Mid-Mount Blade.

[CRF857 123]

    I was given 4 Craftsman snow blades. Three were 42”, and one 48”. Only one had any of the mounting brackets. I had an itch to make a mid-mount grader blade. I started by cutting the 48” blade length ways just above the mounting plate. Then overlapped that piece onto the lower part. Welded it together. That reduced the height from 14” to 9.5”.

    Then I made a framework to attach to the rear axle. Test fitted to the tractor a few times for functionality before welding solid. Made up a lever to release the pivot lock. It comes out just above the floorboard on the left side. I can easily reach it and pivot the blade with my feet.Got it all painted and reassembled. Drove it outside for a few pictures. (Damn few, its cold out there.)

    Thought I would share with you all.

[CRF857 123]

[SylvanLakeWH 26,101]

Nice!!!! 

[peter lena 8,822]

@CRF857   nice solid detailing ,  shows solid   past equipment experience . that turnbuckle set up , just makes sense , those are great to  dial in spring loading , so many opportunities  to improve attachment  set ups , nice job , pete  

[CRF857 123]

I can reach the blade with my feet to add down pressure. After using a few times I may strengthen the lift point and go with a solid lift link.

For now I don’t want to get it dirty.

[kpinnc 12,743]

6 hours ago, CRF857 said:

Thought I would share with you all.

 

That is some fine fabrication there.  Well done! 

[Maxwell-8 4,358]

Saving this as a I will be converting a roper blade to fit on a wheelhorse

Edited December 24, 2024 by Maxwell-8

[ebinmaine 68,742]

12 hours ago, CRF857 said:

I had an itch to make a mid-mount grader blade

 

Great success! 

Very nice work.  

[953 nut 56,091]

Nice job on that mid mount and the fabrication pictures.

Not only the blade but the custom work you have done on the 1277 looks great too. Please tell us a little about the wheel sizes and other modifications you have made.

[Lee1977 6,857]

Be careful, that Wheel Horse might break that Sears equipment.

[CRF857 123]

1 hour ago, 953 nut said:

Nice job on that mid mount and the fabrication pictures.

Not only the blade but the custom work you have done on the 1277 looks great too. Please tell us a little about the wheel sizes and other modifications you have made.

The front rims are from a boat trailer, with 12” tires I already had. The rear rims are Jeep Cherokee space saver rims with 6:00x16 tires. Fenders were off a Cub Low-Boy, trimmed to fit. Seat is from…???. 16 hp Kohler.  I was trying to mimic the looks of an IH 560. 

[peter lena 8,822]

@CRF857  almost forgot , on those turnbuckles , like some chain / cable spray  on the threading , otherwise , they will go to rust , usually lubricate in anything , to verify easy function , also this time of year , 3-1 orange can penetrating oil or  SUPER LUBE , bottle , check out extreme temp ratings , have that in all my cabling , movement areas , pete  

[ebinmaine 68,742]

15 minutes ago, CRF857 said:

Jeep Cherokee space saver rims

Neat idea there......

[8ntruck 7,161]

  Most of the mini spare wheels are 4" wide.  There are some 4 1/2" and 5" versions as well, though i don't remember what the wider ones were used on. 

 

I had many tooling projects for mini spares during my carreer.  Most of them, I was working on the press tooling to form the centers, rather than the roll forming tools used to produce the rims.

 

In the late 70's, there were collapsible spares that had a can of compresses 'air' packed with them to make them operational.  I think those used a 5 or 6 inch wide rim.

[953 nut 56,091]

6 minutes ago, 8ntruck said:

 

In the late 70's, there were collapsible spares that had a can of compresses 'air' packed with them

Yes there were.    Apparently the testing of this concept wasn't done in Florida where prolonged exposure to high humidity leading to rust and high summer temperatures would eventually lead to the can exploding in the car's trunk causing an unusual bulge on the rear quarter panel of my friend's Mustang. He tried to get Ford to fix it but the car was out of warrantee so it was a no go.