Luke Compton’s hedgecutter placed third in the complex category of Farmers Weekly’s annual Inventions Competition.

Having too few hedges to justify buying a decent trimmer and fancying a new workshop challenge, Wiltshire farmer Luke Compton set about building his own… from scratch.

He’d previously put one together using scrap components, which worked well enough, but this time around he wanted to do the job properly.

See also: How to get the best from a McConnel hedgecutter

New metal was purchased for the build, as well as a 50hp hydraulic motor, and he bought a lathe and milling machine to help him achieve a higher-grade finish.

The only second-hand components were the hydraulic rams, which were sourced from various scrap machines, and the pump, which was lifted from an old Sanderson telehandler.

© Luke Compton

For maximum manoeuvrability, he has given it a comprehensive range of hydraulic functions, including slew and a telescopic arm that extends to 5m.

No oil cooler is fitted, but he made a larger-than-necessary tank to help reduce the risk of it overheating and he hasn’t had any problems so far.

Most of the pins and bushes were bought in, but he made all the main pivot points on the lathe and drilled out most of the holes using his milling machine.

He also has a plasma cutter which he used freehand to cut out all the profiles.

Even the 1.2m flail head and rotor are his own work.

The latter he put together on the lathe, welding each lug in place by hand and spinning it to check it was balanced. All this was done by eye, but he says it runs true and doesn’t vibrate.

The project was finished recently, having been put together during evenings and weekends over the past couple of years. Total build cost was about £3,500.