Big ride on mower

[AndyUK]

hello guys,

thanks for the replies l was begining to think there was no one out there lol

l dident get to much done on it this weekend as it was fine and sunny out there, and that meant l had to take the buggy out for a spin lol, working on the mower should be done when its raining

l did get an hour on it it this afternoon ( sunday) when the heavens opened and stopped the hedge cutting ( great lol )

all l got to do was roll some tube for the second layer of the chassis but its progress non the less

engine and box have room to go back 4" and the seats can go forward 3" which means they can go down the front of the engine to any height l like, although l was going to put the hyd tank there

Brin where abouts are you ? or more importantly is it warm and sunny where you are ??

 

[brin]

Brin where abouts are you ? or more importantly is it warm and sunny where you are ??

Andy....I am in Georgia , USA...and yes it is warm ..we are only 4 hours from the coast...45 minutes to Atlanta, GA.
Sunny almost all the time....come see us...Ya. here...?

 

[AndyUK]

Andy....I am in Georgia , USA...and yes it is warm ..we are only 4 hours from the coast...45 minutes to Atlanta, GA.
Sunny almost all the time....come see us...Ya. here...?

l will have a look on google earth, if it looks warm and sunny l am on my way, how long can l stay there on vacation till they boot me out lol, if not l will post up all my drawings/sizes and you can make one..........

cheers Andy

 

[AndyUK]

what would be the best way to power the cutting deck/flail ??

l was thinking of putting a hyd pump in front of the crank pully and then a motor out on the deck with quick disconnects for changing the decks but l was just pondering whether a pto shaft from the crank to the deck would work just as well ??
to give me different speeds for the deck l could feed the crank into a small truck gearbox so as l had 4 or 5 speeds and a reverse to clear the cutters, it just seemed a bit of a waste to go from rotary motion to fluid pressure and then back to rotary motion 4 feet away ?? what are peoples thoughts on this ???

Andy

 

[Localmotion]

Andy - A former Gloucestershire boy here, so not far down the M5 form you...

This is a great project, and I'm really enjoying following your progress. What's your day job? Guessing it's an engineer or mechanic or something? I must admit to being dead jealous - I would love to be able to build machinery from scratch, but my pigeon welding lets me down :laughing:

As a thought for when you get to the cutting deck - have you tried Rea Valley Tractors? They have a depot in Newport (so not too far down the M54 from you), and used to be very helpful letting me and my friends raid their scrap parts when I was a student at Harper Adams (many years ago)... Just a thought :thumbsup:

Anyway please keep the updates and photos coming - can't wait to see it cutting some grass!

 

[AndyUK]

Andy - A former Gloucestershire boy here, so not far down the M5 form you...

This is a great project, and I'm really enjoying following your progress. What's your day job? Guessing it's an engineer or mechanic or something? I must admit to being dead jealous - I would love to be able to build machinery from scratch, but my pigeon welding lets me down :laughing:



As a thought for when you get to the cutting deck - have you tried Rea Valley Tractors? They have a depot in Newport (so not too far down the M54 from you), and used to be very helpful letting me and my friends raid their scrap parts when I was a student at Harper Adams (many years ago)... Just a thought :thumbsup:

Anyway please keep the updates and photos coming - can't wait to see it cutting some grass!

hi Localmotion

ah the M5 conjures up pictures of miles of caravans all trying to get to devon and cornwall
l work in the sign trade these days but was a metal fabricator for a while
and l want to vapourise the grass not just mow it lol

 

[aczlan]

what would be the best way to power the cutting deck/flail ??
l was thinking of putting a hyd pump in front of the crank pully and then a motor out on the deck with quick disconnects for changing the decks but l was just pondering whether a pto shaft from the crank to the deck would work just as well ??
to give me different speeds for the deck l could feed the crank into a small truck gearbox so as l had 4 or 5 speeds and a reverse to clear the cutters, it just seemed a bit of a waste to go from rotary motion to fluid pressure and then back to rotary motion 4 feet away ?? what are peoples thoughts on this ???

Using hydraulics would give you some benefits, namely:

• Flexibility to add something like a ditchbank mower down the road
• Could add a pressure relief to protect against jamming the blades
• No need to worry about driveline angles
• Easier to have a "soft start" without slipping the clutch

Some cons:

• Cost
• Might need a oil cooler

Aaron Z

 

[AndyUK]

and the last couple of pics l dident get round to posting last night

 

[AndyUK]

before l get to far l might have a hunt around for some lights that l can fit my tube work round
these are a bit too blingy for me but l will have a hunt around ebay and see whats around that looks the right shape to fit in the hoop at the rear, these might if l switched the left to the right in the pic

might investigate front lights while l am at it, maybe merc sprinter van front lights

 

[woodsmith]

I like the bendy tubes :thumbsup:

I should come and see you when I get working on the trike again.

 

[94BULLITT]

How are you going to power the mower decks?

 

[Renze]

well work is a bit quiet at the moment, just working half days gives more toy time lol

whats this volvo 440 dirt buggy l see in your signature ???

Andy

http://www.tractorbynet.com/forums/build-yourself/105561-building-dirt-buggy.html
Project never finished. Its still under a tarp in a dead corner between some pig barns.

 

[madmax12]

http://www.tractorbynet.com/forums/build-yourself/105561-building-dirt-buggy.html
Project never finished. Its still under a tarp in a dead corner between some pig barns.

We all do that in some part of our life. Seems like the older I get the longer the list gets. Hard to prioritize. For me, I'm tryin to start my list like this, though I don't even think I do this part right either: The Living God, family, others, self, stuff...

The stuff is a never ending very long list...

I just sold a motorcycle I've been meaning to get to for over a decade... I was never gonna get to it... Now I don't have to.

 

[AndyUK]

How are you going to power the mower decks?

well l was thinking that a driveshaft running straight off the front crank pulley out to the cutting deck would be simplest and l like simple as what you havent got wont break !!

but that links the cutting deck directly to engine speed and is a bit inflexable, l think that aczlan is right when he say hydraulic drive has some benifits and perhaps this is the way l should go
mounting a hyd pump infront of the crank pulley (A) is the easiest construction wise but l may have a direction of rotation issue there and no way of disconnecting the pump when l am not using the cutters

(B) would solve the direction issue by chain driving across to the pump but again l have no way of disconnecting the pump drive when l want to

and (C) looks like it has possibilities, a standard suzuki sj transfer box will give me 2 ratios to alter the speed of the pump and also 2 pto out puts, front one at engine speed and the rear one at engine speed or half engine speed but what l like is l can put the transfer box into neutral and disconnect the pump when its not wanted

the bit l dont like is the chain drive across the vehicle around the front drive shaft, so expanding that further switch the sj transfer to the other side and direct drive into it, the pump will probally need to mount on the back of the transfer box to get the rotation right
this means l will have to relocate the power steering pump and maybe altenator but that is all doable

 

[AndyUK]

I like the bendy tubes :thumbsup:

I should come and see you when I get working on the trike again.

hi woodsmith

you can come see me anytime, infact l will be in manchester next week, openshaw where ever that is l havent looked yet,

if you need some rolled tube for your trike its no problem at all, l have only made 1.5" tooling for my roller
so inch and a half dia tube is all l can do at present but my pal is building a buggy that needs some 1.75 dia rolling soon so l might be making some more tooling

cheers Andy

 

[AndyUK]

http://www.tractorbynet.com/forums/build-yourself/105561-building-dirt-buggy.html
Project never finished. Its still under a tarp in a dead corner between some pig barns.

nice, what diesel engine did volvo use back then ? was it their own or maybe VW ? buggys always get my attention lol and a diesel auto one appeals to me, might try that although an electric buggy also has some appeal

l built one out of an old MGF some time back, l know thats cheating as it was a rear engined car anyway and things like the hand brake and gearchange are all sorted out for you lol

l used the hydro suspension as well, seemed to work well and smooth out the bumps

heres a couple of pics from 3 or 4 years ago

and then some time later l sold it to a pal of mine who changed the colours, added a few tubes and different graphics and still uses it today
here he is chasing my current buggy which is the orange one in the background of some of the mower pics

buggy - YouTube

 

[Renze]

nice, what diesel engine did volvo use back then ? was it their own or maybe VW ? buggys always get my attention lol and a diesel auto one appeals to me, might try that although an electric buggy also has some appeal

Renault 1.9 turbodiesel with intercooler. But turbo manifolds etcetera were re engineered towards Volvo spec with Porsche engineering, just like the other small Renault engines Volvo used at that time. In fact most people that race a Renault 5 turbo, use the 1.7 turbo engine from the 480 turbo instead of the Renault 1.5 turbo because its so easy to tune to over 200hp (where the Volvo 480 only had 122hp but truck-like torque figures)

l built one out of an old MGF some time back, l know thats cheating as it was a rear engined car anyway and things like the hand brake and gearchange are all sorted out for you lol

Yes thats where we left... brake pedal, steering column in place, but fuel tank, brake lines, gearstick etcetera we never had time or sense to start on that part..

 

[aczlan]

(B) would solve the direction issue by chain driving across to the pump but again l have no way of disconnecting the pump drive when l want to

Open center hydraulics with a large diameter valve? That would give you overload protection via a pressure relief valve and on/off for the deck(s). Would also allow rear/side attachments if desired.

Aaron Z

 

[AndyUK]

Open center hydraulics with a large diameter valve? That would give you overload protection via a pressure relief valve and on/off for the deck(s). Would also allow rear/side attachments if desired.

Aaron Z

you are going to have to help me with the hydraulics bit as l am not clued up on them,

open centre would be where the inlet or pressure port is connected to the outlet and hence tank when the lever is in the middle position ? and does the lever stay in any of the 3 positions forwards,backwards and centre/off ?? every valve l have used has been spring loaded to centre

Andy

 

[94BULLITT]

well l was thinking that a driveshaft running straight off the front crank pulley out to the cutting deck would be simplest and l like simple as what you havent got wont break !!

but that links the cutting deck directly to engine speed and is a bit inflexable, l think that aczlan is right when he say hydraulic drive has some benifits and perhaps this is the way l should go
mounting a hyd pump infront of the crank pulley (A) is the easiest construction wise but l may have a direction of rotation issue there and no way of disconnecting the pump when l am not using the cutters

(B) would solve the direction issue by chain driving across to the pump but again l have no way of disconnecting the pump drive when l want to

and (C) looks like it has possibilities, a standard suzuki sj transfer box will give me 2 ratios to alter the speed of the pump and also 2 pto out puts, front one at engine speed and the rear one at engine speed or half engine speed but what l like is l can put the transfer box into neutral and disconnect the pump when its not wanted

the bit l dont like is the chain drive across the vehicle around the front drive shaft, so expanding that further switch the sj transfer to the other side and direct drive into it, the pump will probally need to mount on the back of the transfer box to get the rotation right
this means l will have to relocate the power steering pump and maybe altenator but that is all doable

I am worried that your ground speed will be too fast at the proper speed to for the mower decks run. How close are you too a test drive?