STEP TWO: Build a box baler
You will need to print the instructions to make this baler (see link at the bottom of page 13).
I bought the timber, plywood, coach bolts, screws, door hinges and eye hooks from Mitre10 for under $110. 1 The box baler is a square loading box with a lever system to compress the hay. It's attached to a loading platform, providing stability to balance the lever arm.
The loading platform frame and the loading box are constructed from 4x2 timber, with sheets of plywood in between. Start by constructing the base platform from two long and one short length of 4x2”. 2 The rear corners of the loading box are two pieces of 4x2” timber attached to one another at right angles and fixed to the base platform. Screw a sheet of plywood between these and fix the central 4x2” length to the centre to hold the lever arm. 3 Fix another piece of 4x2” to the base to form the front of the loading box. Connect across the top with a shorter length of 4x2”, holding the side plywood sheeting. On the front, below the crossbeam, cut a plywood piece for the door.
You'll notice I went for a two-door front-opening model as opposed to the single door version in the referenced plans. There was no strategy behind this. I cut a bit of plywood in the wrong place and had to adapt it to get the baler finished in a day.
It works fine, but in practice I think the single door model would be more robust during the baling process.
Fix the door to the side upright with hinge or hinges and add a secure closing mechanism (either a bolt, or a hook on the far side). 4 Make the lever arm and compression platform. The lever arm is made up of two shorter lengths of 4x2” and a long central length. Use coach bolts to secure these at the top of the central pillar on the back. In the centre of the space between the two shorter lengths, use a coach bolt to fix the vertical 4x2” that holds the compression platform (the bit that goes into the box baler top).
The compression platform itself is a square of plywood, the same dimensions as your box, attached by two pieces of 4x2 (in photo 4 you can see it where it inserts into the loading box). When the arm is lowered, this compresses your hay inside the box.
5,
5athe floor of the loading box has two pieces of wood fixed to it, with eye hooks sitting next to them (5a). These are the runners that hold your baling twine in place. Fix these into the floor of your baler and screw in the eye hooks so the side of the eye is
touching the wood.
Fix two eye hooks to the outside back of the baler (circled in red in image 2). Position a little way down from the top, and keep them in line with the floor runners. These hold the baler twine ends during loading. 6 You’ll notice the doors have slits cut into them. These should be at the same distance as the floor runners. The slits allow you to tie the baler twine. I discovered two things from this experience: • human beings can improvise if they need to; • the woodworking adage of ‘measure twice, cut once’ is correct and it’s better to pay attention the first time round.