After years of honing his workshop skills at a machinery dealership and agricultural engineering firm, Stuart Gallop branched out on his own.

The Gloucestershire native now tackles a broad range of fabrication projects and repairs from his workshop near Dursley.

He’ll take on the simple jobs, such as patching up or modifying existing machinery.

But his forte is building one-off equipment and ultra-tough attachments for loaders and telehandlers.

See also: Wing Jet workshop modification forms 30m Avadex applicator

Most of the kit for doing this is under his own roof, though he does currently outsource plasma and laser cutting duties to Rich Ponting of DC Merrett & Co.

Like many modern engineers, he knows his way around CAD software, which allows him to tackle some fairly elaborate projects.

A year after getting SJ Gallop Engineering off the ground, we take a look at some of his creations.

Stuart Gallop © James Andrews

Horsch Avatar Avadex applicator

When a local farm asked him to make an Avadex/small seed applicator for their Avatar drill, the brief was that it should look like it came out of the Horsch factory.

So, in addition to the challenge of making it work seamlessly, he had to source the same tubing, steps and mesh as used by the German maker.

The space above the rear chassis rails was the ideal spot for the mounting platform and Techneat applicator.

Stuart created a large floor area for safe loading of the hopper, with hand rails and two sets of steps.

While he was at it, he fitted an airline reel and a large toolbox that can be accessed from the ground.

For automatic and accurate switching of Avadex, slug pellets, or seed, he fitted a pressure switch in the hydraulic circuit charged with putting the drill’s coulters in and out of work.

This means it will start and stop application at the same time as the drill.

Distribution is via a series of spreader plates mounted off the coulter bar wings and the rear of the chassis.

Getting the pipework to these looking neat and folding without snagging was another significant undertaking.

To complete the factory look, all metal was professionally powder coated in colour-matched Horsch red.

Bucket for life

Bucket for life © James Andrews

Tasked with building a telehandler bucket that would not break, Stuart went all out.

His 3cu m “bucket for life” is constructed using 8mm plate throughout, with four 150x12mm wear plates underneath and 12mm reinforcing bands at the sides.

Even the top bar is chunky. While most manufacturers opt for a folded profile, he uses a length of heavy box section.

This theme continues with the cutting edge, which is made from Hardox steel, and the brackets, which are fashioned from 30mm steel.

The example featured here has been subjected to months of heavy use, including shovelling stone and concrete, and is still bend-free.

To build another, he’d be asking for £3,200.

Twin-tube grain pusher

Twin-tube grain pusher © James Andrews

Stuart took a similar approach with the 4m grain pusher that he put together for a local farmer.

In his opinion, single-tube models flex too much, so he opted for a sturdy twin setup with a full sheet of 6mm steel used to form the 2.4m blade.

A series of braces were added for additional strength and he fitted a rubber bumper at the base to protect drying floors and give some cushioning if it’s dropped onto concrete.

He also built it with a curve that’s deep enough to scoop a decent amount of grain, but not too pronounced that it collects at the base.

This model was priced at £3,200 – he also offers a 2m version for £2,900 and a 6m for £3,500.

V ditching bucket

Custom digger attachments are another part of Stuart’s repertoire, with him recently receiving a commission to make a V-ditching bucket for a solar park maintenance contractor.

Key requirements were that it should be 300mm deep and 1m wide with depth control.

Stuart ensured it was strong by using 60mm bright bar at the head, 12mm plate in the body and 200x20mm Hardox cutting edges.

The headstock was formed from 15mm plate with 45mm pins to suit an 8t machine.