snow plow for my old skid

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I agonized over this project for quite awhile before I did it.  I worked on it in the summer, wanted to "prove" it before I shared it.  It is working good, and it was not a difficult project after all.  Go for it!   Miller 175 Mig ........ ~ 1980 Bobcat........$160 Myers 6 1/2 ft Used Plow.........$95 Ebay Universal Plate.........And $20 for really bright yellow paint/primer!   The part that took the longest was lining the plow with the skid steer and deciding I needed to cut off some of the plow mount.  The first picture shows the piece I cut off and the back of the universal plate.  You can see the original condition of the plow.  Most of the original paint was left on the plow, so it was not bad.  A couple of flap discs on my grinder did the job.  Wear a mask.....I blocked the plow up with some wood blocks (6 x 6) , and made it level with the mounting plate. That way I could use the skid steer tilt to let the plow run high to miss the gravel  and  leave a little snow or drop down to scrape it clean.  When I lower it fully, the skid steer lets it "float".  I added a 2x3x 1/4 rect. tubing across the plate to add welding points for the plow mount and to spread the load across the plate.  The diagonal braces are 1 inch DOM tubing I had on hand.   I am very happy with the snow plow, it works better than the bucket for cleaning.  The trip springs do work if I hit something tough.  The plow is sturdy enough to shove the skid steer sideways if I am up against a big pile, so I think it will hold up.  I had the Miller maxed out, but it seemed to have gotten the job done!   Always need a bigger welder, right? Attached Images
Reply:From the looks, I take it the Bobcat's not plumbed for aux hydraulics. On the one we built, we used the aux hyd. to angle the blade.Looks like it works well regardless. Nice job..No government ever voluntarily reduces itself in size. Government programs, once launched, never disappear. Actually, a government bureau is the nearest thing to eternal life we'll ever see on this earth! Ronald Reagan
Reply:Yes, it does have the aux hydraulics, the old style - it came with the backhoe attachment.   I just saved that part for next years project.  I wanted to make sure it worked well for me before I put the money in that.  So far the manual swivel isn't that bad, but I'm sure I would swing it around more with the hydraulic control.   So...... I will need the two cylinders,  a control lever, and some limit on the pressure?  Any suggestions on what lever?   I have found the cylinders on Ebay, and I can get the hoses fabbed up locally.   I was careful when I shortened it to leave the cylinder tabs on the mount.  They will just slip in.
Reply:The blade we got came with the original Meyers cylinders. The machine had the QD's up front to use the Demo bucket or a hammer, I forget which. I don't remember needing any sort of pressure limit, I know we didn't use any thing like that on the one we built to go on a backhoe.On the backhoe, we disconnected the bucket tilt cyl. on the machine and fabbed QD's for them and the angle on the blade. Pop off the bucket tilt after we get it positioned the way we want it and it's locked, plug in the blade and the "tilt" now angled the blade..No government ever voluntarily reduces itself in size. Government programs, once launched, never disappear. Actually, a government bureau is the nearest thing to eternal life we'll ever see on this earth! Ronald Reagan
Reply:Looks good Bobcatter.I wonder if to angle the blade you could build a simple lock which would disengage by lifting, dropping, or backing, and then the blade would be bumped to angle it?Not as convenient as hydro-turn, but fast simple and cheap.Good Luck
Reply:If you're using it yourself you will probably be ok. I think you should have really beefed it up more. - The part you cut off, would allow the plow to ride/pivot up and down freely. It looks like you welded it ridgid to the attachment plate which will allow you to put down pressure on the blade..... problem.- The little weld you have on the "A" frame, attaching it to the attachment plate, does not look like enough.- The two round tubes you welded for support look too small.I don't mean to sound rude, but I have seen guys lift the front wheels of the skid steer off the ground trying to scrape the ground clean with one of these things. What you have there wouldn't last an hour. I think you would have been better off leaving it pivot and adding weight to the blade. The machine will be able to lift the extra heavy blade, but when plowing you wont have the stress on your attachment plate. If you lift the front wheels off the ground, with the blade being out that far in front, there is alot of leverage and ALOT of stress on your welds at the attachment plate. Or, if you want to keep it ridgid, I would REALLY beef that up. I hate to see someone break down in the middle of a storm and lose money."Where's Stick man????????" - 7A749"SHHHHHH!! I sent him over to snag that MIC-4 while tbone wasn't looking!" - duaneb55"I have bought a few of Tbone's things unlike Stick-Man who helps himself" - TozziWelding"Stick-man"
Reply:Here is how I mounted my Meyers. With this setup on the QD I can put a lot of angle in the plow that a truck setup can't do.I agree with stick man on this.  You can put a lot on done pressure on  that set up. with my setup there is very little pressure on the connection points.  I just recently bought a blank QD plate so that I don't have to take the forks off to install the plow.  My setup can also be put back in use on a truck.  Since your past that point it is mute.If I need wheels up down pressure I put the bucket on. Does your skid have pressure relief on the aux.  I set up the aux on the tractor and it takes some of the shock out of the directly pinned plow.  Two things that I dislike about the plow on the tractor is one travel speed and no cab.  Everything else compared to a truck it rocksLast edited by Naudi2U; 01-27-2010 at 10:33 PM.Carlohttp://public.fotki.com/Naudi2U/