DIY Fruit Picking Tool and Pole Attachment - Part 2

In the first part of this article, the materials and tools for fabricating a homemade fruit picking tool were listed. Other than a power drill, there are no special tools required to assemble this fruit picker. But it takes some time and heft to bend and form the basic frame of the fruit picker.

From the specifications of the tool's measurements, the fruit picker is able to pick medium sized fruits like apples, mangoes, oranges and many more. The fruit picker's ring is large enough to hold a big basket or net that can contain as much as 10 medium sized fruits.


Procedure to Assemble the Fruit Picker
(continuation of step 3 from the previous post)

4. After forming the rebar into the frame of the fruit picking tool, the two ends that will form the fruit picker stem need to be joined. Use a gauge #20 metal wire to tie these together as shown below.
   
   
   
   
   
5. Here, shown below, is the bottom part of the fruit picker stem. Insert a small screw was inserted between the two bars to serve as a separator. This keeps the two bars from sliding past each other and allows you to tie both ends.
   
   
   
   
   
6. Shown below is the top part of the fruit picker stem. Tie the two bars together with the metal wire at a suitable spot roughly 1.5 inch from the point where the stem separates into 2 branches that will form the ring.
   
   
   
   
   
   
   Keep the metal wire tight so it doesn't slide along the fruit picker stem. But allow space in between the 2 bars for the metal bolt to slide through. This top metal tied wire will engage with the pole bolt so it is safely secured in the pole. Use maskng tapes to mark the start of the stem.
   
   
   
   
   
7. Ensure the entire stem assembly is straight so it can be inserted into the fruit picker pole (pvc pipe). Based on the position of the top tied wire, mark where the metal bolt will pass through the pole. With a power drill, drill a 1/8" hole on the mark on both sides of the pole. When completed, the bolt should prevent the fruit picker tool from coming out the pole because the tied wire will be stopped by the bolt.
   
   Shown below is the drilled pole and the 1/8" dia. metal bolt.
   
   
   
   
   
8. Insert the fruit picker stem all the way in. The 2 outward metal 'branches' of the ring should prevent you from inserting it further. Insert the metal bolt in the pipe and out the other side.
   
   
   
   
   
   
   Fasten the nut. Both fruit picker stem and pole should now be engaged with the bolt stopping the tied wire and preventing the stem from sliding out.
   
   
   
   
   
9. For the fruit picker basket, choose an appropriate-sized nylon or cloth mesh bag. The mesh allows you to see through the bag when choosing fruits to pick. Here, I use a nylon net bag for fruits at the grocery.
   
   
   
   
   
10. Tie the net or mesh bag onto the ring of the fruit picker with a strong thread, twine or yarn as shown below.
    
    
    
    
    

Now, you're ready to pick some fruits. Here, we're putting the fruit picker into good use - picking Canistel fruits (or Eggfruit) from a tree.

There's plenty of fruits here for harvesting.

Here's the initial harvest from our first fruit picking with the fruit picker pole. If we had a longer pole, we would've picked a lot more fruits, but maybe that's another project for another day.

Fruits You Can Harvest with the Fruit Picker

This is not an exhaustive list. Some fruits you can harvest with the fruit picker are: apple, apricot, orange, avocado, grapefruit (pomelo), guava, lemon, lychee, nectarine, mandarin, tangerine, plum, persimmon, peach, passion fruit, pear, pomegranate, starfruit, star apple (caimito), mango, sapodilla (chico), custard apple (atis), mangosteen, cotton fruit (santol), cashew, java apple (macopa), velvet apple (mabolo) and canistel (tiesa).


UPDATE
Here's an improved version of the fruit picking tool. This version allows better catching and gripping with the aid of 2 prongs attached to the catch portion of the fruit picker.


OTHER ARTICLES IN THIS SERIES:

Homemade Fruit Picker with Net - Part 1
Homemade Fruit Picker with Two Catch Prongs
DIY Apple Fruit Picker with Basket - Part 1
DIY Apple Fruit Picker with Basket - Part 2
DIY Apple Fruit Picker with Basket - Part 3
DIY Apple Fruit Picker with Four Catch Prongs