Stalled plow project restart

[Lt.Mike]

Found my first stumbling block. I made mounts out of plywood to locate the mounting points I would want to make permanent in steel. I clamped them in place to see how it went. I pretty much know where I want them but the plow frame hangs up on itself instead of moving freely. The cylinder ended up ripping the plywood apart.
My next step now is to take the frame apart and I expect to find that the pivot point is badly worn out. I’ll probably have to weld it up and redrill it. The original design was a good one but because I’m going to power angle it I might beef up the pivot point. Once it glides freely from side to side I’ll reposition the mounts and try again.
One thing to note is I nailed it on hose length. Just right .

[ajhbike]

Wow Mike, I would think the cylinder or cylinders would power through any sticking

[Lt.Mike]

Wow Mike, I would think the cylinder or cylinders would power through any sticking

It’s beyond sticking. I pulled it apart today and the pivot hole was egg shaped and worn enough to allow the rear portion of the plate you drop the pin thru to engage the angle iron frame effectively jamming it.
Tomorrow I’ll weld up the front portion of the hole which will move the frame forward in how it mounts. I also picked up a bronze bushing which I’ll fit into it. That and a little grease should help it pivot.

[Lt.Mike]

The pivot point between the two frames was badly worn letting the bow portion jam against the frame where out drop the pin thru.

I welded up one side of the hole and rounded it out with a carbide bit. I actually moved the hole a little closer to the end that the pin drops thru to account for the thickness of the bronze bushing. This effectively pulled the bow portion of the frame forward giving the pin side about 3/8” of clearance. It swings freely now.

I apologize for the crummy pictures I’m working with an iPad and resizing them isn’t so easy.

[ricky racer]

Very well done Mike!!

[Lt.Mike]

I’m getting there. I’m in the process now of positioning the cylinder on the frame . That not as easy as getting the hydraulics working, certainly not falling into place.
I guess my OCD is coming into play some as it’s gotta be perfect.
The blade does move freely though so there’s that.

[ricky racer]

It's been awhile since I did mine but if I recall, I clamped my cylinder mounts in place as I made adjustments until I found a happy spot to weld them in place.
I'll also mention this. My cylinder clevis mounts have 1" diameter pins. I drilled out the holes in the brackets I made to mount the cylinder to 1-1/6" due to the slop in the blade assembly. I was concerned that as the blade flexed and twisted around during use, if the pins were tight it would put a strain on the clevis ears possibly snapping them off.

[Lt.Mike]

It's been awhile since I did mine but if I recall, I clamped my cylinder mounts in place as I made adjustments until I found a happy spot to weld them in place.
I'll also mention this. My cylinder clevis mounts have 1" diameter pins. I drilled out the holes in the brackets I made to mount the cylinder to 1-1/6" due to the slop in the blade assembly. I was concerned that as the blade flexed and twisted around during use, if the pins were tight it would put a strain on the clevis ears possibly snapping them off.

That’s pretty much the process I’m working with.
I bought mounts for the pins that bolt in place but I see them moving a little so I’ll probably weld them once it’s all set in place.
Here’s a video showing the progress…
https://youtu.be/CZowyDjjdfY?si=tABCTgxXYoVP36Dc

[ricky racer]

It looks like you've got it handled, Mike! You've probably already planned it but if you're going to weld the rod end clevis mount onto that angle iron on the blade, you may want to brace it so it doesn't get bent up. That small angle iron by itself is not very strong. This is what I did on mine.

[Lt.Mike]

It looks like you've got it handled, Mike! You've probably already planned it but if you're going to weld the rod end clevis mount onto that angle iron on the blade, you may want to brace it so it doesn't get bent up. That small angle iron by itself is not very strong. This is what I did on mine.

Yes I saw that in your design and was going to do that.
I figure to weld angle iron to the underside to keep it from flexing back and torquing.
The worst and dirtiest part of the job is yet to come.
I plan to sandblast the frame once it’s all welded up.
It’s the only way to get into the tight spaces.

[Lt.Mike]

With temps in the high 30’s low 40’s it’s a little tough putting time in on this. Probably should’ve done this in the summer but that was spent restoring a car. The temps do help my little Lincoln Handy Pac flux core welder as it doesn’t take long for it to overheat. I can lay down some pretty welds with it until it start getting hot then the weld quality suffers. I have to take a break to let it cool down then. One day I hope to replace it with a larger mig welder to make more finished pretty welds.
I did manage to finish all the welds today and I assembled it all together at one point and it’s working very nice.
I also went over the assembly with a sanding disc rounding off sharp corners and general finishing off crude cuts and work done by a prior owner.
Rick, below are pics of the brace I put in place. I cut angle iron I had on hand. I butted them up and welded the seam to make it as clean as I could.
Next step is to sandblast the frame I hate sandblasting but the results are what you want. Then with paint it should all have a nice factory look to it.

[ricky racer]

The bracing looks solid, Mike! That should get the job done!

[Lt.Mike]

The bracing looks solid, Mike! That should get the job done!

Thank you. Some of the welds on the underside are not as pretty as I’d like because the welder started over heating. I only get about 5-6” of a good weld at full power before it starts making booger welds. It’s frustrating because the only warning its going to overheat is when it starts popping then its too late. At least its on the underside.
If the welder stays cool my welds are halfway decent…

Gotta drop one of my girls off at work in a little bit then I come back home to wrap myself up like a mummy to sandblast it all.
Have I mentioned I hate sandblasting ?

[Lt.Mike]

Spent yesterday afternoon wire brushing and sand blasting the frame pieces. I really wish I had access to to some of the large blasting cabinets I’ve used in the past. The free standing unit I use is from Harbor freight and it does work but what a mess ! If I was completely buried at the beach I couldn’t have been sandier. I spread a tarp out and have a half a 55 gal poly drum in the middle that I work out of that catches most of the sand. The tarp gets the rest. I learned to push a rod into the ground and clamp jumper cables to it, to the poly drum and what I’m blasting to avoid the static charge that would otherwise build up giving nasty little shocks.
Well thats behind me, thankfully and today its paint. Gotta do it in the house garage because the barns jammed with other projects .
I’ll bring up the turbo heater from the barn to warm it up.
It’s good though because this is when things start getting fun and everything starts looking good.

[ricky racer]

I barrowed a sand blaster from a friend once and after looking at it said, "I could build my own". After using it I decided I'd rather pay someone to do my sandblasting.