Plow expansion project

[snowjoker]

Well I bought this plow at an auction thinking it was 7 1/2 footer but was only 7 feet wide, so i decided to make it a little wider ;) Gonna add 12 inches to each side to make it 9 feet wide. I used 1/8 inch steel sheeting and am going to put 1/4 inch vertical ribs on it, along with 3 inch channel about 1/2 way up the moldboard across to get it a little extra support. Oh ya also going to use a 3/4 inch by 6 inch cutting edge. Adding another 130 plus pounds to the weight:D

[snowjoker]

end view. This was not to easy to bend into place. Lots of hammering and torching to get the top formed. :eek:

[snowjoker]

front view

[snowjoker]

She hangs over the edge of the truck enough now cant wait till I finish it up this week :D

[snowplowjay]

Hey Walt...........

Looks like a good start!!!

keep the pics coming as you progress...............


Looks like she could use a nice sandblasting and maybe a coat of some POR15!!!

Jay

[CT18fireman]

You may need to add another spring or two into the plow. Two springs may trip way to easy.

Shouldn't be a hard job for you.

[snowjoker]

Actually it has 3 trip springs now , but i am going to add 2 more plus a shock on it

[snonut12]

Nice work Walt! Keep the pics coming. :D

[sno-mover]

Looks good, are you going to get one whole new edge

[CT18fireman]

Not many Westerns here but I have added springs to Meyers. Even the 8-9ft plows with 4 tripped easy IMO. Added 1-2 more and seemed to help a lot.

Never experimented or experienced the shock idea. I know Western has used them for a while.

[snowjoker]

Originally posted by sno-mover
Looks good, are you going to get one whole new edge

Actually I am going to use a piece of 3/4 inch by 6 inch steel flatstock 9 feet long for the edge. It's only 65 bucks at the place i get my steel.

[Pelican]

Nice job so far!

Just a warning though.....using regular flat stock for the edge will only last a short time. You need to get hardened steel if it is to last any length of time.

[snowplowjay]

Originally posted by Pelican
You need to get hardened steel if it is to last any length of time.

Or Urethane Walt!!!

Think URETHANE ;) hahaha

I know I know.............No urethane for you :D


Jay

[gordyo]

Speaking (or typing) of steel edges. Has anyone used any of the products from this company?

http://www.winterequipment.com/

My 344H loader came with the plowguard jr's on the 10' Henke plow and they a great product. I was wondering if anyone had used any of their other products.

[Lawngodfather]

Great so far...keep us updated.

I am going to do this to a plow real soon

[snowjoker]

A 3/4 inch piece of steel should last longer than a stock cutting edge right? I figured going alot thicker would make up the difference, am I right? although it is not hardened.

[Pickering Snow]

Walt

very nice fab work i think for testing reasons you could run the 3/4 and see how long it lasts another thing would be to heat treat it yourself the tencil strength might not be the same but you could do this has a test , another thoughtwould be to replace the main edge and use the old one for the expan just a thought but just the same your doing a very nice job!!!

[John DiMartino]

Walt, it looks great! I would use urethane,or a 1/2" hardened blade for the edge. A 3/4" mild steel edge is just going to add weight IMO,For about 20 more dollars you should be able to get something with hi carbon,and longer life.

[wyldman]

Excellent job Walt.

Skip the 3/4 inch steel.Get a proper edge.It will work much better.You could use urethane,but steel will make the extensions much stronger.

[bud16415]

Walt

Good looking start. Looks like a diamond in the rough. I agree with Chris that a steel edge would give you a strong point of connection between the old and the new and if you could get two bolts into the extension that would be best. If you really want to buy a strip of steel from a mill house and make your own edge I would pass in the thicker mild steel as well you will be paying by the pound and making it thicker will add 50% to the cost for that extra money you could get a better grade of steel and have less weight and better wear. There is a type of steel you could ask for called 4140 in the heat treated condition already. What they do is take it up to the point you can still drill holes in it and saw it but it is very tough. If you have a drill press that would be no problem then. Buying a piece of say 1090 steel and flame hardening the edge is not all that easy to do at home and you are never sure how hard or over hard you will get chances of cracking etc. the 4140 has the properties of work hardening also.

Keep us posted and keep the pictures coming.
Bud

[snowjoker]

I cant justify the cost of a urethane edge yet, so I will be using steel. I have a bit of info now to make my decision on what to do.:eek: I dont think that the extension will bend after i finish but think that steel will definately reinforce it. What if i get a 9 foot edge, im sure the holes wont line up anyway or can i get one without holes?

[Alfa-driver]

I am thinking of taking 2 8' fishers, cutting 2' +/- off of one, and welding the pieces onto the other plow. That would make a 12' plow that I could use on my backhoe.... Has anyone ever done that, how did it work.

[snowjoker]

Well I got the other side welded on, but was not as easy as the first side:( Still looks ok though

[snowjoker]

Just a touch over 9 feet wide

[snowjoker]

.

[snowjoker]

Here I am going to weld a 4 inch piece of channel about midway up from the vertical rib by the trip spring to the end of the plow. I am going to cut the one rib so the channel will be one piece 36 inches long.

[JustUsDe]

Walt,
Thats exactly what I want to do to my 7.5 on the chevy. I'm gonna wait until spring then its out of warrenty. Looks like you are doing a great job. I figured the mold board would be the toughest. Hey since your already making them make me 2 one foot peices and i'll but them from you.lol. I agree with you on the steel edge. I still am not sold on the urethane edge. I like the scraping of the steel.


Ray

[bud16415]

I have seen a couple of guys widen plows over the time I have been here and it seems like a project everyone is always interested in seeing done. And several people have comented on doing one when they get time.

I was wondering if anyone has thought of widening one say a foot on each side like Walt is doing but at the same time kicking the ends out like the wings do or like the Blizzard wings are but not removable or retractable just fixed wings.
I’m not sure what you do about the trip. Maybe U edge on the wings and steel on the main plow. Just something I was thinking about

By the way project is looking good

Bud

[Lawngodfather]

Looking good.....

Bud, I have seen some 1 way road plows that have something likethat, so there is a need for it

[snowjoker]

I made the vertical ribs and got one side almost complete.

[snowjoker]

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[snowjoker]

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[snowjoker]

Here is the 4 inch channel I used to brace the back of the plow. I am pretty sure this will be plenty heavy duty enough now:D

[snowjoker]

.

[John Banks]

Certainly looks beefy Walt. Was there any particular method to your madness, other than bigger is better? I'm not knocking it, so please don't get me wrong, it looks like you did a great job. Just curious if you hit something, with that looking like it's stronger than the rest of the setup, will the force or load transfer to a weaker area and cause other problems? How does the frame hold the added weight?

[snowjoker]

I am guessing the pivot point is the weakest link now. So there may be a revamping of that soon also;) The only reason why i did this is to see how well it would work. And to get out and practice my fabricating skills :D The frame is holding up ok so far. We will see once the lake effect machine kicks on plowing!

[wyldman]

I'd beef up the pivot point,as they are the weak link with the Pro-plows.The bigger the plow,the worse it is.

[jakegypsum]

Looks like your doing a fine job. I agree on paying attention to the pivot point. Also, make sure your truck side harness is sound. The stress on it does multiply when hitting a curb at full angle with a ridged extension, depending on the harness configuration.

I converted a Western pro plow from 7'6" to 8'8". It worked well but the harness did need a little attention after the big storms we had two years ago. Minor cracks.


Jake.

[snowjoker]

I have the 4 inch channel welded on the drivers side also now. But like I mentioned the pivot point will need attention as well. I noticed a nice crack on one of the welds today while working on it. But i found a piece of 1 inch flat stock that i am going to drill a hole in and weld it to the lower section of the A-Frame, and am also going to beef up the top as well with something a little thinner.

[snowjoker]

Here is a rear view pick. Man that plow looks pretty wide now!:D

[snowjoker]

Well I decided to use a 5/8 BY 6 inch piece of mild steel for cutting edge. Since I dont have alot of contracts signed yet this will do for now. Lots of last minute people around here:rolleyes: . BTW i have about 2 1/4 inches on each side that can be used. And yes it will FLIP over.:D

[snowjoker]

Here is a couple picks just for S&G's :D

[snowjoker]

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[snowjoker]

:)

[snowjoker]

:D

[snowjoker]

Only a couple more things left to do. Paint won't be till next year because I have no place to put it. Deflector will be on as soon as I get to the gravel pit and pick it up. I have a 24 inch by 25-30 foot long piece waiting for me;) And the piviot point will be done soon too since it needs attention. I will be posting picks of the rebuild also. I do say I am impressed with the results. So far, LET IT SNOW !!! plowing!

[snowjoker]

I got the deflector on and welded the cracks on the piviot point but will rebuild it this week after I get my welder from the repair shop.:D

[Alan]

NICE job!

[snowjoker]

Had my first plowing of the season today and im impressed on how well it works.:D Back dragged awesome. It was easy lake effect fluffy stuff. Seen blacktop on both back dragging and pushing. Also good on stone drives.

[snowjoker]

plowing!

[Lawngodfather]

Sweet....

I am going to make a Wetsern 7'6" pro plow 9'6" here real soon.

[CPSS]

Paint it YELLOW , and it will look like a real plow!:shades

[Lawngodfather]

WHITE