FEL Snow PLow size?

[dstig1]

I played around with the location of the SSQA plate earlier and that drove a lot of the decisions. I want to have it as far forward so the plow is closer to the tractor for one. Secondly, I now have it so the hoses come out just behind the plate. If i move it back any more, they will conflict. I could cut out a little of the plate, I suppose, though I really don't want to weaken the plate there.

And yes, the braces cannot move forward any more on the A frame. I also want them to hit the main frame to some degree for improved strength and stiffness. I don't want it sitting up on that pin bracket only.

So if the brace interferes with the cylinder, then my only option is to connect to the top of the A frame, in about the same location or just slightly back.

Need to do some more checking next...

 

[dstig1]

Further checking today shows I will be OK on clearances. I did move the brace back about a half inch so it now clears the sector angle stop and the stop hits just like it should. The cylinders clear with a good 1/4" or more, so those are fine too. The pictures don't show quite the right angle, but it is plenty clear. Thanks for the tip to check that LD1!:thumbsup: Saved me some grief.

After checking that I proceeded with making the second brace, which is the mirror of the first. I used the first one as a guide to speed up fitting that and it went much faster. You can see the 2 braces in the 3rd photo

Moving the braces back interferes slightly with the C-channel reinforcement I was going to use, but it isn't much so I will just gouge out a small thumbnail section of the channel edge with the grinder where it hits the angle braces to fit.

I did find that the new cylinders move quite easy by hand. This re-confirms for me that the old ones were in pretty bad shape as it took a 5 lb mallet and a dozen blows to make them move in...

I also found that no matter if you think you got all the hydraulic fluid out before playing with them, you did not. So the first time you fully compress the cylinder, that oil shoots out the port hard enough to hit the ceiling in your garage and make a huge mess. You wouldn't think a couple ounces of oil could make that much mess, but I assure you it can...

Progress continues...

 

[LD1]

Looks great so far:thumbsup: Keep us posted.

 

[dstig1]

Tacked it up and checked the fit and everything was a go, so I fully welded it up tonight. I had primed it before welding so I could get the areas that were hard to reach. I masked off the weld sections, except where I forgot to...then I just wire brushed it off first.

I'm bringing the mold board frame in to a shop tomorrow to have them cut and roll a new mold board for it. I'll weld it in, but I sure am not going to try to form 11ga sheet metal by hand:confused2:

 

[LD1]

Looking good:thumbsup:

 

[94BULLITT]

Looking good. I can't wait to see the new moldboard. I wish I could find a plow for a $175.

 

[bubbacuse77]

Lets see some complete pics when you get it done

 

[dstig1]

Will do. Have been too busy clearing wood off the land getting ready for the excavator dude to mess with the plow, but I will have some time this weekend to work on it. Hoping to finish up welding everything, and maybe get it all primed, if I'm lucky. The mount is complete and primed, I just need to get the moldboard welded and primed, and then paint the whole deal. If I get luckier, I might wrap up painting next weekend.

 

[dstig1]

Progress... I got the spray booth set up late last week and got it final painted over the weekend. That paint takes forever to dry, even with the hardener added. Oil based alkyd enamel from Van Sickle (what the Fleet Farm stocks). The hardener is pretty toxic, BTW, as it has isocyanates in it. I wore a full face respirator with fresh organic vapor cartridges and paint spray filters on it. Cartridges aren't the best for isocyantes, but for the limited amount that was in this stuff and my brief time spraying (plus the fan in the booth), it was fine in my case. But then I know these kinds of chemicals and the proper precautions.

I will let it sit and harden more for a couple days and then start putting the mount together with the sector, cylinders and hoses, and hopefully get it mounted this weekend.

So here it is. The first pic shows the orange explosion in the booth area and the 3 main parts. The others are more close-ups of how I did the mount.

 

[LD1]

Looks Great:thumbsup: