural engineering career serving farmers with disabilities for Breaking New Ground at Purdue University. I then moved to Lowell, Michigan to be a dairy farmer and started a vegetable ma…

Farm workers with back, leg, and arm impairments struggle to carry hay bales across uneven ground. A hay bale dolly moves the bale on wheels to enable the farmers to do necessary tasks in spite of their medical conditions.

Supplies

Items needed are 24-inches of 1 1/2 x 1 1/2 x 1/4" angle iron, 4 pieces of 1/2" rebar cut to 15" lengths, 2 bolts, and a 2-wheel dolly.

Step 1: Tines

First drill 2 holes in the angle iron and the dolly so the tines can be bolted in place once welding is done. Second, weld the 4 rebar tines onto the angle iron at 8-inch spacing.

Step 2: Assembly

Bolt the tines onto the dolly and use the dolly to easily move hay bales without lifting and carrying.