How to Make a Chain Harrow for Your ATV

If you're looking to spread hay or manure, or just want to smooth out and level a plot of earth, chain harrows take the gruntwork out and do the work for you. Also known as drag harrows, these flat pieces of equipment are attached to the rear of tractors, carts and utility ATVs and act as a weighted rake. They can be used for a wide range of purposes, including loosening packed surfaces, removing clumps of dead grass or aerator cores, maintaining baseball infields, leveling and covering seed and much more.

You can purchase a chain harrow such as the Black Widow Steel Drag Harrow, or make your own version to pull behind your ATV with this step-by-step tutorial:

To build your own, you will need the following items:

• A pair of three-foot pieces of chain
• A five-inch ring
• Four four-foot pieces of metal tubing (two inches thick)
• Five four-foot pieces of chain
• 72 nine-inch nails
• A disc cutter
• An arc welder

Step-by-step instructions

Once you’ve gathered up all of the aforementioned materials and tools you will be ready to get started with making your chain harrow. Here are the steps you’ll need to follow to get it done.

1. Weld the shorter chains: Weld an end of the three-foot chain pieces to the end of one of the metal tubes, and weld the other ends to the five-inch ring. This should result in a triangle that has two sides of the same length, which creates the tow bar.
2. Cut the pipe ends: Cut off the ends of each pipe, including the pipe attached to the chains, at 45-degree angles. Once the pipes are put together it should form a perfect square, which you should then weld into position.
3. Weld the longer chains: Take your welder and weld the four-foot chains to the tow bar eight inches apart from each other. You can then weld the other ends of those longer chains to the opposite side, making sure the chains are tight.
4. Attach nails: Put the first three nails through one of the chain links about six inches from the tow bar, forming a pyramid shape. Every nail should be located six inches from the other nails within the pyramid. You can then weld them on to the chain and repeat this process with 12-inch intervals to create 24 total pyramid sections, all welded.
5. Attach and test: Attach the harrow to your ATV and give it a whirl. You shouldn’t drive too quickly—a fast walking pace should be good enough to harrow the ground.

If all goes smoothly, you’ll have a chain harrow you’ll be able to use over and over again for a wide range of purposes at a fraction of the cost of what you would have paid for one that was pre-constructed for you.

Make sure you have place reserved in a garage or shed for proper storage of the chain harrow, and try to keep the chains off the ground as much as possible. Remember that these chains could be subject to rust and corrosion over time, so doing what you can to keep them off the ground and away from potential moisture is important for ensuring a good, long lifespan for the equipment.

This is just one example of an ATV attachment that can add a whole lot of utility to your quad. Pair it with other ATV implements to create food plots, landscape property or prepare soil for gardening. Follow these steps and enjoy the fruits of your labor!