How to round off Tube

[printcom]

Hi Chaps,
I need to round the ends off a few lengths of 75mm x 5mm tube to stop it catching and ripping wrapped bales. I envisage welding a dome on the end but I haven't got a clue on how to make the dome. (I don't have a press) Anyone got any ideas on how best to do this?

 

[Hitch]

You can buy domes for this kind of purpose....

Heres one i found at random to give you an example...
http://lockinex-store.com/welding-dome-caps/cat_47.html


Plenty more suppliers around.

 

[printcom]

Top man! many thanks for the info.

 

[s410man]

you could use a ball cut in half if you have one as im guessing there are 2 arms to do
not a twose machine by any chance

 

[printcom]

No its not a Twose, I fancy a winter project and have decided to make a double bale handler to save me a few hours of time next year. I am thinking of using 90mm 5mm thick tube for the lift arms and 120mm 5mm thick box for the frame. has anyone got any ideas if that will be strong enough?

 

[gav0994]

having seen a fair few bale handlers like you describe i would say that material you propose to use would do the job no problem. Just make sure there is bracing in all the right places to spread the load evenly.

 

[s410man]

JUST TO MAKE IT MORE DIFFICULT I WOULD SUGGEST PUTTING SPIKES INSIDE THE ARMS AND THEN JUST BOLTING SLEEVES ONTO THESE

THIS MEANS IN THE SUMMER YOU CAN HANDLE WRAPPED BALES BUT IN THE WINTER YOU CAN TAKE THE SLEEVES OFF AND SPIKE 2 BALES AT THE SAME TIME AS IT DOESN'T MATTER IF YOU RIP THEM just before you feed them and you can handle hay with them aswell

also make sure tham the sleeve size you use is small enough to fit inside a pallet as they are useful for moving them and you dont want to have to take the sleeves off all the time

 

[printcom]

Thanks for the input, I've got a Mchale bale handler on the front loader with spikes inside the tubes, as my yard is central to my land, being able to shift 3 bales at a time will save a lot of time.