SSQA FEL snowplow build

[vtsnowedin]

You should get a tag plate and die punch in your own name . date and serial no. 00001 to it and your in business. :drink:

 

[dstig1]

JC Byrd - thanks for the tips. I've seem enough folks on here do the FEL mounted plow this way that I am not too concerned about the shoes. It isn't going to see tons of use either. We don't get a lot of snow, and I'm not plowing commercially or anything. Its just for my driveway and maybe helping a neighbor or two on occasions.

vtsnowedin - :laughing: You will note a lack of close-up photos of the welds. They will hold, for sure, but there is nothing professional looking about them... But thanks for the compliment!

 

[vtsnowedin]

vtsnowedin - :laughing: You will note a lack of close-up photos of the welds. They will hold, for sure, but there is nothing professional looking about them... But thanks for the compliment!

You certainly will get better with some more practice. By unit 00006 or 00007 you will be up to the standard of the aftermarket industry. Just look over a few of the discount makes in their showroom and you will see some that may not even hold very long much less look good.
Just thinking that it should have your tag on it not Kubota's or some other name brand that had nothing to due with it other then the paint color. And I imagine John Deere's first 0001 sod buster plow had a few imperfections and plenty of room for improvement. Looking forward to seeing your next project.

 

[LD1]

Just seen this:confused3:

VERY nice how it turned out.

It probabally cost you more than you though going into it, and you did a lot of things that you probabally wouldnt have had to, but it sould last for MANY MANY years now and you can be proud of the work. Worth every penny IMO.

Now you just need to make you own "pro-wings" knockoffs and you be all set

 

[Grn mtn boy]

Nice job!

 

[dstig1]

Thanks guys. Yes it did cost more than expected, but not too much more. I expected it to be in the $1000 or slightly under range. Still ended up cheaper than buying new and was a nice project. The biggest unexpected piece was the new moldboard. I ended up buying 2 new tools for this too - the small sandblaster and the cutting torch/oxygen bottle lease. If you roll those in, the expense was quite a bit higher, but that isn't really fair as I will keep them for years. I have been needing a torch for a long time, but putting it off for space reasons. It was a total necessity for this project, so that finally pushed me over the edge there. It is always funny how the nickles and dimes add up too. Things like small bits of steel, paint (oh yeah - and primer), sand blasting media... There is $100 in paint/primer alone, and that is not the good stuff either! I should have bought the full gallon up front, as I ended up getting 3 qts and that was at 2x the price of a gallon...

Yes I did several more things than were needed, but like you said, LD1, my plan is to keep it for life without having to do more work on it, so it will be worth it in the long run. I had thought about wings, but that is something I can deal with later if, I find it might help. I like the flip out wings on grsthegreat's plow that he bought from QuickAttach, so I may look at copying those down the road.

 

[LD1]

Yes I did several more things than were needed, but like you said, LD1, my plan is to keep it for life without having to do more work on it, so it will be worth it in the long run. I had thought about wings, but that is something I can deal with later if, I find it might help. I like the flip out wings on grsthegreat's plow that he bought from QuickAttach, so I may look at copying those down the road.

I made a set like the pro wings. I think they are called the pw-22. I made them and the mounts for my truck-mount plow. But you can buy them on sale ocasionally for $150 or so. (at least when I made mine 5 years ago.) And honestly, I wouldnt do it again. For what the Pw's cost, it isnt worth it IMO. I have turned down several offers to make them for some of the guys I plow with. I told them I couldnt make them as cheap as PW unless I pay myself like $5/hour

 

[mikehaugen]

Looks great dstig1, I have contemplated this for a while as I can get a very good price on a used plow from a guy I know. I was a little undecided on if I wanted to make it loader mounted or rigid mount on the tractor as I have heard that it puts too much stress on the loader arms, especially when angled. Does anyone else here see that as a huge factor or am I just being paranoid?

 

[dstig1]

Thanks.

Do some searching on your question - lots to read. Many have gone this route before me, so I am not doing anything really new here. The biggest issue people see with FEL snow plows is that they usually stick out so much that it creates a big lever and makes it hard to keep the tractor straight (so I have read...). That is why these custom builds work better, since you bring the plow as close to the tractor as you reasonably can. Less lever that way. I also think a crossover relief valve is a very good idea for protection, but some have gone without.

 

[Deerherd]

Great job, I am constantly amazed at what some people can build on here. How many hours did it take? The only thing you might want to think about is making some sort of guard for the cylinders because if you do any backblading or non paved surfaces, that could be a problem. I attached a photo from a Hound dog attachment plow to show what I mean.

For those of us who can only build bluebird houses and must purchase our attachments, getting a plow with a single top mounted hydraulic cylinder is a good idea. It keeps it out of the way and keeps the overall length of the plow as short as possible. Plus it has lateral float which I feel is important if you are plowing a crowned road/uneven surface. (I haven't seen that feature designed into any homebuilt plow yet, but I'm sure it will happen!) Again, very nice build.