Horse Mat for Soft Snow Blade Edge

arkydog · Jan 14, 2003

A close-up view.

rdbrumfield · Jan 14, 2003

That looks great, I especially like the price.

markie61 · Jan 15, 2003

"TBNers - Keeping America CLEAN!"/w3tcompact/icons/grin.gif Thanks for picking up on the roadside.

BTW, I like what you did sandwiching the rubber between the main blade and the replaceable metal edge. I am going to TSC to get mats today and should have enough left over for my back black and FEL bucket

arkydog · Jan 15, 2003

By the way, I used the trick of heating the 25 year old nuts with a propane torch and using birthday candles (all I had) to loosen them. Worked like a charm!!!!!!!! Even worked on the skid shoes which were REALLY rusted.

markie61 · Jan 15, 2003

I've got to do this tomorrow. Can you explain the birthday candle thing?
Mark

Anonymous Poster · Jan 15, 2003

Real simple, heat the nut up, stick the end of the candle on the hot nut where it meets up with the screw sticking out and let a little wax melt in. The candle wax actually penetrates between the nut & screw, and lubricates the threads for easy removal.
Works some of the time. When it doesn't, apply more heat.

markie61 · Jan 16, 2003

Cool beans! I'll try it.

I'm going to TSC this morning to get horse mats. According to my stall measurements, I should have enough left over to put an edge on a backblade, on my FEL, and a spare. The backblade has been sitting in a muddy field for 15+ years with the cutting edge in the mud over 8 inches. If the candle thing doesnt work, I'm just going to use a cutoff wheel on my Ziptool and take the heads off.

Thanks,
Mark

arkydog · Jan 16, 2003

When mounting the rubber on the fel, would you mount it so that when you use the bucket, its tilted down like the same as a blade?

pajoube · Nov 9, 2003

Can any of you offer some advise now that you have one full winter of use with the horse mat edge? Would you do anything different regarding how you attached?
PJ

markie61 · Nov 9, 2003

I had two rubber edges: one on the back blade and the other on the loader.

On the back blade, I installed it between the removable edge and the main blade like shown in the pictures. It lasted all winter and is usable this coming winter.

On the bucket, I used eight individual bolts/nuts/washers. When the snow got packed in between the mat and the bucket, it stressed and eventually tore. This year, I am brazing carriage bolts to a 6" strip of metal and using that to keep the mat on. Should work pretty well, since it will be similar to the back blade.

Wear on both mats was minimal.

Mark