How useful is a snow blade - front or back?

[cttractor]

Any other readers have a sense of where this should go?

I gotta say, Jack, your blade definitely looks heavy duty and impressive. I have the same tractor as you. Are you sure you're going to be able to pull that blade? I ask because I've had trouble in the past with other tractors as the rear blade gets heavy. When it's lifted, it adds weight and traction to the rear wheels. But when it's down, we lose that traction at the very time we need it to pull the heavy blade and snow along.

 

[SensibleNick]

Have a look at all the photos if you fancy...

Enjoyed your photos -- thanks for sharing!

I'm always amused at my surprise to find that your surroundings look no different than our surroundings here in the states. I half expected to see the Aurora Borealis hanging in your background sky while you were plowing snow at night.

Also, kudos on the chain sets you made. We often compliment the builders on this site for the nifty attachments they build that look as if they're commercially made. Your chain design looks even better than the chain sets I see around here.

You're Totally welcome :thumbsup:
I wish we could see the Auraura Borealis here... but we're not that far north here: about the same latitude as Hudson Bay or Edinburgh (UK). Totally clear skies with very little air/light pollution though.

Chains: Thanks! If I ever do it again though I'll definately use hardened chain for the stuff that contacts the road. As usual I was on a budget though, and I'll be running a bead of weld along the worn areas before I use them again. Looks like no snow though this year!

(Sorry for the off-topic Hijack Jack )

 

[JackDWaller]

Cttractor, now you've got me worried. I wasn't really focusing on the front, but is it possible to load up the bucket so as to create more net weight? I know from my smaller garden tractor with a roto tiller behind what it's like to not be able to steer - like jumping off and pushing the front over .

One thought is to keep the blade in closer to the rear. Because of the tilt pin format, the blade can be reversed rather awkwardly by reinstalling it, so I could shorten things so that it can't swing around 360 degrees. I'm not sure how close to the rear I should go, though. If I put on gauge wheels do I even need to consider reversing it??

I don't mind cautionary comments, in fact I welcome them, after all what good does it do to have one's head in the sand. I can comfortably lift one end of the blade so it isn't yet "that" heavy - I guess it's all relative - again I don't have any experience.

Jack

 

[yelbike]

I gotta say, Jack, your blade definitely looks heavy duty and impressive. I have the same tractor as you. Are you sure you're going to be able to pull that blade? I ask because I've had trouble in the past with other tractors as the rear blade gets heavy. When it's lifted, it adds weight and traction to the rear wheels. But when it's down, we lose that traction at the very time we need it to pull the heavy blade and snow along.

Although you gain traction when you raise the blade, when its lowered you go back to the same net weight(traction) as without the blade.
For example, what I find happens for me is when I push snow backwards into the ditch I run out of traction pushing into the pile of snow, then I raise the blade and the extra traction ensures I get out of the ditch.

Its kind of a bonus because WITHIN REASON reason you won't get stuck.IMO

 

[cttractor]

Cttractor, now you've got me worried. I wasn't really focusing on the front, but is it possible to load up the bucket so as to create more net weight? I know from my smaller garden tractor with a roto tiller behind what it's like to not be able to steer - like jumping off and pushing the front over .

One thought is to keep the blade in closer to the rear. Because of the tilt pin format, the blade can be reversed rather awkwardly by reinstalling it, so I could shorten things so that it can't swing around 360 degrees. I'm not sure how close to the rear I should go, though. If I put on gauge wheels do I even need to consider reversing it??

I don't mind cautionary comments, in fact I welcome them, after all what good does it do to have one's head in the sand. I can comfortably lift one end of the blade so it isn't yet "that" heavy - I guess it's all relative - again I don't have any experience.

Jack

I'm not looking to frighten you, just to do as you have asked and offer insight into the issues you need to consider when building your blade.

As I and Yelbike have explained, when raised, the blade acts as a weight box and places ballast over the rear wheels. When it's resting on the ground, that weight no longer provides ballast because it's on the ground, plus, you now need adequate traction to drag that blade AND its load along the ground. One thing that can help is filling the wheels. That always adds weight that will remain on your tractor for additional traction. Or add wheel weights -- you can remove those when mowing so you don't overly compact your lawn and for soft ground.

As for the blade, I, too, like heavy duty construction. I just wanted to point out that you can't ignore the weight because it doesn't help you when it's on the ground. Second, I wouldn't pull the blade in too close. I run a six foot rear Woods blade for snow cleanup on my machine and it works well. I like the fact I can rotate the blade 360 degrees. In fact, I sometimes pull it backwards when cleaning snow from my lawn -- it won't dig it up that way.

You might ask, "Why does this jamoka plow his lawn? Is he daft?" Well, I may be daft, but the reason I found myself plowing some of my lawn last year was that we kept getting snow dumped on us, so I cleared a swath 30 feet off the edge of my driveway after the second December storm to assure I had enough space to put snow from additional storms. And man was I happy I did that! By March, I had a large 6 foot high wall of snow 25 feet deep that was only about four feet off the edge of the driveway. We had never gotten so much snow; another few storms and I would have run out of space for it. After that, my driveway would have gotten narrower until it couldn't pass a car.

So, the foregoing is just a long way of saying that I'd keep the ability to rotate the blade 360 degrees, would make the blade heavy duty, but not ignore its weight, and would consider loading the tires or installing wheel weights so my traction is not limited to my tractor's weight when the blade is down.

I hope this helps.

 

[JackDWaller]

Definitely wisdom in these comments and they help a lot. I will retain the 360 rotation feature. Obviously, what is happening is that there are trade offs that can not be resolved. Based on my experience when it's finished, I will more fully appreciate what you guys have tried to convey as it applies to my particular snow situation.

I have a circle drive with grass in a center region that does pile high and I have snow blown that area (not an easy task with a 30" walk-behind) in very early spring for a slightly different reason - the run-off tends to keep my drive mucky for a longer time. So there will be times I will want to drag snow out of there.

Boy, when I hear and see some of the snow issues, I have to be very thankful I don't get nearly that bad. I have shoulder/neck problems from an old whiplash and the walking snowblower plays havoc with my shoulders so I, being older, have been hoping that the blade will allow me to do some scraping off to the side that can then maybe be dealt with in one or two long passes with the blower (assuming not too heavy a fall). Also I have a right angled attached garage that creates an area that, coupled with prevailing winds, is challenging. I'd like to use the blade to pull snow out of that area before blowing.

Talk only goes so far - the proof, yea/nay, will be in the pudding. I can just see folk chuckling (in a friendly way of course) because poor old Jack is in for a learning experience at the school of hard knocks . Weird, we still don't have any snow to speak of, so I better get the blade finished while the opportunity presents itself.

Jack

 

[rjmack]

I will retain the 360 rotation feature

definitely a good idea.

just some background, i have about 500' of driveway with about 45' vertical rise, and 2 building site to service. we don't usually get more than 6"-8" at a time. i have a scut gc2410 with the loader on the front and a 7' blade on the rear. it works very well.

the back blade imho works much better than a front blade would on this machine because of the limited weight on the front. i suspect there would be steering issues... on the other hand, the front blade can make bigger piles if that is an issue.

the rear blade works well in dry or wet snow and i don't find having to get off/on to change the angle or direction of the blade to be an issue. i have a long pin on the pivot joint and no keeper/spring pin etc is required so it is quick and easy to change blade orientation.

one issue with the rear blade is that it is hard on my bad neck/back turning around too much and i am usually fairly sore by the end of the job. all the same i have no intention of going to front blade.

i see the picture of your blade and can't help but think is fairly heavy. i have an issue in that the ground often freezes and thaws and i'm not always plowing on frozen ground. even my fairly light blade will reign havoc on wet ground.

re; your blade design, it may/may not be worth your while to incorporate the ability to manually tilt the blade to whatever angle you choose, for whatever you are doing.

 

[JackDWaller]

Well here is the latest regarding my rear snow blade. Considering mig gas and some odds and ends I spent about $200 and it was at least $200 worth of fun:laughing:

I have left the option of adding hydraulic angle open but for now since the tractor isn't blumbed for hydraulics, that's a future hope.

A friend convinced me, rightfully I believe, that offset would not be all that useful to me. Plus I reasoned that my light JD2320 would probably get pushed over sideways, negating its value. Of course this speeded up my dragging project substantially. The blade at 6'2" is out past the tractor about a foot when angled around 30 degrees.

I have tried out the blade and feel that the floating tilt feature is useful. Have included some pics showing how I beefed up that 2x4 x 1/4" vertical piece that provides the tilt and rotation. Also, I purchased a scrap piece of 3x5 x 3/8" for the main beam ($65). It's overkill but I was insecure with 3x3 x 1/4. It facilitated the holes for the fixed pin for rotation and handled the rotation sleeve that was nearly 3" OD, nicely.

I'm very happy to have the weight. If I start to slip, I raise the blade slightly and have traction again. To prevent the floating tilt from swinging down and hooking something when the blade is elevated I added some old shock springs - seems to work fine - the blade follows the lay of the land nicely. I still need a support post and hopefully will sandblast and paint in the spring.

For summer use I'll probably add a pair of casters in place of the skids and possibly a center gauge wheel. Again, I think this floating tilt will help when leveling dirt but that remains to be seen.

Thanks again to those who helped with my insecurities, it wasn't really such a big deal, but that's hindsight.

Jack

 

[cttractor]

Jack, nicely done! The whole thing looks "meaty" and hardy. I suspect it'll hold up quite well.

You may find that the skids work fine for grading. Many skids fail because they're not large enough; yours look big enough to float and not let the blade dig in except on the softest soil. Even a center gauge wheel doesn't work well when the surface you're on is too soft.

Please continue to let us know how it works at various tasks. And it'll look great once you get it painted. (More pics at that time are mandatory, of course

 

[yelbike]

Wow!! Built like a tank! Nice job, I really like the floating feature. You should patent! I still think its land mine rated!:laughing:

Just as a remark on your tractor( I have the same one!), you can flip the rops signal lights to the inside of the rops so they don't get broken by tree branches. I heard that happens!!!