Urethane edges?

[dylan]

Just wondering if anyone has ever tried Urethane edges on their buckets? (tractors, skidsteers) I was thinking that it might prevent some scrape marks during winter snow removal and especially when scraping material off the road or driveway during summer construction. I was also wondering how these edges might affect the digging action of the bucket. Any thoughts or experience with this situation?
Thanks

 

[OkieG]

I've been asking the same question in the "snowplow and rear weight" thread. This is part of a response I got from a metal cutting edge user:
<font color="blue"> I have been plowing the drive for 20 years now with a 8 1/2' Fischer snow plow mounted on a 79 Ford 250 4wd.... I have used the blade for so long without the shoes, that I don't even know where they are now....I have neighbors that used the plastic blade edge and they wear them out every 2 or 3 years and they are expensive to replace. My cutting edge has been flipped once and is due for replacing now. $100 for a new 8 1/2' metal edge or $250 for a 6' plastic..... this is what I call a no brainer....
To finish up what the truck leaves behind, I do some clean up work with a old Bolens with a 54" blade with a metal edge. </font>
Another writes: <font color="blue"> As for the blade, mine came with the normal steel edge and the steel shoes, and that's what I've always used. </font>

I appreciate the above input, but hearing from urethane edge users would be good to help us newbies make up our minds.

OkieG

 

[Junkman]

I wrote the part about the 79 Ford.........
Now for my comments on the plastic urethane edge for a loader bucket ..... first, it would be mounted with the thin side parallel to the bucket bottom and it would wear very rapidly since it is only about an inch thick and the height part would be horizontal instead of vertical the way that it was intended to be used. Another problem that you will incur is in how to mount it. If you used standard moldboard mounting bolts, they would still scratch on the driveway surface and you would still have the resulting line marks from them. Also the heads would soon wear off and there would be very little holding the blade edge onto the bucket. I understand your reason for wanting to try this product, but I don't think that you can successfully engineer it to work in a design that it wasn't originally designed for given the reasons that I have provided. If it can be done, I will be the first to applaud you for your success.

 

[OkieG]

Junkman,
Thanks for the post. Dylan was asking about buckets (which you responded to) and not blades (which I addressed). I read what he was asking, then shifted gears in my response.

Sorry Dylan, I didn't mean to throw your line of questioning off track. I just picked up on the urethane vs. steel issue and steered my post to blades.

OkieG

 

[markie61]

Use a piece of horse stall mat. You can buy a 4'x6' mat at TSC or Southern States for less than $40. I cut it into 8" strips and bolted them on to the rear blade edge and replaced my toothbar with them. They lasted all winter and I have extras for this year. Works real well - it's like using a squeegee on your pavement.

Do a site search on "horsemat" or "stall mat" or other varations, and you will find several pictures of this application. Hey, you didn't think it was MY original idea, did you /forums/images/graemlins/crazy.gif?

Mark

 

[dylan]

Thanks for the replies guys. I will look for the mat.
I had planned on counter sinking carriage bolts so they wouldn't scrape the pavement and using the loader tilted downward so only the actual edge is wearing. Not the whole flat bottom. Just have to try it I guess.

 

[wing126]

Around here in Northern Michigan we use a 3" dia. pipe slotted down the middle to fit over the cutting edge. I've used one on my 7 1/2' plow on my pick up for the last 20 years. I've also made a few for tractor buckets and rear 3 pt. blades. The pipe floats over the ground, grass, and concrete and keeps it from diging in. Best of all there's no torn up grass in the spring. /forums/images/graemlins/smile.gif

 

[OkieG]

Hi Dean,
Welcome to TBN. That slotted pipe idea sounds like a good one. How do you slot the pipe?

OkieG

 

[normde2001]

"How do you slot the pipe?"


I have not done it, but if you have a tablesaw, you can screw a length of 1x2" or 3" board to the pipe to keep it from turning, Raise the blade just enough to cut through one side and keep from hitting the screws and run it through, using the fence, just like ripping a board.

 

[OkieG]

Hi Norm,
What kind of pipe are we talking about? I guess I assumed Dean was talking steel pipe. And, I think you are talking about PVC?? /forums/images/graemlins/confused.gif Maybe either would work??

OkieG

 

[wing126]

Hello all. Thanks for the welcome, but I've been here for a long time, but I was one of many lost in the great server crash. So I guess you can say welcome back. /forums/images/graemlins/laugh.gif
Yes the pipe I'm talking about is Sch.40 steel pipe. I use Sch. 80 if they do commercial plowing. It will last longer.
As far as cutting it, I usually use our Plasma cutting table at work, or a hand plasma cutter. The cutting torch works ok also, but the high heat will warp the pipe if you don't let it cool down and cut it in stages.The slot cut depends on the cutter edge it's fitting over.
I'll take a photo of the one on my pick up plow and post it.

 

[normde2001]

Yes, I was thinking of sched. 40 or heavier PVC.

 

[5030]

We use High Molecular Weight plastic sheets 1/4" thick on the bottom of our haybine on the skid shoes. JD has some real pretty yellow plastic sheets that you can line your corn head or grain table with.

The plastic slides over the ground and lasts a long time.

CowboyDoc I am sure can elaborate on it. The shoes on our haybine are at least 4 years old and have very little wear.

 

[Junkman]

I think that the difference is that you are not using them on concrete.....

 

[5030]

Junkman:

Where I live, there is no concrete, except the floor of my shop and garage. Everything is gravel, dirt or grass.