Hay Rakes Explained

To make sure your looking at a ground drive rake, Look for it to have snow or mud grip tires. Not regular street tires. Look for it to have a flat chain, and maybe rollar chain from a gear at either end of the reel down to a gear on the axle between the wheels. Thatl indicate that its a ground drive rake. IF U see one that has alot of teeth gone or bent, its likely been used in ground as a ground or rock rake while rakeing hay.
Put it in gear and move the reel. There shouldnt be any movement other than to tighten the chain one way or the other. The wheel bearings shouldnt be bad, being on grass and all, BUT if you get the chance, grab it from the side near the rear and shake it sideways. See if the wheels shimmy or not. Make sure the bows are there. If not another indication of hard wear. AND just in case you buy a rake with bows or teeth missing. DONT assume you can rake hay good that way. Look at the number of teeth missing. Look at the number of bows missing, if any, and get a catalog now, and calculate what the teeth are each. I dont know how much a bow costs. I bought one for my JD 30yrs ago and it was $25 from JD.

You make a rake fitted up right, it will be a joy to use. Me and my boy worked on both my steel wheel rakes to get them ready. I had always raked with the JD, But it turned out that he raked with it and his great grandads 34 CC Case, while I used the 48 H Farmall on the Case rake. It was so quiet, that, cause I had a pin dropped in the hitch, I thought that it might have bounced out and I had to look back to see that that steel wheeled 60+yr old rake was working flawlessly behind me. Good luck with yours

When I was a kid we had a one horse drawn dump rake, they have long been 'out of style'