How to Make a "MAD MANTIS" Weedeater Cultivator

Well i had bought a troy bilt 4 stroke weed eater from lowes and i also bought the tiller attachment with it .Well trouble  was to use it you have to bend over to about 2 feet off the ground for it to do cultivate anything .Ouch back breaker ill tell you !! So naturally the 70 dollar attachment stayed in the shed unused until i came  up with this fairly simple idea.

Step 1: Used Weedeater

I have had this weed eater for several years now .Been very reliable and is expensive one at that too. Its a stihl  26 cc straight shaft  for bush whackin attachments .

Step 2: Tiller Attachment

This is the tiller attachment  for my  4 stroke  troybilt  weed eater that didnt get used because of bending over so far to get it to work properly.

Step 3: Disassembling

I unscrewed the motor  and the handle bars from the straight shaft weed eater

Step 4: Putting Things Together

I simply put the weedeater motor on the  tiller attachment until it bottomed out on the shaft. Then tightened up the screw.

Step 5: Making the Frame

I cut 2 pieces of 5/8 black iron pipe 4 feet long

Step 6: Drilling

I measured 4  holes to match the bolt holes on top of the tiller attachment . Drilled  4   1/4 inch holes.

Step 7: Frame Assembly

I bolted the bars on the top of the tiller attachment.

Step 8: Bending the Frame

I measured 6 inches back from the end of the pipe and made a cut on each bar so i could bend the pipe until it came up against  the back of the motor, and then welded the cuts back together.

Step 9: Frame Brace

I drilled 2 1/4 inch holes   through the pipe and into the back of the motor frame .Careful not to drill through the  fuel tank. and bolted it together for stability.

Step 10: Handle Bar Bracket

I welded a piece of inch and a half square  tubing on top of the two ends of tubing.Then welded a 1 inch nipple on top.

Step 11: Adjusting the Handle Bars.

I fitted the handle bars for comfort and there ya go . A mantis is about 3 to 4 hundred dollars . I built this for under 25 dollars. And the best part is ,when i m done with it and i want to switch it back to the expensive weedeater i can with no problems.


  Here is a link on youtube to watch it in action..      http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yPnwbMImxKU