Homemade Cab for Deere 2320 CUT

[Huskerplowboy]

Unfortunately, I had to go back to work today after a nice 3-day weekend . Then, shortly after getting home this afternoon, a storm rumbled through and knocked out the power for a couple hours, ruining my plan to get some more fabrication done today. Maybe tomorrow or Wednesday I guess...

Saturday and Sunday were mainly spent on fabricating tooling to help me form the sheet metal for the roof the way I want it. Sort of a sheet metal brake, sort of. The big chunk of pipe was in the shop back when I bought the place, everything else except the handles was leftover steel from the cab or other projects. I had not intended to make a fancy stand for it, but after I built the bender, I discovered that i had a shortage of things long enough and heavy enough to bolt it to as an anchor. The stand ended up with casters under it and the bender bolted on, so later I could make a workbench top or maybe a mount for a compound miter saw or something else for it... I think this cab build is getting out of hand now that I'm building stands to hold tools I had to build to make pieces for the cab!

Sunday morning I also moved another project out of the shop to make more room for the cab. I have had an old pickup chassis in there for about 6 months and was working around it so far, but as the cab progresses, needed the space back...

The bent piece in the second pic was 2" wide by 1/8" stock I had a scrap piece of. I have to do a little more grinding on the bender to fix a spot where the handles bind right at 90 degrees, so it can't go past 90 to allow for springback. An easy fix, just takes a little time.

My wife gets back from the in-laws tomorrow, so I may or may not get out into the shop til Wednesday. Here's what I plan to work on next:

- Finish up the LH fender piece for the frame: The channel is welded together, just need to add on the mounting tabs, weld nuts, etc and bolt it up.
- Fabricate the roof: Need to cut and bend the main roof panel, cut out and weld in the end caps/bulkheads, and add in the substructure that will attach to the cab frame. At least I've finally decided on what it'll look like, just need to do it.
- Doors and Windows: After the roof is complete, I'll start tackling the door frames, rear window frame, etc. as well as the filler pieces around the pedals on either side of the cowl.

 

[Huskerplowboy]

Stage 3.1: Roof Fabrication begins

Got a few hours out in the shop this evening and was able to fab the main outer roof panel. Here's how it went:

First, I used the shears to cut the blank down to a rectangle the proper length and width. Then, I cut a template for the corners out of 1/4" plywood. The template was about 3/16" smaller than the shape I wanted for the corners to account for the offset in the nibbler. The template was clamped to each corner and I ran the nibbler along it to trim the roof panel to shape.

Next, I measured in from the LH and RH edges and marked the tangent line for the bends. The sheet was clamped in the homemade bender with that line lined up with the edge of the clamp. With a little luck and a lot of fiddling and using a C-clamp to help the bender along in the middle where it isn't rigid enough... The sides were bent down with about a 1.75" inside radius...

 

[Huskerplowboy]

I did splurge a bit on the roof. In an effort to help the styling and hide the fact that it's a hot tin roof, I went ahead and bought the John Deere amber flasher lights for the corners. These things are used on just about every Deere cab from the 3000s on up. Part number is RE217551. Here are some pics of how the roof corner and the lights match up. The roof panel is spaced off the top of the cab frame about 1 1/2" in the pictures. When it's all done for real, it'll be 3" off the top of the cab frame.

I think it turned out well. The curvy lights sort of fill in the corner where otherwise there'd be a pretty sharp corner or just a sheetmetal edge...

 

[mjncad]

Very Impressive! Keep the pictures coming! What brand and model of air nibbler and shears did you get?

 

[Huskerplowboy]

I picked up the shears and nibbler from Tractor Supply. They're the Farmhand brand, which is made by Campbell Hausfeld. I'm sure there are better ones, but so far, so good. I hadn't used either before, so I figured I'd try the cheaper ones, see if they'd even do what I wanted. I can always wear them out and replace with a heavier duty model if it turns out I use them a lot.

 

[dbdartman]

Nice job with the roof lights!

When I worked in the race car fab shop we had a home made roll form kinda like yours that we used for light tin work. It's surprising how nice the job turns out with just a small break, roll form & cheap bead roller.

 

[Skipholiday]

very nice

 

[Huskerplowboy]

Roof Fab Continues...Slowly

Not much of an update but it might be at least Saturday before I have much else. The other night I cut the end plates for the roof and tack welded them in place. Had to pull the sides in since the bender couldn't quite get them to 90 degrees. Next, a rectangular frame of light weight 1" square tubing will be built to match the top of the cab frame. That frame will be welded into the roof to add support and a frame that can bolt to the top of the frame. Filler pieces along the sides will be used to close in the overhang on the sides and pull the rest of the sides back straight.

Looks like I may need to add some gussets or something to the front and rear overhangs. They're not very stiff and the weld heat put a little warp in one of them. I think a couple gussets just inboard of the hazzard lights and maybe a curvy one in the middle will help square up the overhangs and add a little strength to them... Will have to see how things go as the roof progresses...

 

[Woodworkerman]

Great job Husker! I just had a long discussion with someone at a local dealership about why the manufacturers don't offer cabs on every model line they put out. You are proving that it is possible to do and a desirable option. Keep up the awesome work.

 

[meanmerc]

That is great work!! you are gifted!! I will use some of you ideas to build mine for sure, your details and progression is awesome....Keep it up ....can't wait to see the next pix!!