Built a steel sunshade

[handirifle]

I always get razzed cause people say i over engineer stuff but now i feel right at home .
looks breat. Being a newby myself, the one thing that comes to me is with that extra 250lbs hanging way up there i'd be extra aware of a rollover situation. It is now more top heavy than before.

 

[Short Game]

Good point on that center-of-gravity idea. It's amazing how much even an empty loader bucket can be felt when it's raised up.

 

[mjncad]

Better cuts would have made it easier but the frame wasn't welded perfect either so after a weld it would often shrink an angle due to the contracting weld metal and screw up measurements and angles. Possible fix for that might have been to tack weld everything together before completing all the welds. Not sure though as I am a welding noob... fill me in if you know. Ok, the pics:

View attachment 215273View attachment 215274View attachment 215275View attachment 215276View attachment 215277View attachment 215278

Clamp the crap out of it, tack weld it, and still clamp the crap out of it for the final welds. Welder's magnetic squares work well in positioning while you clamp the crap out of it; but not so well by themselves as the contracting metal as it cools is generally stronger than the magnet.

Looks nice LeeJohn! I thought about doing front posts on mine and may add them still.

Like LeeJohn, I made front posts for my FEMCO canopy. Amazing how much clanking noise and vibration they eliminated when going over a bump. Although you have knee braces connecting the canopy front to the factory ROPS; you have a lot of weight cantilevered in front of the ROPS. The knee braces look like head-knockers to me. Front posts will give you and your canopy some protection from low hanging branches that want to go under instead of over your canopy. https://picasaweb.google.com/jtpyo.mjn/FrontPosts#

Over all, I'd say you did a good job for a newbie fabricator.

 

[Leejohn]

My brother gave me a sheet of insulation yesterday and hope to get it in soon. I'm going to do something like you did to hold it in and not glue it.
If you want to see how I hooked to the loader go to http://www.tractorbynet.com/forums/build-yourself/212855-red-neck-top-steel-top.html, also you can see the under side. I think you would sure like the legs up front, they also make a good hand holt when getting on the tractor.
I know your loader isn't the same as mine, but where there is a will, there is a way.
My top is about 350# and I can tell it is up there.

 

[Sublifer]

Kebo,
Thx for your comments. I needed extra long studs to get the pieces on and started. There is some extra that could be cut off but I think I'd rather leave it in case I want to bolt on any accessories. The studs are so far up and back that I'm not really concerned about it but I guess I could always come up with some saftey caps. Epoxy a nut into a ping pong ball half or something...

I'd consider building one for someone but I don't think I could price it competitive to the fiberglass ones out there... I guess if anyone is serious about it you can PM me to discuss it further.

 

[Sublifer]

Sorry for all the missed comments and posts. I hadn't looked back at this thread in a while. I will come back and read them all in the next few days. Thx for all the replies!

 

[Sublifer]

I always get razzed cause people say i over engineer stuff but now i feel right at home .
looks breat. Being a newby myself, the one thing that comes to me is with that extra 250lbs hanging way up there i'd be extra aware of a rollover situation. It is now more top heavy than before.

Yes, it is a little more weight up top but with the loader and filled tires my tractor is near 5500lbs so I don't think a 250lbs roof is going to affect it much. But I'm also not concerned because there isn't much slope on my property. Really only at creek banks and road sides and I don't plan on driving sideways along either.

 

[Sublifer]

MJN: Thanks! I sure gave it my best. The knee braces actually don't get in the way at all. They give me something to grab onto climbing in or out. I haven't done much work on my tractor lately but looking at the pics of your front supports, and you did an awsome job btw, gives me the idea to follow suit with not just the braces but put in some plexi glass to provide some wind and dust protection

LeeJohn: Did you get that insulation in? I looked at your pics. It sure does look pretty strong. And your grid looks like it would be really easy to get the insulation in. The way I have the bars through the center on mine is what made it such a pain getting the insulation in. Still, I like the idea of being able to mount a radio or a storage box up there... With more planning maybe I should have made the entire middle section a bolt-on piece so I could fix it up there after getting insulation in.

Edit: Sorry for all the posts in a row

 

[creekbend]

Anything worth doing is worth doing right. Good job. :thumbsup:

 

[Jamming]

Looks kind of high in the pics, if its noon you should have plenty of protection. nice job though. if it rains golf balls you should be protected, looks to be well buildt.