wing blade and snow removal

[shinnlinger]

Folks,

We got our first real snow here, so it was time to bust out the snowmover. This weekend I finally got around to putting my Steve Miller(from this site) inspired wing blade together. It went pretty smooth and works pretty well. I took an old jeep blade and modified it a bit so I could crank the A frame all the way over and then fabbed up a mount and welded it to the tractor. I raise and lower it by curling the bucket. I made it with crap I had lying around so other than a days labor it cost me nothing

By using it with my rear blade I can clear a path 12 ft or so in one pass. I welded wheels on the rear blade and by cranking the top link I can make it bite more or less depending on how much I want to tear up the yard. It also makes a pretty good grader in the summer as you can control exactly how much it digs in.

The front blade is a slightly modified truck blade that I welded a piece of C channel on so it grabs the bottom lip of the bucket and I just chain binder it in. Very simple and effective. I only used for clean up work and I may put wings on it to box it in to make it more of a snow pusher. I figured an angled blade on the bucket would have to much leverage and would push the whole rig sideways which is why I went with the wing blade.

 

[Mark777]

Excellent fabrication!

(and, of yea, ....you need that heater LOL)

Mark

 

[PBinWA]

That is really cool. How did you hook up the wing blade? Any close-ups of that?

 

[Doc]

Very Nice Shinn. Rep points for the pics. Good job.

You guys sure get the snow up your way. We see it in the air, but haven't had much on the ground the past 3 years.

 

[goldchaser]

Great idea. Some closeups of how you did the mounts would be great.

 

[shinnlinger]

Folks,

I came home today hoping to snap some close ups of the mount, but what I am hoping is only a dead battery got in my way. This one shot shows a little more though from the first series I took.

Basically I had a 2 ft section of unequal lenght angle (3x5 I think) and welded (4) 6 inch peices of 5x5 angle that bookend to create two brackets on either end of the 2 ft section that sandwich the two mounting tabs that were on the old plow A frame.

I welded this to the FEL frame and also sent a peice of pipe back to the hitch mount (draw bar?) to further reinforce it. The whole arangement does not hang any lower nor is any wider than anything else on the tractor and I don't anticipate it being a problem. I can even see hanging some kind of side mount mower from it to trim stone walls in the summer, but 3 minutes with a torch, grinder or gouge rod and it will be on the ground if it proves to be trouble.

The plow is an old meyer which I modified a bit and cranked the A frame all the way over. By using the whole spring loaded unit if I catch the bottom on something it will spring down and release. I also have a soft bolt where the pin used to be on the pivot which should break before anything else does if need be.

I cut the cable and pulleys off an old tedder and use it it raise the assembly by rolling the bucket out. It is counter intutive to roll the bucket down to raise the blade but I got used to it pretty quickly and it works pretty well. I can now use the front and wing blades simutaneously or not if I choose to.

This whole thing went together pretty slick and I didn't even have to go to the hardware store. I may replace the rusty old cable and I need to rig it so I can hang it on the side when I am not plowing, but it worked really well during it's first storm (10 inches or so)

 

[goldchaser]

Well, as soon as you can post the closeups, I will be a happy camper.
I do know I gotta get something rigged up sometime soon before we get socked in this winter. We had heavy snow every week for almost 2 months last winter starting at Thanksgiving. And it didnt go away till april.

 

[shinnlinger]

Goldchaser,

I will get close ups (why didn't I take pics when I was making it?) but If you need something quick and easy, I would say start with the front blade. That was easy and if you dont already have an old truck blade in your back yard, someone near you does and it is free for the asking. I got 3 that way before I quit asking....But you may want to ask before they are under 3ft of snow.

And don't you have a back blade already? put some wheels or plow pucks on that. Some argue that you can run them in reverse but drive forward like I do so it doesn't dig in, but I dont think it plows snow as much as pushes it which results in alot of cleanup and others say get them "dead nuts level" in reverse and run the tractor backwards but that gives you a stiff neck but if you get snowed in tomorrow at least you have options.

 

[shinnlinger]

Goldchaser,

Here is a few shots to get you started. I couldn’t work on the tractor today because the wife decided it was more important for shop for clothes with my mother than for me to shop for a battery so I am watching the kids and can’t get the best shots for you .

Let me know if you want more info/better pictures, I am sure I will get out there again someday.

What I did was weld the 2ft hunk of angle to the FEL frame centered between the tires. This conection was made stronger by welding it to the bottom of the angle I had prevoisly put on the frame to support my canopy. I then ran a 2 inch pipe from the back side of the angle to the drawbar for more support. I may cross brace it back to the frame again but I think it is all over kill at this point

 

[JWC3232]

im going to have to try that on a smaller scale i really like that
thanks jim

 

[shinnlinger]

Folks,

Sorry to toot my own horn, but we just got another foot of snow and that dang wing blade works seriously well. In the half raised position I can push back frozen snow banks and make room for more.

I did upgrade the pulleys to ones you can buy for electric motors at the hardware store for $5 a pop and did put new cable on.

If you use your tractor for snow removal give this blade serious consideration

 

[Softwoods]

Excellent, shinnlinger

I need to figure out how to hang a wing off something.

 

[hardwood]

And to think I gave one to my nephew Oh well . I am on th hunt for another now .
Great job there shinnlinger

 

[shinnlinger]

a few modifications

Thanks wood peoples,

Since there seems to be new found interest in the wing,
will share the few things I have done to it.

First Off I swapped pulleys and switched to a chain instead of cable to raise the wing. THis was because I broke the die cast ones and frayed the cable. The chain is easier to deal with when taking the wing on and off and the pulleys are heavy duty ones I found on a tedder. Works well.

The second thing I did was weld a tab (out of an old peice of leaf spring) on the front arm of the A frame. to make the wing parallel tothe ground. In hindsite I could have slotted the hole a bit to make it adjust tto the ground a bit better, but it works well right now.

I did this because if you think about it, an A frame cranked all the way over like mine is will only allow the blade to be level with the ground IF the mount is only as high as the front main pivot is off the ground. I didn't want ground clearance issues with a low mount so I mounted it higher than ideal, but put the rear mount holes higher in the reciever than the front. It was not enogh to compensate however so I addded the tab to the front mount and it now sits pretty flat.

The chain on the A frame is so I can stick a pry bar under it and on the reciever to pry it in position. sure beats the wrestmania hijinks!

These plows are cheap to free for the asking...If you use your tractor to move snow you need to give the wing serious consideration. Even with 2 sets of cable and the chain I have less than $40 in the thing.

 

[shinnlinger]

oops wrong pic

Here is a close up of the tab I welded on...It could be slotted, but I just measured the distance to the ground and got it right.

As a final plug, I have been really pleased with how the wing works. It is my primary plow as I can see what is going on and it really excels at 'Half mast" pushing back snow banks. It can push me sideways, but then I just raise it a bit untill it stops and then come back for more if I want more movement.

Obvoisly a seperate hydraulic piston would be a better way to raise the wing, but I have to say the chain off the bucket is a close second. It only raises the blade when I roll the bucket, NOT when I raise it.

I dont think I would bother with piston even if one fell in my lap as the chain works so well.

 

[mtmogs]

I like your idea for raising/lowering the wing. Pretty clever and can't beat the cost.

 

[shinnlinger]

I bet the MOg could benefit from a wing from time to time.

 

[mtmogs]

I bet the MOg could benefit from a wing from time to time.

No Doubt! Actually another mog guy down in Bozeman and I were brainstorming on the concept several years back. I haven't really thought about it since then until I saw your wing plow. I'm thinking I would almost like a reverse wing, you know one that could break up the bank and funnel it into the snowblower. OR...how about a wing SNOWBLOWER! Hmmm...I'll have to think on that one...

 

[Softwoods]

After this winter and trying to keep a narrow road open I really want a snowblower but can't really afford what I need.

So I got thinking about a smaller blower that I could mount on an arm that stuck out to the side and blow away the snowbank after plowing. It wouldn't be much harder than mounting a wing on this thing

But a smaller blower probably wouldn't be up to the task so I'm still thinking on it

 

[shinnlinger]

Mt,

Do they have highway trucks with plows in Montana? I only ask because I know you get so much snow it might not be practicle. I know they used to just pack the snow in Missula in the late 80's and I can't reacall what the streets were doing when I stumbled to the Eagles in Bozman a few times while touring bridger bowl .

I have seen two types of wings on dump trucks around here. One is fairly complicated, but the other simply hangs off a gantry with one cylinder. Two rods or pipes pivot in parrarellel off the back of the wing to the back of the truck to support it up or down. and I cant imagine it would be that tought to work up. You might want to mount yours at bed height so you can push the snowbanks back, but you start at 4 feet up were you blower stops grabbing.

Softie,

I cant beleive your bombedier would get tossed sideways with a wing and you would be impressed with how well it takes care of the banks. I really cant say how impressed I am with it. I was going to buy a blower for my tractor, but there is no need now.

I can see raising and lowering a wing in your machine with a boat winch if you dont want to tap your hydraulics, Does that thing have hydraulics? I would love to see some close ups /details of that thing in the off road vehicles section.

If you have a long driveway you might not need to mess with it much if it comes to the boat winch option. I can see suspending it from the top of the cage and doing a twin pivot like above running back to a plate suspended off your tub. A similar plate could be mounted on the front to hang the blade or you could hang it on your front plow if you think it could handle it.