B7610HSD snowplow retrofit

[dholly]

I placed the cut partly on account of the cylinder mount location and the frame bracing on the underside. Figured it would be strongest to cut here.

 

[dholly]

Before I could start on the plow frame fabrication, I needed to install the subframe assembly on the tractor. This procedure is a litte different depending on whether you have a loader or not, but addressed clearly in the instructions and all necessary parts for whichever you need included. I mounted the right rear subframe mount first.

 

[dholly]

Then the left side. At first I was concerned about the finger and wrench clearance to get to the nuts under the frame. I was relieved to find they were welded to the frame and it was a simple matter of simply replacing the original bolts with the new, longer bolts and placing a couple of spacers. About a 15 minute job for slowpokes.

 

[dholly]

Next you need to assemble the clamping mechanism on the front of the subframe. The subframe simply hooks over and rests on the front of the tractor frame. Once you secure the back end of the subframe, you simply crank down on the handle to snug the subframe tight.

 

[dholly]

The back end of the subframe is lifted up to the left and right mounts and a single long pin slid in and locked. I would say it takes less than a minute to put on or take off the subframe assembly once the mounts are in place. Pretty slick, and a closer look at the engineering makes me feel better about spending the money. No way could I have had this made for the $$.

 

[dholly]

Now that the subframe was in place, I could try and figure how I was going to hook the plow frame to it. For a 'professional' job, I thought about buying the female quick hitch part but didn't want the added weight. So I bummed a couple of pieces of flat stock from a buddy and started thinking how to proceed with what little I had to work with. /forums/images/graemlins/tongue.gif

 

[dholly]

It was at this point I held my very first welding rod... ever! About a month or so ago I found a brand new Lincoln AC/DC tombstone advertised for, well, only -one- Lincoln. Guy's wife bot it for him but he was afraid of it and I jumped. So with all the safety and working knowledge gathered over the course of a few weeks and a borrowed helmet, I tried to get a little practical experience. It was ugly...

 

[dholly]

After a bit of experimenting with the AC and DC+ settings, I came up with these welds. Kinda zig zaggy, but looks like I got good enough penetration to double up the plate.

 

[dholly]

You can see here that the male quick hitch part mounts do have large bushings, but I omitted them on my mounts. A time thing since we're looking for 3" of snow tonight, plus drilling the 7/8" thru holes for the pivot pins thru the double plate was enough of a workout for my little no-name bench top drill press.

 

[dholly]

Here's how my first welding project looked after a couple of hours. A few of the later welds did have some porosity. Read later that could be from uncleaned metal (grease) or moisture on welding rods?