Mini Dozer Build

[airbiscuit]

I always wanted to take a lawn or garden tractor and do a 3" lift to it for rough cut mowing and trail maintenance. I had a 14.5 ho MTD and it was amazing how much brush you could cut with it if you just plunged ahead. It just needed more clearance and a higher cutting depth.

 

[4570Man]

If I was trying to make a rough cut mower from a lawn mower the first thing I’d do is modify the front of the deck with a torch.

 

[bcp]

If I was trying to make a rough cut mower from a lawn mower the first thing I壇 do is modify the front of the deck with a torch.

Long ago mowers often had a slotted front guard that was great for cutting tall weeds. The blade could cut the stem before the deck pushed the stem flat, like mowers now do.

Here's a photo I found. The one I used had slots that came up closer to the top, so would work even better than this one.



Bruce

 

[Groo]

If I was trying to make a rough cut mower from a lawn mower the first thing I’d do is modify the front of the deck with a torch.

I wouldn't recommend it.
I did that to help tackle a yard that hadn't seen care in years. The tip of the blade broke fairly quickly, so I zipped the other tip off to re-balance, and it broke again almost immediately after I hit some more weeds. I think something else happened with the second break, but I can't recall what.
They just aren't intended to be loaded that way would be my guess as to the root of the problem.

I think pushing the stems flat before the cutters engage long stuff helps spread out the "engagement area" of the cutting blades would be my guess.

 

[Groo]

Back to the dozer thing;
an 8 ton dozer like the previously mention Deere 450g has about an 8' blade. That is about 1 ton of machine weight/pushing force (generally about the same in my experience) per foot of blade width. To get comparable dirt worker performance, I'd think you'd want about the same weight per width; or about a 3" blade on a 1/4 ton machine? so basically I am saying a 3' blade on a 500lbs dozer would probably be about 1/12th as effective at working dirt as would be about the minimum professionally built and designed machine.
I am not sure if that is exactly how it works, but I suspect it is close. The 1.5 ton CUT with a FEL and 5' bucket I grew up with can't push dirt to save its life. It gets the bucket under the dirt and then has to lift it out.

Basically, what it boils down to; If you want a crawler from a lawn tractor, don't put a blade on it. Put a bucket on it if you want any hope of making a useful dirt moving implement.

 

[mitchash]

Back to the dozer thing; an 8 ton dozer like the previously mention Deere 450g has about an 8' blade. That is about 1 ton of machine weight/pushing force (generally about the same in my experience) per foot of blade width. To get comparable dirt worker performance, I'd think you'd want about the same weight per width; or about a 3" blade on a 1/4 ton machine? so basically I am saying a 3' blade on a 500lbs dozer would probably be about 1/12th as effective at working dirt as would be about the minimum professionally built and designed machine. I am not sure if that is exactly how it works, but I suspect it is close. The 1.5 ton CUT with a FEL and 5' bucket I grew up with can't push dirt to save its life. It gets the bucket under the dirt and then has to lift it out. Basically, what it boils down to; If you want a crawler from a lawn tractor, don't put a blade on it. Put a bucket on it if you want any hope of making a useful dirt moving implement.

Good point! I have a compact tractor with a loader and it works pretty good. The advantage of a mini dozer is the thorns don't bother it any, we have a lot of thorn trees in parts of our property. My Struck Magnatrac MT1800 had a loader with teeth on it, it worked good in tight areas.

 

[BrokenTrack]

I clear a lot of land and cut a lot of wood and agree with everything that has been said.

Anything less than a John Deere 850 is not going to clear land; I know, I tried a John Deere 700 and it was pitiful. I also had a John Deere 350 and a John Deere 450. Of the latter two, the 450 could out push the 350 when it came to dirt work, but logging...they were pretty much the same as far as pulling wood.

I once heard a guy say that his 350 John Deere was good up to a 2 foot stump, but I just shook my head. I hated to push 6 inch stumps with mine and felt I was beating on it doing so.

 

[bcp]

If you really need a little dozer, look at the various trail dozers.

Here's one;

48 trail dozer – SWECO PRODUCTS, INC.

They are quite a bit more than a tracked riding mower. (4ft wide, about 5 tons weight)

Bruce

 

[BrokenTrack]

If you really need a little dozer, look at the various trail dozers.

Here's one;

48 trail dozer – SWECO PRODUCTS, INC.

They are quite a bit more than a tracked riding mower. (4ft wide, about 5 tons weight)

Bruce

Hey thanks...that would be perfect in combination with my log loader trailer.

 

[PILOON]

I once owned an Oliver OC3 which was about a CUT size with a 4 ft blade.

Later owned a Allis Chalmers HD6 with about 7 ft blade.

Day and night difference, Allis could bull piles of dirt, take down trees and move yard sized boulders and excavate road beds and do an awesome job of spreading crushed stone on a roadbed.

The Oliver could push sand, and spread topsoil and de track every hour, LOL.
My 20 HP CUT with FEL and back blade can outperform the old Oliver hands down,

About the only thing tracked Oliver could do better than my CUT was drive in marshy muddy situations.

Those old Olivers generally were at their best snow plowing sidewalks and that was about all.
Bombardier put an end to that.

OK if U are looking for a welding project and have lots of time and the $$'s to go with it but suggest you'll later regret it.
I'd suggest you'd be better to re purpose it as a general purpose people transporter with perhaps a cart of sorts to haul tools and supplies around your place.