New 3 pt and Back Blade

[Ancbill]

that is awesome, way simpler than what I was thinking for my blade (I've got the same model). But I've got some questions. The bolts holding the bar to the pivot, how are they attached? Threaded into the pivot piece? What size are the bolts? What's the bore and stroke on the cylinder? Any concerns about shearing the four bolts on the pivot?

I've got to order some parts! Thanks for the ideas.

 

[MtnViewRanch]

Looks pretty simple. I would say that the flat bar will need to be a bit thicker though. It looks to be 1/4", maybe 3/8"? You might need some 1/2" or even 5/8" bar stock before you're done.

As far as the hose connections, they both are power & return. Depends on which way you pull the lever.

 

[bgbill]

The four bolt attach I was not satisfied with, but was the only way I could do it and keep it simple. The bolts are 1/4-28 grade 8 and are threaded into the top of the tube. They are what I had. The cylinder is a 2" X 6".
Some of the shearing force will be transferred to the cylinder and its mount. I will only be pushing snow and I have designed things so I can use the pin through the holes if I have to for holding the blade at the desired angle.
As far as the thickness of the tiller bar, time will tell. I may have to weld a piece of angle or flat bar across it.
Having access to a bending press would have helped and I would have designed things differently.
The cylinder will be doing very little work rotating the blade which will be done with the blade in lift.
Time will tell how things work out. I used the blade yesterday without the cylinder and decided to leave the blade in the forward plow position and push backwards with the blade backwards, worked fine. Most plowing was done forwards.
Now to come up with some "shoes".
Bill W.

 

[bgbill]

Well, its all complete, and no snow in site.
The skid shoes ended up quite a project. The are the same skids seen in another recent post of a LandPride BB. They were not for my model # and the dealer drilled two holes so they would fit my blade. They totally screwed that up and I had to drill four new holes, rebend the bracket, and weld spacer tabs on the top.
Got the cyl all mounted and hooked up to the control valve. Of course I hooked up the two cyl hoses backwards, easy fix there. Cycled the valve several times and the cyl came alive and worked perfect.
I have a couple things I may do to tweak the setup a little, like the brace on top of the tiller plate. Thanks for that suggestion.
In the one picture you can see the adjustable chains coming down from the tractor frame. These keep the 3 pt from lowering to far which would tilt the blade forward and cause the skid shoes to dig in.
Bill W.

 

[Kubota_Man]

Very nice work. I am interested in learning how you got the remote hydro all hooked up and running. I am thinking I could use that on not only on my rear blade and landscape rake but also a hydro top link

 

[Ancbill]

Bgbill, this is going to be difficult to type my question, but here goes. The four bolts are they tapped into the top of the pivot cylinder? Are you still using the original "dish" that the crown nut held on? Or does the "dish" have over size holes for the bolts to pass through?

Could you take some close up photos of that joint?

I'm concerned about doing this bolted joint on my blade, I've slightly elongated the holes that retain the anti-rotation pin.

 

[bgbill]

Hear are some pics of the BB. I'll try to explain what I did.
The cup was retained. Under it is a 3/16" spacer as wide as the tube so the cup doesn't drag on the top of the BB frame. You want just a bit of clearance, maybe 1/32", no more. The cup is what holds the tube in the frame when you lift the BB.
I drilled four holes thru the three pieces and tapped the top of the tube for the bolts. Keeping the castle nut functional. I did it this way so I could rotate the blade 180 degrees. Now I'm not sure if that was necessary for snow.
I tried to keep everything so that the blade could be returned to original. As you can see I notched the tiller plate to be able to use the original pin if necessary. Another pic shows a little modification to the BB frame for clearance of the cyl.
I'm not sure about the four bolts. Time will tell. I'm only going to plow snow,. maybe a little gravel. I fear that if there is a failure the bolt threads will go before the bolts.
Bill W.

 

[bgbill]

The hook up of the hydraulics was easy. I used a 4way, 3position, tandem, spring centering valve. A double acting cylinder. One hose from the valve (P) goes to the female Power Beyond on the back of the tractor, the other hose (T) goes to the return which is the male connection that's on the hose on the back of the tractor.
It is a flow thru valve. A couple of cycles and the air was purged and cyl working great.
Hope this helps any other ?'s ask away.
Bill W.

 

[seanbarr]

Inspirational post! I like this and may jump onto doing the same for mine. Do you have yours setup so the back blade can be taken off with disconnects? I am envisioning a similar setup to use with other hydraulic operated equipment.

 

[seanbarr]

Inspirational post! I like this and may jump onto doing the same for mine. Do you have yours setup so the back blade can be taken off with disconnects? I am envisioning a similar setup to use with other hydraulic operated equipment and could learn from you.

 

[bgbill]

I will unbolt the valve bracket from the tractor, disconnect the QC hyd connections and everything will stay with the BB. 3 pt will come off in 15 min.

Another way to do a project like this is to open up the tube. Find a tube that will slide down into the existing tube. Drill two bolts hole thru both tubes in between the BB frame. Weld the tiller bar with a spacer to the new tube. The set up will still come apart if needed.
Just another idea. (plan B)
Bill W.

 

[bgbill]

Finally got to use the backblade/hydraulic set up on Monday. I am happy with the operation. Sure nice to not have to get off the tractor to angle the blade.
I am a little leary of the four bolt set up and I think I may do a mod before next winter as I had mentioned in an earlier post.
Bill W.

 

[Ancbill]

Keep us posted on the next improvement phase.

 

[bgbill]

Well, my first attempt to attach the tiller bar to the back blade failed. I sorta knew it wasn't the best job and it didn't surprise me that it failed. We jsut got a bunch of snow here in Ohio. As I had said "on to plan B".
Well, I just finsihed re-modifiying the tiller bar today. This time I think it may hold. I will post some pictures as soon as I can get them taken. Tomorrow I will take it all apart for painting and grease everything up so it won't rust together.
Stay tuned.
BGBill

 

[bgbill]

All back together and ready for action. I think this time it will hold up better. Took a little more work than the first try. Black paint when it warms up some.
Here are some pics.
BGBill

 

[Ancbill]

That is really slick! Great job!

What size cylinder is that, rod dia and stroke?

Can you take a pic of the front cylinder mount? Just scrolled back and found a photo of your mount.

I think it is going to hold up great now.

 

[cerlawson]

Hello boss: I question your statement that the rear 3 point stuff is designed for going forward. I also question causing damage going backwards. One has to assume that the operators of the tractors will do a lot of crazy things so that the possibility of getting sued for an inadequate product will come along. So sufficient beef is built into most of these (my observation as an engineer) that you can get away with almost anything and not cause damage. People will add big extra weights to get extra traction, extend the front end loader to reach all sorts of places, maybe act as a crane, etc. So as to the rear blade blade going backwards, if that were a problem, I'd bet over half the users of this forum would be agreeing. So far no comments from them in that regard to my knowledge.

I take these question something like a doctor father in law I once had. I helped him change a tire and he required that one had to keep track of each nut that came off the wheel studs to go back on the same places. Also, required that a burlap bag be placed on the ground for keeping the tire irons from getting any nicks. Even didn't want me to fully cut thru a wire with a wire cutter for fear of the cutting edges getting dull if they clicked together. So, these cautions can go to extremes, but certainly not for tractors. By the way that sort of fussyness caused old "Doc" to be one of the best doctors for figuring out the causes of an illness.

 

[bgbill]

Cylinder size is 2" dia piston, 1 1/8" rod, 8" travel. The rear mount is 1" X 2" steel tube.
I plow forward in shallow snow. The skid shoes keep the blade 1" above the drive. Deeper snow I reverse the blade and plow in reverse. In really deep snow I use the front end loader. I also push backwards with the back of the blade to pile snow. This year I have used all modes.
Being able to angle the blade with out getting off the tractor is as handy as all git out.
Supposed to get more snow tonight. Don't know whether I'm happy about that or what. Last time out with the Bota it was -2 with 20mph wind. That's not fun.
BGBill

 

[ipz2222]

cerlawson, if you look at very many tractors, you'll find lift arms that are bent, boxes and blades that attachment points are bent. These were all caused by going backwards. A 3/8 diameter by 4 foot long rod will pull thousands of pounds but try to push it and it will fold up with very little force.

 

[bgbill]

Well, the Kabota proved quite valuable this winter. The back blade set up has worked flawlessly. The front end loader has moved a whole lot of snow.
It is nice to be able to angle the back blade from the seat. The new modification to the back blade hydraulic control has proved worthwhile.
I have 300 ft of drive plus I have done three neighbors' drives. Maybe 900 ft altogether.
Record snow for NW Ohio this year.
BGBill

Plus moving the snow drifts out of the back yard and into the pond so melting snow stays out of the basement.