The DIY $8 snow plow!!

[DanBowers]

This was a quicky project that I decided to tackle last evening. Since I can plow with the B3200, I thought my son would like a plow for his T1400. I hit up the local metal supply shop for 16' of .125"x1.5" flat stock.......total cost....$8. For the blade, a blue plastic drum gave itself up for the greater good!! Other than that, some wire, few miscellaneous bolts and two quick pins completed the job. Below is a pic of version 1.0.



This is a pic of one very happy boy!!



After a couple test runs I decided to greatly narrow the plow to save weight and keep it from "scooping" snow when lifted. When I did this it put a downward angle of the plow frame which made it want to roll under the tractor. So I spent an hour this afternoon, re"engineered" the frame, lowered the pick up point and made some more bracing. Now it works perfect!! He'll have a good time cleaning up the drive when a couple inches of snow have fallen. I'll grab a few pics of the version 2.0 in the AM.

 

[DanBowers]

Ok.......so I needed to go out to the garage so I snapped the pics tonight. I still need to finish welding several areas, clean a few spots up and hit it with a coat of Kubota orange. But need to make sure this is the final version before I start the finish work!!







I'm also not done with the handle design. The flat stock is on there for the time being but I'm looking for a nice piece of lightweight pipe to use.



An overall pic with his rear tool carrier also in place. He's now claimed a hammer, hatch and sledgehammer. Not sure what he plans on doing but he's getting geared up for something.

 

[forgeblast]

Really nice idea! He is going to have so much fun with it.

 

[Gary Fowler]

Just be glad that he takes an interest in working rather than stuck with his head in a video game. Not many kids out there today that want to help around the house without being forced.

 

[dave1949]

An overall pic with his rear tool carrier also in place. He's now claimed a hammer, hatch and sledgehammer. Not sure what he plans on doing but he's getting geared up for something.

View attachment 345788

That's neat.

Lizzie Borden?? :laughing:

 

[SPIKER]

Heck the Hammer and Hatchet are just about mandatory items for a real boy to have close at hand. Great to see him HELPING dad on the important tasks as well.
One item could be adding a metal lower cutting edge to the drum section, (might have one but could not see it in the pic.) The Sledge hammer is a good weight adder for traction might have to get him a set of chains for rear tires too.

Mark

 

[DanBowers]

I did put small shoes on the lower edge of the drum section but they are on the backside. This will keep it from digging in.

As for chains.....already have a set that I can make work!! I figure with the chains, couple bricks in the basket and leaving the mower deck on should add all the weight that it needs for cleaning up windrows or pushing off a couple inches of light snow.

Just be glad that he takes an interest in working rather than stuck with his head in a video game. Not many kids out there today that want to help around the house without being forced.

Thanks. He's a good helper. There is also a metal garden trailer that he pulls around for moving firewood. I've even found myself hopping on the little tractor with the trailer to run around the yard and move some stuff. Right now I'm eyeing up a G3200 w/ snow blade as a little resto project for him to mess around with. I'm going to start another thread to see if it may be worth looking at.

http://smd.craigslist.org/grd/4184562985.html

 

[deezler]

ok, that's actually pretty awesome. My son is only 12 weeks old but I can't wait for him to start fooling around with stuff like this.

 

[3930dave]

Nice project !

Even better, you both are having fun.

Thanks for posting - I have a good friend that "expensive" blade would be perfect for.

Rgds, D.

 

[mikehaugen]

ok, that's actually pretty awesome. My son is only 12 weeks old but I can't wait for him to start fooling around with stuff like this.

Same here, my 2y.o. is starting to take an interest in being out in the garage with me. I guess I'm gonna have to start "child-proofing" it a little more so he can spend more time out there.

 

[DanBowers]

To be honest, I spent about five minutes doodling on a piece of scrap paper and started cutting metal. The only thing I measured was the hole spacing where the frame mounts to the tractor.

Projects are slowed down substantially when kids want to help. But if you don't enjoy that kind of thing then I guess you shouldn't have kids!!

 

[Toddao]

Here's my version. This one is super sized, I have since cut it down from 11.6 to 7. 5 and have welded brackets in place of the c clamps

 

[Marveltone]

I just love good old fashioned ingenuity. Take what you have and make it work. You guys have much better imaginations than I, and I salute you! :salute:

Keep these home-brewed projects coming!

Joe

 

[DanBowers]

View attachment 345909

Here's my version. This one is super sized, I have since cut it down from 11.6 to 7. 5 and have welded brackets in place of the c clamps

T.........I acquired a piece of pipe that I was going to do the SAME exact thing with. The plan is going to be to chainsaw it in half length wise and use half on my B3200 and the other half on Dad's L2600DT. I'm going slot it in the same manner as you did and slide it onto the bucket. Nice job!!

 

[Toddao]

It works well, it also makes it look like a ski area that has just been groomed, due to the corrugations in the pipe

 

[DanBowers]

My pipe is smooth on the outside so I won't get the groomed effect. I had thought about using a small section of it for the T1400 but it's pretty heavy and I wanted to save weight on the front so I used the drum.

 

[duroc]

This was a quicky project that I decided to tackle last evening. Since I can plow with the B3200, I thought my son would like a plow for his T1400. This is a pic of one very happy boy!!

View attachment 345782

Very nicely done! What I like most about this is the father/son relationship. You don't see too much of that these days...at least not in my area. Most kids are more interested in electronics/TV and such than they are at "living life". Kudos to you, sir!
And yes, your son does appear to be one very happy camper. :thumbsup:

 

[s219]

Cool -- that boy looks like he's ready for some snow! I have fond memories shoveling/blowing snow with my dad as a kid. I suspect he was just tricking us kids into work, but it was fun all the same.

 

[Danno1]

Same here, my 2y.o. is starting to take an interest in being out in the garage with me. I guess I'm gonna have to start "child-proofing" it a little more so he can spend more time out there.

In my case I spent more time "garage proofing" the kid. It worked, but as always, YMMV.



.

 

[forgeblast]

True about proofing the kid, she knows I have sharp things there, one thing that helps me is she has her own tools. She learns how to use a tool it goes in her tool bag, she leaves it out it becomes mine. She also has a bin of cutoffs that are hers to use. We just made a sled out of some of the pieces. She planned it all together. I have a block in the barn with the first screw she put in by herself and the first nail, I made her sign it too and I hung it up in the barn.