New Snow Blade

[nybirdman]

Nice set-up;I think you will find that the "solid" set-up works fine for a paved drive;mine floats but I am plowing gravel drives for the most part.

 

[RoyJackson]

I thing I found out..learn the hard way...if plowing at night while snowing mailbox fair game.

I'm very careful around mine and my neighbors' mailboxes...haven't nailed one (yet). We leave that destruction to the township plow guy (when he does plow). Two reasons I started plowing or snow blowing the road...plow guy doesn't show up half the time...and when he does, he makes a beeline for the mailboxes (mine was nailed last winter)
I've always done my drive and my neighbor's drive...the neighbor's because they're New Yorkers and only come to Bethel occasionally. I started doing the road (about an eighth of a mile) two winters back.

 

[devildog1]

Great looking blade Roy, now your all set for ole man winter, I use the same set up also but usually have front and rear blades on in the beginning of the season then if reports of 12" or better I'll put on the snow blower. Hey did you happen to see the Old Farmers Almanc? I believe they are predicting cold and heaver then normal snow falls for the New England States.
DevilDog

 

[CobyRupert]

Not sure if you can do it with your setup, but I see lots of people have it so the plow can freely pivot up or down (in relation to the loader & mounting plate), but the plow is lifted by a chain from the top of mounting plate, thus the "float" (in the up direction) is built into the action of the chain. Thus the loader arms don't need to float.

 

[RoyJackson]

Not sure if you can do it with your setup, but I see lots of people have it so the plow can freely pivot up or down (in relation to the loader & mounting plate), but the plow is lifted by a chain from the top of mounting plate, thus the "float" (in the up direction) is built into the action of the chain. Thus the loader arms don't need to float.

I've seen posts with set ups as you describe. Most of them have been home built or modified truck plows mounted on the loader bucket. The one I have doesn't allow or that kind of float. I do see the advantages though.
I figure I'll try it by controlling the loader. If that doesn't work like I hope it does, I'll rig some wear plates to the bottom of the carrier (part that mounts to the loader frame) and use the loader's float.

 

[majorwager]

Roy,
Nice plow but read the post by Lou. I have a pusher, and in float, the rubber edge tends to "dig in " and raise the front wheels slightly.

The result is it defeats the advantage of front wheel drive assist. Better to keep minor tension on loader arms.

Another caution. Not a fan of the bolts and washers that retain the rubber cutting edge. It is possible for washer to pull through. A continuous metal band across the entire length offers better protection. I will post a photo.

 

[RoyJackson]

Roy,
Nice plow but read the post by Lou. I have a pusher, and in float, the rubber edge tends to "dig in " and raise the front wheels slightly.

The result is it defeats the advantage of front wheel drive assist. Better to keep minor tension on loader arms.

Another caution. Not a fan of the bolts and washers that retain the rubber cutting edge. It is possible for washer to pull through. A continuous metal band across the entire length offers better protection. I will post a photo.

I'm not just going to drop the blade and go. I'll rig the skid shoes so the rubber is just touching the drive and road. The shoes will take the brunt.
Two big advantages of the rubber...three, actually....more of a squeegee effect when plowing...better back dragging (only do that by the garage doors) and, unlike the bucket, this blade trips (that's not really a rubber advantage, but you know what I mean)

 

[Rustyiron]

You'll have fun with that Roy, so will your neck :thumbsup:

 

[FatTire]

Hope you will report back after you have tried it in a few storms. Looks like a great set up.

 

[oldtimer 66]

Roy, I have a tractor similar to yours, a 4320 with the factory FEL. I also have a rear snow blower. I use my front bucket to clean some of the snow by back dragging and also forward cutting. The back dragging is easy but the front cutting is difficult. My trick is to hold the joy stick in the float position but then do rapid moves to the right to roll my bucket down to a approx. cut angle of lets say 5%. The bucket is riding on it's backside per se. If you come out of float during this rapid movement to the right you loose the attach angle and you need to start over again. Now if I get the attach angle to steep and it digs in, it will pick the tractor up and roll the bucket down as you also know. I do not have a front blade like yours but I think this method should work for your front blade since it does have skid shoes. It generally takes me a couple of try's to get the angle of the bucket correct. I will over curl the bucket back, hold the joy stick in float position and right stab the joy stick, generally several times, until I have what I think is the correct angle to cut thru the snow without digging in. I set the angle referencing the bucket level indicator. I keep the joy stick in float until I have finished the pass. Part of the reason I am suggesting this is I have fabricated a similar type of set for a friend of mine using a factory blade and mounting. He brought the snow plow back this spring and I put even larger skid shoes on the blade. Factory skids were about 8 inches in diameter and replaced with if I remember with 10" wide 15" long shoes. He complained about not being able to keep the carrier from dragging. He has a New Holland tractor with a Woods FEl. I suggested this methods and also showed him this spring but on gravel ground with my tractor. Just as a reference the float only affects the vertical position of the snow plow. This is how I set up my bucket and maybe it would work for your snow plow. It's worth a try. Later.