Skid pads??? Needed? Necessary?

[bp fick]

I'm sorry to say but I bet it wont stay put or intact. I had a similar setup on my rear blade with a thin metal pipe but it got chewed up on my gravel road. I switched it to a thicker pipe and it lasted longer but I still needed a way to hold the pipe in place so I added a spring. This worked well but I eventually bought a snowblower.]

We shall see. There were a number of guys kind enough to suggest this very thing, and some spoke of very good results. Soon enough we shall find out. If it doesn't work, I 'm out nothing but a piece of scrap and a 1/2 hour of my time. If it works, then I shall report the success. Within a month, I should think.

 

[FullBucket]

Just a thought on techniques to keep the pipe on the blade. If someone ran the pipe a couple of inches long on each side, a cap or bolt through each end might help keep the slit pipe from sliding. Hope the idea helps somebody out there.

 

[Fritzy]

I had the same problem with my snow blower, I made some ajustable brackets and put wheels on. I adjust the wheels so it is up enough not to hit the gravel and then when I take the blower off I put them down all the way and I can move it around the shed quite easily.

 

[LBrown59]

Stayed on all of 10 minutes for me.
Got burried in the dirt pile where it stayed all winter till i dug it out of the dirt pile come spring.

I'm sorry to say but I bet it wont stay put or intact. I had a similar setup on my rear blade with a thin metal pipe but it got chewed up on my gravel road. I switched it to a thicker pipe and it lasted longer but I still needed a way to hold the pipe in place so I added a spring. This worked well but I eventually bought a snowblower.

http://www.tractorbynet.com/forums/customization/113874-trying-keep-gravel-where-belongs.html

Wahooo! Got it done.

I cannot express my thanks enough to all those who suggested the pipe on the front of the blade. I had a big ol' scrap of 1 1/2 sched 40 so that is what I used. Ran it through the table saw, it cut just fine. One slit was not enough, couldn't get it on nor keep it on. Ran it through again, side stepping 1/2 ".

Perfect. Fits like a glove. Here's to hoping it stays put. What a wonderful idea. Thanks again to everybody. Can't say I am anxious to try it, but I feel better prepared for the inevitable.

 

[mtg65]

We shall see. There were a number of guys kind enough to suggest this very thing, and some spoke of very good results. Soon enough we shall find out. If it doesn't work, I 'm out nothing but a piece of scrap and a 1/2 hour of my time. If it works, then I shall report the success. Within a month, I should think.

It is always worth a try. That is what makes this site so valuable because we all learn from each others experiences.

I did the same blade guard addition to my rear blade but quickly found out that the pipe material was too light for the job. It lasted a few plows and it started to peel apart and came off often. The other issue was that the blade would float over the snow because I did not have any down pressure. I added weight to keep the blade down, which worked, but it sped up the demise of the thinner pipe.

A few design changes that made the difference for me were:

Thicker piece of metal pipe Schedule 40 if I remember right.

Slit the pipe to the exact length of the blade but leave a few inches of pipe on either side untouched so the pipe fits tight on the blade. This keeps the pipe from sliding side to side.

A spring on both sides to keep the pipe from coming off the blade cutting edge.

I added weight to the rear blade to keep it from floating over the snow. You may not have to do this because you have a front blade.

I did have good results after the modifications but I ended up going with the 3pth snow blower because of the amount of snow we were getting and the length of my driveway. I now wait for the storm to end and do it once.

I will say this though, I will use my rear blade setup for the early small snow storms and/or until my road freezes.

Hope this helps and let us know what your results are.

 

[Just Bob]

I read this thread with interest as I've got a long gravel drive that I've plowed for 26 years with a 7 1/2' Western Pro Plow on a Bronco. Its been a royal PITA because it takes so much time to plow an adequate width to make room for the annual accumulation and ramming it out turnouts towards the end of the season. I've never used the skid mushrooms. I just track pack the first few storms to build a base and back drag when we get mid-season thaws that soften it up.

I finally scored an old Kubota L275 with a 5' front mounted blower and this pipe idea sounded good. Here are shots of my new round cutting edge. I think even on the packed surface this should roll/cut down to the base and avoid digging in to any soft spots and turning my blower into a rock machine gun. We will see. I'll post up a "road test" review after some use this winter.

Thanks to all for the opinions and ideas.

The pipe is schd 40 x 2 3/8 OD held on with 4 x 3/8 bolts.

 

[Duffster]

I read this thread with interest as I've got a long gravel drive that I've plowed for 26 years with a 7 1/2' Western Pro Plow on a Bronco. Its been a royal PITA because it takes so much time to plow an adequate width to make room for the annual accumulation and ramming it out turnouts towards the end of the season. I've never used the skid mushrooms. I just track pack the first few storms to build a base and back drag when we get mid-season thaws that soften it up.

I finally scored an old Kubota L275 with a 5' front mounted blower and this pipe idea sounded good. Here are shots of my new round cutting edge. I think even on the packed surface this should roll/cut down to the base and avoid digging in to any soft spots and turning my blower into a rock machine gun. We will see. I'll post up a "road test" review after some use this winter.

Thanks to all for the opinions and ideas.

The pipe is schd 40 x 2 3/8 OD held on with 4 x 3/8 bolts.

That looks like it should work really well.

 

[LBrown59]

Nothing sucks more than that moment during an argument when you realize you're wrong.

I wouldn't know about that as I've never experienced that.

 

[mtg65]

I read this thread with interest as I've got a long gravel drive that I've plowed for 26 years with a 7 1/2' Western Pro Plow on a Bronco. Its been a royal PITA because it takes so much time to plow an adequate width to make room for the annual accumulation and ramming it out turnouts towards the end of the season. I've never used the skid mushrooms. I just track pack the first few storms to build a base and back drag when we get mid-season thaws that soften it up.

I finally scored an old Kubota L275 with a 5' front mounted blower and this pipe idea sounded good. Here are shots of my new round cutting edge. I think even on the packed surface this should roll/cut down to the base and avoid digging in to any soft spots and turning my blower into a rock machine gun. We will see. I'll post up a "road test" review after some use this winter.

Thanks to all for the opinions and ideas.


The pipe is schd 40 x 2 3/8 OD held on with 4 x 3/8 bolts.

JB that is a great idea! Please let us know how well it works.

 

[Just Bob]

Got to use the beast last week. Bit more than a foot deep of really wet heavy stuff with a minimal base track packed the day before. While I did machine gun some gravel the skid pipe worked excellent. No gouging or digging in!

Result!