Convert a rear blade into a front blade?

[wvpolekat]

Looking for thoughts/input on converting a rear blade into a front blade. I have visions of some type of mount that would attach to the lower to 3pt pins and instead of a toplink, use something to raise/lower it. I don't have hydraulics, so maybe a winch or something.

I would rather not butcher the rear blade, so it can be used as a rear blade again by simply dismounting it and attaching to the 3pt.

 

[ampa]

Anything is possible....I converted a small 42' Craftsman Snowblade to fit on the 3pt. hitch on my Compact Tractor....I cut out some heavy square stock some round 3/4 or whatever the pin size was I sort of forget....anyhow had a guy weld it up....worked okay for part of a winter couple years ago.....got a sore neck....so I bought a 4' graderblade which swivels around so I drag it to plough snow....works great....I'd like to buy another grader blade and mount it to the front as well...a electric winch is much too slow....and raising it could give you problems of bending the plough frame or breaking the winch cable....hydraulics is the only way to go.....you can buy a complete portable 12 volt pump/tank/controls....they are expensive....then buy a cylinder for the blade....and if you need to....buy a cylinder for the angle....I just climb off and turn my blade manualy....no big deal....the exercise will do you good.....I like having my blade on the rear for some extra weight.......someone will chime in here and give some great ideas....the guys on here are real experts when it comes to building any kind of machinery......what you need to do is very simple just that you mentioned you have no hydraulics.... thats the part that gets expensive......good luck.....Ampa

 

[dfkrug]

Looking for thoughts/input on converting a rear blade into a front blade. I have visions of some type of mount that would attach to the lower to 3pt pins and instead of a toplink, use something to raise/lower it. I don't have hydraulics, so maybe a winch or something.

I gather that you do not have a front loader either. I have put a 3-pt
hitch on my FEL, so I can use a blade or rock rake on the front. The
problem with a blade on the front is you need some mechanism to deal
with your edge suddenly grabbing an immovable object. Snowplows have
a tilt with springs. You also need shoes, or some method of keeping the
blade from digging in too much.

 

[ampa]

Hi Dave.....I forgot about mentioning the springs and shoes....my 3 point hitch graderblade don't have none....I had it beefed up this past summer by welding extra 1/4" stock where it was kinda' on the weak side... hard to bend it now....but your correct when it grabs something it almost pulls me out of the seat backwards....or stops the tractor dead in it's track.....anyhow Dave your the man that can build anything....I read all your very interesting posts/threads....on your website whether your fabricating or rebuilding tractors.....take care.....Ampa :thumbsup:

 

[PILOON]

For lifting, you could use the inexpensive (imported) 2000lb ATV winches.
Generally sold in $35-65 range, or if lucky as I was, in a yard sale for $5.00 but needing new brushes, which I filed/sanded an 'on hand set' to fit.

 

[2manyrocks]

Do you mind if I ask how you intend to use a front blade? My rear blade will pivot to face the rear so I can push things with it in reverse. I wondered what you want to do.

The lack of hydraulics would be a challenge to use this conveniently.

 

[aczlan]

Here is an idea for linkage to hook it up: http://www.tractorbynet.com/forums/build-yourself/159477-another-idea-front-blade-one.html

Edit: I couldn't find this one before: http://www.tractorbynet.com/forums/attachments/161785-hitch-n-plow.html
A company has an adapter that sits in your 2" receiver and lets you hook up a 3pt hitch attachment

Aaron Z

 

[sandman2234]

No hydraulics, meaning your tractor has none, or do you mean you don't have rear remotes?
I have a Steiner lawnmower and I purchased a couple of reel mower decks thinking I could use them to mow my yard. They don't work well enough for my application, so they just sit out back. There is a pto hydraulic pump on it that is powered by the front pto, and that runs the hydraulic motors on the reels, plus a cylinder to raise and lower the decks. Something like that could be adapted to run off your motor, with a bracket like a Chevy alternator bracket so you could loosen the belt when you didn't want to run the pump.
Surely there are other pieces of equipment that use the same basic idea, that you could adapt to get yourself some hydraulics.
David from jax

 

[ampa]

No Hydraulics.....Hmmmmm just thought of a cheap solution....would an automotive power steering pump work a hydraulic cylinder....for the up and down motion.....just a thought.....I'm open for no it won't work or maybe it would.....I just had a high pressure hose blow...on my van....I'm not too sure what they mean by high pressure....compared to a hydraulic pump system on a tractor....I had my 42" Craftsman plough runnin' off a 1500 lb winch... I installed an old Ford pickup stop switch for the raise position..... but the switch bein' plastic caught on some hard packed snow and tore out the insides of the switch...and left the wires dangling and connected together and kept the winch operatable...... I busted the cable and one swivel hook 3 times before I knew what was happening.....back to the drawing board to install another switch made of metal this time round...and bend some metal on my small portable metal brake to protect it....plus I'm ordering two more tention springs so I'll end up with 3 and still have the protection of it folding down when I hit something solid....I don't think using a heavy grader blade for the without like Dave mentioned...... tention springs and some kind of metal shoes to keep it from digging in......I've seen on this forum of guys cutting front mounted 7' ploughs off 4x4 trucks down to 4-5'....just another idea to add......Ampa

 

[wvpolekat]

No hydraulics meaning the 3pt is, but I have no remotes or other ports that can be used to tap into it. Tractor is a 47 Ford 2N. You CAN tap into the test port and chain the 3pt and use it, but with them not being live, it's a royal pain to have to stop, put in neutral, let clutch out, do your thing, then put back in gear. Just not real suitable for low speed type work.

I read about someone using a master/slave setup with the master attached to the 3 pt and a single hose going to the slave. When you raise the 3pt, it compresses the cylinder there, which extends the cylidner at the other end. Some provision for burping it would have to be there, but that's not a big deal. And, it's a LOT cheaper than a pump. But, I would still have the problem of not having live hydraulics.

I think the $69 ATV winch would be the simplist and easiest option, as well as allowing me to have a VERY light duty winch for other uses. Tractor is already 12v, so won't be too hard. Just need to think about a switch to raise/lower it. Should be just a couple of solinoids to do that.