JD 54" blade on my BX2230

[dlsmith]

Since my JD430 has been relegated to snow blower duty, I decided that I would make an adapter to mount the blade on my BX. The blade is almost like new, has only been used three times, twice for snow and once to level a couple loads of base material for my shop drive. That was in '84 and the blade has been gathering dust in the back of the shop since then. I pulled out the mount that goes on the 430 and did some measuring and thought making an adapter would be fairly straightforward. A local fab shop made the major pieces for me, and I drilled mounting holes in the side plates and the BX frame to mount them. Welded all the pieces together, including mounts for my brush guard and gave it a test fit. Everything fit fine and I even used spacers between the adapter and the BX frame to allow for the powder coat it will get soon, and attached the blade with the pivot pin. I did have to make a new set of plates that attach the lift cylinder to the blade mount frame to get the range of motion correct for the lift cylinder.
Yesterday I made up the four hydraulic hoses, two for the lift cylinder and two for the angle cylinder, and put them on today. I hooked them up and everything works great.
I disconnected them and took the blade and the adapter off this afternoon, and will take it to the fab shop to be powder coated Kubota gray.
And yes, I did this with the FEL on the BX. I put the prop on the lift cylinder and rolled the bucket back all the way, used the control stick to release any residual pressure in the lines and disconnected the FEL lines. Worked just fine and I didn't have to completely remove the FEL.
I have a couple of little grading projects I want to do this summer that will work better with the blade that they would with the FEL. It will work better for snow removal when (if) we get wet snow that clogs up the blower on the JD.

 

[mcfarmall]

Wow! Nice work! It's fun to repurpose stuff like that!

 

[icspots]

It’s this kind of thing that makes me want to go dig out the three various blades I found in a junk pile at the back of my property, and learn how to weld.

 

[ve9aa]

Very nice !

(makes me sorry I sold a homebrew blade some years ago that fit something else (before I owned my 'BX)

I like it.

 

[Trimley]

Since my JD430 has been relegated to snow blower duty, I decided that I would make an adapter to mount the blade on my BX. The blade is almost like new, has only been used three times, twice for snow and once to level a couple loads of base material for my shop drive. That was in '84 and the blade has been gathering dust in the back of the shop since then. I pulled out the mount that goes on the 430 and did some measuring and thought making an adapter would be fairly straightforward. A local fab shop made the major pieces for me, and I drilled mounting holes in the side plates and the BX frame to mount them. Welded all the pieces together, including mounts for my brush guard and gave it a test fit. Everything fit fine and I even used spacers between the adapter and the BX frame to allow for the powder coat it will get soon, and attached the blade with the pivot pin. I did have to make a new set of plates that attach the lift cylinder to the blade mount frame to get the range of motion correct for the lift cylinder.
Yesterday I made up the four hydraulic hoses, two for the lift cylinder and two for the angle cylinder, and put them on today. I hooked them up and everything works great.
I disconnected them and took the blade and the adapter off this afternoon, and will take it to the fab shop to be powder coated Kubota gray.
And yes, I did this with the FEL on the BX. I put the prop on the lift cylinder and rolled the bucket back all the way, used the control stick to release any residual pressure in the lines and disconnected the FEL lines. Worked just fine and I didn't have to completely remove the FEL.
I have a couple of little grading projects I want to do this summer that will work better with the blade that they would with the FEL. It will work better for snow removal when (if) we get wet snow that clogs up the blower on the JD.

View attachment 104985 View attachment 104986 View attachment 104987 View attachment 104988 View attachment 104989

I had a hobby of 5 Vintage JD Garden Tractors. After years of enjoying them, I sold every one to clear out my shop. They were fun, but moving this to get to that, got OLD. All I kept was two complete 4-way snow blade assemblies and some extra related to the Plow. I also kept all the wheel weights, suitcase weights and a bunch of hydraulic related.

I bought a new JD X739, and this is when the fun began, designing and fabricating the mounts to mount-up an old school 54" 4-way system to the new ride. Long story short, it worked out fantastic.

I like your design. Do you have the templates? I'd love to get a copy, to save straining the noggin. LOL.

I kept all my templates from my design, so I'm hopeful. I have plans to adapt the 140/300 series system to my BX2380.

GREAT TOPIC

 

[dlsmith]

I have the images of the assembly, but they don't have dimensions on them. I can do some measuring tomorrow when I go down to the shop. The trickiest part was malingthe slight bends required to widen the mount about 1/4" where the blade pivots as it's just a little wider that the frame of my BX, about 13 7/8" if I remember correctly. The side pieces are made from 5/16" plate, the bottom angle is 1/4" X 3" X 3" angle, and the vertical pieces are 1/4" X 2" flat stock. I ended up using a different pattern of bolts to attach the sides to the BX frame that what is in the images.
The nice part about this mount is that it stays on the tractor and doesn't interfere with the mower deck or FEL.

 

[chim]

Very nice, congrats!

 

[Trimley]

I have the images of the assembly, but they don't have dimensions on them. I can do some measuring tomorrow when I go down to the shop. The trickiest part was malingthe slight bends required to widen the mount about 1/4" where the blade pivots as it's just a little wider that the frame of my BX, about 13 7/8" if I remember correctly. The side pieces are made from 5/16" plate, the bottom angle is 1/4" X 3" X 3" angle, and the vertical pieces are 1/4" X 2" flat stock. I ended up using a different pattern of bolts to attach the sides to the BX frame that what is in the images.
The nice part about this mount is that it stays on the tractor and doesn't interfere with the mower deck or FEL.

View attachment 108430 View attachment 108431 View attachment 108432 View attachment 108433 View attachment 108434

You have two mounts?
Prototypes? I had them when I built mine.

I started with cardboard for the patterns. As it got dialed in, I changed to 7-ply aircraft plywood and cynacrolyte glue to bond it together. I too designed the mount to be used without interference or need R&R for the mower Assy. Doing that was a little tricky. I used it for 5 years mainly pushing rock and dirt without a single issue.

The mount looks really good.

Thank-you for sharing your drawings, measurements and materials.

 

[dlsmith]

You have two mounts?
Prototypes? I had them when I built mine.

I started with cardboard for the patterns. As it got dialed in, I changed to 7-ply aircraft plywood and cynacrolyte glue to bond it together. I too designed the mount to be used without interference or need R&R for the mower Assy. Doing that was a little tricky. I used it for 5 years mainly pushing rock and dirt without a single issue.

The mount looks really good.

Thank-you for sharing your drawings, measurements and materials.

Thanks.
I only made one mount, in the 4th picture, the JD mount for the 430 is in the background. I also added the mounts for the brush guard after that picture was taken. I made the mount about 1/8" wider than the BX frame so it would slide over it easily, but clamp fast when the bolts were tightened. With three 1/2" frame bolts on each side and four more in the front, I think it'll be plenty stout.

 

[cthomas]

Nice job, I like it. Is the blade going to stay yellow?

 

[Runs With Scissors]

Very cool mod man!

Are those "ears" at the top tie down points?

 

[Trimley]

Thanks.
I only made one mount, in the 4th picture, the JD mount for the 430 is in the background. I also added the mounts for the brush guard after that picture was taken. I made the mount about 1/8" wider than the BX frame so it would slide over it easily, but clamp fast when the bolts were tightened. With three 1/2" frame bolts on each side and four more in the front, I think it'll be plenty stout.

I think your mount will work good for years to come. Very nicely executed.

With one discrepancy. It really needs new make-up.

 

[dlsmith]

Nice job, I like it. Is the blade going to stay yellow?

Well, I debated having it painted or powder coated Kubota orange, but all the paint except some on the front of the blade is like brand new, so it wouldn't improve the appearance. It's only been used three times on the JD, once to level a truckload of gravel and twice to plow snow. Pushing more than a small amount of snow made the front end just slide around if the blade was angled. That's why I bought a snow blower for it.

 

[dlsmith]

Very cool mod man!

Are those "ears" at the top tie down points?

Yes they are. I had tie downs bolted on the frame before, so I just added a couple to the mount.

 

[Mrlunchbox]

Awesome build! But it's illegal to mix green and orange equipment!

 

[dlsmith]

Awesome build! But it's illegal to mix green and orange equipment!

Fortunately the blade is yellow!

 

[Trimley]

Fortunately the blade is yellow!

Touche....LOL