How useful is a snow blade - front or back?

rgs03833 · Feb 6, 2012

JackDWaller said:
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

Good Job Jack !!! Nicely Done :thumbsup::thumbsup:. All you need now is Paint.

JackDWaller · Feb 6, 2012

Thanks regarding the lights.

There is precious little that is original in this design - the tilt idea came from the LandPride. Still it does take care and clear thinking to get it all together without major flaws.

The really cool part is that I was able to use scrap that I have been very close to hauling to the scrap dealer - some of it acquired 40 years ago. Now with my new plasma cutter I can cut this heavy material easily and inexpensively and use it for future projects. I'm pretty happy now having my JD2320 and a useful blade to complement the FEL. Count my blessings every day!:thumbsup:

Jack