kebo
Elite Member
- Joined
- May 16, 2006
- Messages
- 2,910
- Location
- Lexington, SC
- Tractor
- 2001 John Deere 790 4x4, bar tires
I started on this project last year around October but set it aside for deer season and just now got motivated to finish it up. I did post a sneak peek of it last December in another thread, but here are all the details and more pictures. As we all know, compact tractors are called compact for a reason.... and they don't leave much room to carry the essentials often needed when using the tractor. On my JD 790, I kept looking at the space between the right-side engine cover and FEL mast and thought I could make use of it.
So, here's what I came up. I started out with a piece of 3/8 thick steel, and to that I had my welder weld (I still can't weld
) on two small pieces of bar stock to what would be the bottom side of it. I drilled (4) holes for two 3" bolts to use to secure it in place on the horizontal FEL support bracket, which is made of 2 1/2" square tubing (the picture was made before holes were drilled).
My welder had a scrap piece of very rusty 2x4 rectangular tubing lying in a corner of his shop that would work perfect to hold the chainsaw blade. So, I had him cut it to length and weld it onto the top of the 3/8 plate. There are some gaps in the welds to allow water to weep out in case it ever gets rained on. Sorry, but I didn't take a picture of the tubing right after it was welded onto the 3/8" plate!!
:ashamed::confused2:
I had originally planned to use plywood sheeting cut to fit inside the 2x4 tubing to protect the chain, but I was at Sears one day and came across this Craftsman slip-on chainsaw guard so I bought one.
It uses a spring loaded hinge to snap on, and is a one size fits all, so I cut the hinge out (since I wouldn't need it and also to make it narrower), and also cut it to length so it would fit the 16" blades on both of my saws. Of course, if you attempt this and have a longer sawblade, you can always cut it to suit your sawblade. Once it was cut to length, I sandwiched it between some plywood to fill up the voids. Yes, that is part of a yardstick. Hey, it was the perfect size!!! :laughing:
I found a fire extinguisher bracket from a local fire equipment supply house that lets the extinguisher snap in place. To attach the fire ext. bracket to the upright 2x4 tubing, I had two 5/16" nuts welded to it. Here is the finished product with a quick coat of JD greene to cover up all the rust, and the fire extinguisher bracket attached. The 2x4 tubing was very pitted, but since it was uniform all over, I let it go. It looks sort of like it got powder coated lol!
Ok, here are the pictures after installation. In the first picture, you can see that the handlebar of the chainsaw sits very close to the chain bucket that I also made (it's detailed in another thread, btw). Too close, in fact. What I had to do was drill another hole in the mounting piece for the chain bucket so it can be locked in place about 3 inches inboard of the original hole. So now, when the chainsaw is in place, I have to use the inboard hole. When the chainsaw is not in the holder, I can use the outboard hole. It's not a big deal, and I could compensate for it by cutting the 4 upright pvc tube about 6 inches shorter, that way it would not interfere with the chainsaw when it is slid into place. I will say that it's all a tight fit, there is just enough clearance to remove the side engine cover, and the fire extinguisher is almost touching the FEL upright mast. But, the beauty of doing it this way is that when I remove the FEL, the chainsaw, fire extinguisher, and the chain bucket will stay with the tractor. Hope you like it, :thumbsup: I know I will!
From the underside showing the mounting bolts.
This view sort of from the front. This picture shows where I had to drill the new hole in the bracket that locks the chain bucket in place.
This view from the top looking straight down on it, kind of shows the clearance.
Closeup of the scabbard for the chainsaw blade. I tried to make it fit the blade as snug as possible, but the chainsaw still flops around a little bit but it's not too bad. The pitting is pretty evident in this pic!
One last view, also showing the tool box I added proudly displaying my TBN bumper sticker. :thumbsup:
So, here's what I came up. I started out with a piece of 3/8 thick steel, and to that I had my welder weld (I still can't weld
) on two small pieces of bar stock to what would be the bottom side of it. I drilled (4) holes for two 3" bolts to use to secure it in place on the horizontal FEL support bracket, which is made of 2 1/2" square tubing (the picture was made before holes were drilled).
My welder had a scrap piece of very rusty 2x4 rectangular tubing lying in a corner of his shop that would work perfect to hold the chainsaw blade. So, I had him cut it to length and weld it onto the top of the 3/8 plate. There are some gaps in the welds to allow water to weep out in case it ever gets rained on. Sorry, but I didn't take a picture of the tubing right after it was welded onto the 3/8" plate!!
:ashamed::confused2:I had originally planned to use plywood sheeting cut to fit inside the 2x4 tubing to protect the chain, but I was at Sears one day and came across this Craftsman slip-on chainsaw guard so I bought one.
It uses a spring loaded hinge to snap on, and is a one size fits all, so I cut the hinge out (since I wouldn't need it and also to make it narrower), and also cut it to length so it would fit the 16" blades on both of my saws. Of course, if you attempt this and have a longer sawblade, you can always cut it to suit your sawblade. Once it was cut to length, I sandwiched it between some plywood to fill up the voids. Yes, that is part of a yardstick. Hey, it was the perfect size!!! :laughing:
I found a fire extinguisher bracket from a local fire equipment supply house that lets the extinguisher snap in place. To attach the fire ext. bracket to the upright 2x4 tubing, I had two 5/16" nuts welded to it. Here is the finished product with a quick coat of JD greene to cover up all the rust, and the fire extinguisher bracket attached. The 2x4 tubing was very pitted, but since it was uniform all over, I let it go. It looks sort of like it got powder coated lol!
Ok, here are the pictures after installation. In the first picture, you can see that the handlebar of the chainsaw sits very close to the chain bucket that I also made (it's detailed in another thread, btw). Too close, in fact. What I had to do was drill another hole in the mounting piece for the chain bucket so it can be locked in place about 3 inches inboard of the original hole. So now, when the chainsaw is in place, I have to use the inboard hole. When the chainsaw is not in the holder, I can use the outboard hole. It's not a big deal, and I could compensate for it by cutting the 4 upright pvc tube about 6 inches shorter, that way it would not interfere with the chainsaw when it is slid into place. I will say that it's all a tight fit, there is just enough clearance to remove the side engine cover, and the fire extinguisher is almost touching the FEL upright mast. But, the beauty of doing it this way is that when I remove the FEL, the chainsaw, fire extinguisher, and the chain bucket will stay with the tractor. Hope you like it, :thumbsup: I know I will!
From the underside showing the mounting bolts.
This view sort of from the front. This picture shows where I had to drill the new hole in the bracket that locks the chain bucket in place.
This view from the top looking straight down on it, kind of shows the clearance.
Closeup of the scabbard for the chainsaw blade. I tried to make it fit the blade as snug as possible, but the chainsaw still flops around a little bit but it's not too bad. The pitting is pretty evident in this pic!
One last view, also showing the tool box I added proudly displaying my TBN bumper sticker. :thumbsup:
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