Homemade Cab for Deere 2320 CUT

[Huskerplowboy]

Doors and windows:

Got enough other things done around the house to get some more time on the cab this past weekend. Was able to build the majority of the LH door frame and the rear window frame and get the hinges mounted to the cab frame for those. Both of these were made with 2 strings of 3/4" angle iron to form a "T" section. One angle fits around the corner of the frame to provide a place to seal on some weatherstripping. The other angle provides a flange where the glass or plexiglass can be attached with a rubber seal/gasket. I got the gasket and weatherstripping in on Monday, so I'll be ready for the plexiglass when I reach that point.

For the hinges, I found some steel hinges at TSC that were unpainted, unplated, and not drilled for wood screws. By grinding one end of the pin off, I could drive it out to make them removable pins. That way, the door and rear window can easily be unpinned and removed for summer work, removal of the cab, etc. I had to trim down the width of the hinges to work with the small angle iron and the spacing on the cab frame. On half is welded to the frame, one to the door.

The current plan for the front windshield and RH door/window is to mount a fixed window that doesn't hinge. For both of these, some 1/8" flat iron or leftover angle will be welded to the inside perimeter to provide an 1/8" flange for the window gasket/seal. The RH side will be a bit different in that some of the pieces will be split up to go with the bolt-in portions of the cab frame to accomodate tearing down the cab. I figure some clear silicone when I unstall the glass or plexi will seal up some of those seams.

 

[Mustangous]

Very nice...

 

[CCWKen]

Looking good!

Don't use silicone any where you intend to apply paint. Paint won't stick to it. If you're talking about sealing the seams of your frame, use "Seam Sealer". It's available as a brush-on or in caulking style tubes. Automotive paint suppliers carry it. It's the same stuff auto mfgs. use. It dries fast, remains semiflexible and can be painted. There's a trick to smoothing it out though--It skins fast. A rag soaked in lacquer thinner works good but I just dribble lacquer thinner over it and smooth it with a finger.

 

[mcfly682]

By far one of the best threads ive read on here yet. You are doing a fantastic job and i truly envy your fabricating skills. Thanks for sharing in so much detail every step of this project. I look forward to the next installment.

 

[Dale1995]

Great looking Cab, where did you get your gasket and weather stripping? I am trying to build a window for the back of my cab that will be able to be opened. Can you post a close up of the rear window frame, I am not quite sure how you are building it, But it sure sounds like you have a lot of thought into it, and I don't want to reinvent the wheel.Are you going to put glass or plastic for the rear window? Keep up the great work!

 

[rtdiggr]

Nice job, your garage looks like you have a nice amount of room in there to work.

Shane

 

[Huskerplowboy]

Great looking Cab, where did you get your gasket and weather stripping? I am trying to build a window for the back of my cab that will be able to be opened. Can you post a close up of the rear window frame, I am not quite sure how you are building it, But it sure sounds like you have a lot of thought into it, and I don't want to reinvent the wheel.Are you going to put glass or plastic for the rear window? Keep up the great work!

I ordered the gasket and weatherstrip from mcmaster-carr. They had a bunch of different types and shapes of weatherstripping. I'd had pretty good luck with them in the past.

I'll try to get some good pics of the door or window frame. Basically, it's just 2 pieces of angle iron back-to-back to form a "T" I used 3/4" x 1/8" angle. SO on the outside of the frame, it ends up 1.5" wide. Sort of a short, wide "T", since it's 1.5" wide and only 3/4" tall. One side of the T fits around the corner posts with a slight gap for the weatherstrip. The other provides the edge for the window gasket.

I plan to use plexiglass all around for starters, picked that up last night.

 

[Huskerplowboy]

Some pics of yesterday's progress. It's dipped into the 30's the last few nights, better keep moving on this project!

Yesterday I was able to mount the gas springs for the rear window and door. They're short little units from Surplus Center, $2 each. I picked some that had eylet ends instead of ball sockets, just easier to fabricate something for a 1/4" bolt.

Really happy with the rear window, seems like about the right amount of force. They're positioned on both the window and door to self-close a little, so they should help keep the frames from trying to pop open. The door spring may be a little weak. I had calculated a good spot for it, but forgot that the top part of the door is at the angle since I tapered the cab. That moved the pivot axis out farther down at the bottom of the door, so I had to wing it. Have to see, could probably add another using longer bolts ( I bought a couple extras)

Reinforced the door by adding a brace from the fender "knee" to the front. This gives it a continuous beam from front to back down where the gas spring and door latch is. Really helped stiffen things up. Plus, it's down low enough that it's not really in the way for visibility that much...

After adding the gas spring, I noticed that the spring wanted to flex the door when closed. This was because the bottom hinge was mounted up at the bend in the cab, not the bottom of the door (because it was easier to keep it on one flat section rather than out in mid-air). I had to go back and add in another hinge at the very bottom of the door, made a world of difference and it appears that I got the hinge aligned pretty well with the other 2!

The handle/latch for the door is the latch for a screen or storm door. Picked it up for $8 or something. It's a low-gloss black, looks like a tractor door handle too. Time will tell how well it wants to stay open when things are bouncing around. The backup plan is to install a simple bolt-type secondary latch on the inside, so I can extra-latch it when working...

Need to work on it again today. Just got started filling in the area alongside the hood yesterday evening. There'll be a couple small windows on either side to allow at least enough visibility to line up the loader masts when installing the loader. The rest will be filled in with sheet metal to bump out around the foot controls and fill in the odd-shaped curves over the cowl.

 

[Huskerplowboy]

More pics

 

[Huskerplowboy]

Nice job, your garage looks like you have a nice amount of room in there to work.

Shane

Seems a lot bigger since I finally cleaned it up. My shop is about 30'x60'. It's divided up (used to be used as a business) into 3 sections. The main bay where I'm working is 30' deep by about 24' wide or so. The next bay isn't heated or insulated, just storage, about 18' wide. The rest of the building is split into 2 rooms (offices) about 18x15 each. I keep my woodworking tools and such in one, the other has become a storage area.

We're in the process of trying to sell our place. The plan is to build on some ground we've recently purchased. Problem is, I might have to go up to a year without a shop!