Ballast roller

[FarmerD89]

I’ve been offered a strong framed ballast roller 10ft, for very cheap, which would be ideal for away ground,

However it’s got a few dents in the barrels which has me questioning if there’s more to the barrels then I suspect, they’re water tight, the plan is to weld on a heavy duty muck spreader axle and ram to make it mobile identical to the Watson’s, what would dents be a result of? Or just abuse over stony ground ?

 

[Fergieman]

A lot of trailed rollers use wooden block bearings for the centre shaft. These will not be strong enough to lift the roller off the ground. The dents will just of been stones.

 

[shumungus]

Barrel diameter and plate thickness will have big effect on weight. The wooden blocks at the end are fine as the wood is in compression as long as there is a full steel plate below the block which the bolts go through.
The think to watch is shaft sag between the drums which as I said depends on roller dimensions.

 

[KB6930]

You need a centre bearing etc to take the weight or you'll snap the shaft when its lifted up .
The Watson we have now has a 14mm barrel which will not be dented where our old grays had a very thin barrel and dented very easily when pulled too fast on the road by over enthusiastic drivers

 

[Barleycorn]

Could always put a ratchet strap around the middle?