Hay Baler

With the hot, dry weather we’ve been having we decided to make hay from the grass cut on my learn to scythe course. The grass is quite light which made the scything easier and also meant it made in to hay with only a couple of days good sun.
To keep ourselves from getting bored since we finished building the curach, Edward, Ian & I decided to build a haybaler based on those used in the States. This is a simple wooden box into which the hay is compressed using a pad on a lever. The string is put in first and can be tied up through slots in the door. Feed in the hay, compress it with the lever, tie it off then open the door – perfect bales, small and light enough to be easily handled.
We weren’t in any doubt that it would work but this small amount of hay made a brilliant test run before tackling a whole meadow and sure enough we discovered a few modifications and improvements we’ll make for the Mark II.