Rear Blade Skid Shoes for Rear Blade

Strongman · Jan 1, 2006

I've enjoyed reading other people's endeavors on making skid shoes, and have gotten some good insights. A guy at work suggested purchasing skid shoes for a pickup snowplow (Western snow plow replacement shoes were the cheapest) and welding some square stock and round stock to the plow. I did this over Christmas break, and it turned out well. Two replacement shoes (including washers and hitch pins) cost $34 (since then I've found them for $28). The square stock and round stock cost $7. The only trouble now is waiting for the snow to fall!

Strongman · Jan 1, 2006

Attached is the pictures of the skid shoes for the rear blade after they were attached.

TillerofdaEarth · Jan 1, 2006

That looks like a good economical set up. Great idea and nice job!

LMTC · Jan 2, 2006

Where did you find the shoes for $28? Local or "orderable?" Thanks.

Inspector507 · Jan 2, 2006

Wayne I got some at TSC for a snow plow. I think they were around $36 for 2 of them. They have made real good floor ornaments for 2 years now..........just haven't done anything with them /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif

Strongman · Jan 2, 2006

I found the place locally but you can mail order them from anywhere, the place is Angelo's in Wixom, Michigan. The link is Western snow shoes W49067 I think shipping and handling will run around $10 depending on where you live. I would just call around where you live and ask for the Western 49067 skid shoes. I've found that there are many different manufactuers for the replacement shoes, some are much thicker than others. Northern Tool sells them for $16 the link is: Northern tool
I don't understand why some other snow plow brands cost 2 to 5 times more than the Western shoes. I do know that there are different thicknesses you can get, the standard duty (which is what I got) and a heavy duty. Depending on how heavy your plow is, I would doubt you would ever need to replace them unless you use them as much as a professional.

By the way, I used the square stock to keep the shoes from being under the plow, otherwise I would only be able to lower the plow to within 1 1/4" of the ground. The guy at work says he keeps his 1/2" off the ground and it works fine.

rixtory · Jan 3, 2006

I'm not a welder, but I like what you've done. What do most people do when they need something big and bulky welded? Do you use a trailer and tow it to a welder, or do weldeers make housecalls? Do most service stations have welding equipment?
Thanks in advance

Strongman · Jan 3, 2006

I'm sure others will have more input, but I've found if you can put it in a pickup, life is easy. Most tractor stores that do repair will sell you welding time. The classifieds often have people wanting to weld. I would think someone who does welding on the side would be willing to make a housecall if the parts were large enough since a MIG welder is fairly small.

cwarrix · Jan 3, 2006

There is a guy in town that builds and sells trailers. He has all kinds of metal working equipment. I can do some small welding, but I take the bigger stuff to him. I've know him for years, and have bought a couple of trailers from him, and sent others there to buy as well, so he does the welding a very cheap price. Sometimes I just tack it together with my VERY limited welding skills and take it to him to finish.

I think you'd be better off hauling it to them rather than asking somebody to come to you. It would probably be cheaper since the travel time would be yours, and you will have more options since not everyone has a portable welder. If you know any local farmers, they might be able to weld some stuff for you, or point you to a reasonable place to get it welded. Good Luck!