Snow plow fabrication

[mike69440]

Or you can do something like this.




Fabrication thread here.
I still have not had a chance to blast, paint, and assemble. So no progress from the last posting.

Nice Render and design by the way, what software?

Anyway I'd also add a skidplate under the cylinders to protect them from all the snow, rocks & such encountered in plowing.

Also beef up the to of the QA plate at the edges.

 

[Wild Bill the 2nd]

Sketchup, previously a Google product but sold off. Still the free version does a pretty darned good job at 3D modeling.

I'm not a commercial outfit so I don't know that it is really necessary to add a skid-plate under the cylinders. I don''t really know of any truck mounted plows that have skid plates. Seems overkill. You can't really see it from the renderings shown but there is 4+" from the cylinders to the ground. The plow should clear away anything that would contact the cylinders, hydraulic fittings, or hoses.

Where are you thinking the plate needs to be beefed up? Not being an ***** but wondering which edge you feel is insufficient. The actual design I welded up is a little different than my original renderings but I don't know that either would be insufficient. Just looking to cover my bases.

 

[Glrret]

The plow A frame and cylinder placement in your rendering is almost identical to the plow I will be retrofitting to my FEL. However my plow has a "D" frame under the "A" frame for stability while pushing. The cylinders are about 6 inches from the ground and the ram shafts are above the "D" frame. I've been plowing with it for over 17 years, I have never had a problem with rocks or brush damaging them.

 

[Wild Bill the 2nd]

Mine is a Western plow and also has the D-Frame that attaches to the plow and A-Frame.
I just didn't draw it since I didn't need to fabricate anything that interfaces with it.

 

[Glrret]

Wild bill seems you I are of the same mind and resources my plow is also a western. Question: in your design did you shorten the "A" frame in any way? I was thinking of shortening it buy about 6" or more and re-welding the pivot pin hangers on the top of the "A" frame. By the looks of your drawing you are doing the same thing, but did you make the "A" frame any shorter?

 

[Wild Bill the 2nd]

No I did not make any modifications to any part of the plow.
I don't see a reason that you couldn't shorten up the A-frame though.

 

[mike69440]

Sketchup, previously a Google product but sold off. Still the free version does a pretty darned good job at 3D modeling.

I'm not a commercial outfit so I don't know that it is really necessary to add a skid-plate under the cylinders. I don''t really know of any truck mounted plows that have skid plates. Seems overkill. You can't really see it from the renderings shown but there is 4+" from the cylinders to the ground. The plow should clear away anything that would contact the cylinders, hydraulic fittings, or hoses.

Where are you thinking the plate needs to be beefed up? Not being an ***** but wondering which edge you feel is insufficient. The actual design I welded up is a little different than my original renderings but I don't know that either would be insufficient. Just looking to cover my bases.

Beef up the Slid Steer Plate at the top corner edges and also bin the middle between the loader skid steel plates.

I made my own Plow. I found all the weak spots

 

[Glrret]

I ended up using Wild Bills design only with a few minor modification. I shortened the A frame arms by 12 inches by cutting the arms off right behind the cylinders. I needed take as much weight off as I could, the plow I am using is an old 8.5 foot Western of an International 1 ton State forestry fire truck. The plow and A frame together weighed in over 600 lbs. I mounted the push plate as close to the plow as I could without interfering with the pivot. I'm not 100% done but I did take it our for a test drive. I works like a champ. :dance1:

I'll add some pictures as soon as I get them off my phone.

 

[Wild Bill the 2nd]

Well you are a lot faster than I am!
I finally got mine painted today. hopefully tomorrow I'll get it pinned back together but I still need some hydraulic fittings etc. to actually get it up and running.

Please post pics of your shortened A-frame design. I'd love to see it.

 

[Glrret]

Bill here are some of the project pictures... Be kind, I'm not that great at welding.....But I've never had a weld break.

As you can see I cut the A frame arms right at the cylinder, leaving only enough as to not weaken the mount.



From there I attached the mounting plates to the top and made it so I could adjust the placement of the push plate if I ever needed to.

After that I sort of followed the same pattern you had in your 3D sketch, the big difference is the distance from the push plate to the plow.




I plowed with it today and I think I'm going to add some sort of shoes to the back edge of the frame. There seems to be a sweet spot for the cutting edge where it is able to run without digging in, but if you roll back too far on the front shoes your not able to cut the packed surface where vehicles have driven over the snow. I find myself having to adjust a lot on the fly. If I have rear runners or shoes that would simplify thing a lot. I'm also going to add a brace to the back of the plate to the connector arms just to improve the overall strength.

As for back dragging it works very well by just pitching forward with the push plate and the push plate makes contact with the A frame. The design seems solid, I can roll the push plate forward and add down pressure with the FEL and the plow and frame will hold the weight of the tractor with the front wheels suspended.

Over all I'm pleased with the performance and the design.

I want to thanks everyone for the help with the design and the feedback.