Fixing Bent Augers Is Good Business

Fixing Bent Augers Is Good Business Every day brings new challenges for Roger Gutschmidt at Gutschmidt Manufacturing, his on-farm repair and fabrication business. He has shared nearly 70 past projects with FARM SHOW readers. That said, auger repair is becoming a lucrative side job. Two years ago (Vol. 48, No. 1), he bought a bent Brandt auger from an insurance company for $2,750 and restored it to a $50,000 value. This past year, he did it again. “I bought a 13-in. by 110-ft. Brandt auger from a dealer for $300,” says Gutschmidt. “He wanted $500, but I negotiated it down. When I was done with repairs, I sold it to a neighbor for $30,000.” The auger was totaled when the owner smacked the end into a tree. The impact bent the tube near the hydraulic lift frame and severely creased the metal. When Gutschmidt brought it back to his shop, he found the damage wasn’t as bad as he’d feared. The flighting was undamaged. “Because the tubing was crinkled, the auger wasn’t able to run smoothly,” says Gutschmidt. “I could’ve repaired the damage, but the bottom of the tubing was wearing thin. I bought a new section of tube from Brandt for $3,300 and replaced the crinkled portion.” Gutschmidt straightened the end of the tube where the auger had hit the tree. He removed that section and inserted a modified scissor jack. Instead of the usual flat plates, he attached curved steel plates that matched the tube. “I attached a long rod and slid the jack inside the tube to the dent,” he says. “I made an extension with a 1/2-in. drive on one end and a female on the other for a socket. When I cranked it, the jack pushed the dent out.” Working on long augers can be tricky, but Gutschmidt has found a way to make it easier. He pulls the auger wheels into a shallow drainage ditch that runs through his farmyard. Once the wheels have settled in place, he lifts the hitch end of the auger and rests it on a 5 to 6-ft. hay bale. “The hay bale is like a soft sawhorse,” he says. “The auger indents the hay so it won’t move side to side. The rest of the auger is perfectly level, and the discharge end is closer to the ground. It works really well, with the auger accessible from both sides.” Gutschmidt makes sure to mow the grass under the auger close to the ground. “It makes dropped tools and parts easy to find,” he adds. After Gutschmidt replaced the damaged 33-ft. section of the auger tube, he noticed the bottom section had already been replaced. He cut the section he removed in half lengthwise and placed the halves against the underside of the remaining original tube sections, using pipe clamps to secure them. “Auger tube bottoms experience flight wear, while the top side of the tubes stays good,” says Gutschmidt. “I stitch-welded the half-pipes in place to reinforce those weakened sections.” Gutschmidt’s goal for the repairs was to make the auger dependable again. “I don’t like to cut corners,” he says. “Once I heard it run, I knew there wouldn’t be problems. It ran like a dream with no vibration.” When his neighbor heard it run, knowing what Gutschmidt had done, he didn’t hesitate to buy it. Contact: FARM SHOW Followup, Roger Gutschmidt, Gutschmidt Manufacturing, 202 Elm St East, Box 311, Gackle, N.D. 58442 (ph 701-269-0537; shopdoc@drtel.net).

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