Neglected century barn is becoming my workshop and garage

[prestigemike]

Nothing like stone walls for your workshop and garage

 

[Techie1961]

Man o man, you are going to love using this, I know I would, especially with the hyd blade turn operation. Great design also, especially given you designed around materials on hand. Do you plan to use grease fitting(s) on the outer collars of the turn mechanism? How did you come up with the height of the drawbar in relation to the blade and your tractor, it appears low to me? Now if you could just make it tilt hydraulically.

Dude you are pretty darn skilled in both the design and implementation. Enjoy following all your projects. You're a doer for sure!!

Thanks BF, I appreciate the comments. I am going to put grease fittings on the collars and also cap them off on the top and bottom.

The height was an interesting challenge. I looked at a lot of rear blades on Google and them compared to what I have. A lot of the Cat 1 blades seem to be made for larger tractors than my 455 so that was one consideration. Most of the rear blades that I saw were very short in height and the main draw bar seemed to be a bit higher than the blade. Since the 54 blade is very tall by comparison, I had to compensate for both factors. Once I started to lay it out, I drew in the height of the lower 3PH bars and made them level. It all seemed to come together at that point with what you see at 11" high.

Nothing like stone walls for your workshop and garage

Yeah, I do love the look of them. I am curious to see how they look after a bit of dust, grinding, etc. is done in there. I'm thinking I'll have to do a dust up with the leaf blower on occasion and then clean up after that.

 

[Techie1961]

I had an old air cylinder that was a Hydraulic cylinder when it was born. I pulled it from an old machine that I scrapped a while ago. I kept it because, well you know, because. It was suitable to the task but I had to make a new piston for it as well as shorten it. It's now about the same size as the JD that is used for blade rotation.

All cleaned up, shortened and ready for its new piston. Another old piece donated the chunk of aluminum.

The cylinder is drawn in to CAD and that gave me the go ahead to put in the upright for the top link. I didn't take any photos of the process as it was more or less, cut piece, weld piece. I figured it was time to see if I was in the ball park with the design so outside it went. I have a piece of 2x2 that is sticking out of the main beam which should be in the right spot to hold the fixed end of the cylinder.

 

[86turbodsl]

Very cool. You should post this on tractorbynet too. Those guys love this type of stuff.

Sent from my SM-N910T using Tapatalk

 

[bulletpruf]

Dang it, Techie - it's threads like this that have me spending a weekend "restoring" my 20 year old engine stand instead of using it as-is!

Just kidding. Really enjoy seeing your fab projects. Thanks for letting us peek over your shoulder as you restore and build some really cool stuff.

 

[BuickFarmer]

Damn you're resourceful!!! OK now I get the picture of size of the tractor and blade, I had it in my head that they were larger and was wondering how you were handling them with your back. How is that back btw, be careful!

 

[BuickFarmer]

You will be amazed at how adjusting the angle of the blade with the top link makes a difference in the cut of the blade. Turning it around 180 and adjust the top link out will make a good drag for smoothing out ground, gravel etc. you're gonna love playin with this thang

 

[BuickFarmer]

.

I kept it because, well you know, because.

Yea I for one know... Carry on...

 

[Techie1961]

Very cool. You should post this on tractorbynet too. Those guys love this type of stuff.

Sent from my SM-N910T using Tapatalk

Thanks 86, I had a look at tractorbynet; cool site that I haven't been on yet. There are a couple of others that I am on as well. Thanks for the tip.

Dang it, Techie - it's threads like this that have me spending a weekend "restoring" my 20 year old engine stand instead of using it as-is!

Just kidding. Really enjoy seeing your fab projects. Thanks for letting us peek over your shoulder as you restore and build some really cool stuff.

You're welcome and thanks for dropping in again. I suppose that any work in the shop is better than sitting to watch TV all the time; even if it's cleaning stuff up for fun.

Damn you're resourceful!!! OK now I get the picture of size of the tractor and blade, I had it in my head that they were larger and was wondering how you were handling them with your back. How is that back btw, be careful!

Good to see you here again BF. Yeah, they're not very big but they are heavy at times. I try to drag and use leverage as much as possible as well as bending at the knees. It still hurts all the time though and has me thinking that damn, I have 40-50 more years of this pain. Maybe they'll come up with some good medicine soon that isn't addictive. I have this bottle of Percocets that I don't want to use because they're addictive. I keep them for the really bad days. It's difficult though because I know they will help but I can't use them.

Regarding your next post, yes, I can't wait to get this thing functioning and play with it. I'm setting up a quick adjust to create a 0 degree cutting angle for it.

 

[Techie1961]

cool set up

Thanks!

My little rear blade is pretty much done from a fabricating standpoint and before I do the hydraulics, I'm going to work it a bit to make sure everything is copacetic. There are a few little features that I have to work out as well like how I will be running the hydraulics to the rear as well as some brackets for changing the cutting angle. I want to be able to rotate the blade forward to make it a sort of zero degree scraper and maybe even a negative angle.

To mount the hydraulic cylinder, I made up some pieces of 3/4 x 2 HRS as well as some pins from some old shaft that I had. I first attached the movable attachment point so that I could hang the cylinder on it. Once that was on, I could put a square to it so the the fixed mount was in the correct spot.

After it was all welded up, I took it all outside for assembly. The bottoms of the tubes that hold the blade were a bit long so I cut them off by a quarter of an inch. That way, I can attach the blade by laying it on the ground, backing over it and then dropping the yoke over it.

And here she is:

The blade angles a bit more than 20 degrees which I think will be fine. I have rarely had to put the front blade any further than that except for snow. I think that with dirt, it would kick the tractor out too easily.

 

[BuickFarmer]

Man, I want one. That is sweet!!!

 

[Techie1961]

Man, I want one. That is sweet!!!

Get your cheque (check) book out. Thanks Lamar, I'm glad you like it.

 

[PLOWJEEP]

Very nice. Are you going to add a replaceable cutting edge?

 

[Techie1961]

Very nice. Are you going to add a replaceable cutting edge?

Thanks! Yes, the edge was off of it for the fab work since it was fairly sharp. It is back on there now though.

 

[TedBrown]

I am a newbie on his forum, this is my first post and am very pleased that it will be on this thread. I have spent the morning reading, got to page 14 will continue but need to get outside and do some work.

I note that most folks compliment the thread or specifics within. Others no doubt have said something similar but YOU, SIR, ARE "OFF THE HOOK!!". The breadth of your interests, capabilities and excellence of execution are beyond what any normal guy has. Makes me proud to be a Canadian. Your legacy will live as long as that Century barn you have converted.

 

[Techie1961]

I am a newbie on his forum, this is my first post and am very pleased that it will be on this thread. I have spent the morning reading, got to page 14 will continue but need to get outside and do some work.

I note that most folks compliment the thread or specifics within. Others no doubt have said something similar but YOU, SIR, ARE "OFF THE HOOK!!". The breadth of your interests, capabilities and excellence of execution are beyond what any normal guy has. Makes me proud to be a Canadian. Your legacy will live as long as that Century barn you have converted.

I'm honored Ted and you're comments are very kind if not maybe a little too generous. Glad you could drop in and especially that you like the thread.

 

[Techie1961]

This is a quick video of it in use; I couldn't wait to get it into the gravel and dirt. I thought that I had a good idea where I could put a valve between the two hydraulic ports and angle the blade manually with the valve open and then close it to lock. I forgot about the displacement of the piston rod though and it was obvious while filling it that it wouldn't work. I have a work around with a small reservoir in my head that should do the trick and will get at that tomorrow.

For now though, here's a bit of video.

 

[Techie1961]

Just so you guys don't think this is a display only shop, here are some photos of it right now. The lathe and mill are full of chips, the benches are covered, the drill press is a mess and there is a pile of dust under the belt sander. I might tend to lose track of things when I get into a project.

The last photo is of a shirt press that I'm going through that is sold. Yay! Some income. It'll be nice to get it out of there though as it takes a fair bit of space.

 

[xtremek]

Good to see you gotten things settled in and are putting everything to use. Nice job on the blade.

 

[Bears Fan]

Incredible engineering and fabrication skills on the blade, Looks awesome

 

[Techie1961]

Good to see you gotten things settled in and are putting everything to use. Nice job on the blade.

Yeah, it feels good to get in there and thanks.

Incredible engineering and fabrication skills on the blade, Looks awesome

Thanks Bears Fan, I appreciate your feedback.

 

[Techie1961]

This is a photo timeline of adding the rear hydraulics to the tractor and rear blade. It's not really about my shop but what I did in the shop and since there were some photos about the blade, I figured I'd wrap it up a bit.

 

[vekster]

Nice job on the hydraulics.
Love all the pics, but they do make me feel a bit lazy.
Keep up the nice work!


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[Techie1961]

Nice job on the hydraulics.
Love all the pics, but they do make me feel a bit lazy.
Keep up the nice work!


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Haha thanks! You need to see me in my off time. Slug and napping on the recliner.

 

[NedNorton]

Techie1961,
I've been following along since the beginning and it is great to see you getting to use the shop. Your fab skills and attention to detail are motivating, to say the least.

Looking forward to seeing the next project!

Cheers,
Chris

 

[BUGTHUG]

Nice job! that stuff looks heavy for a small tractor, but I know they can take a lot of punishment.

 

[Bears Fan]

Nice job on the hydraulics! The bends on those lines are awesome

 

[Techie1961]

Techie1961,
I've been following along since the beginning and it is great to see you getting to use the shop. Your fab skills and attention to detail are motivating, to say the least.

Looking forward to seeing the next project!

Cheers,
Chris

Thanks Chris, very kind of you to say and it's great that you have been visiting for so long. It is so so nice to be working in there rather than the old trailer or the cold barn. Many years of yuck is now rewarded and I can build things again.

Nice job! that stuff looks heavy for a small tractor, but I know they can take a lot of punishment.

Thanks again bugthug. These John Deere 4x5 (425,445,445) series tractors are incredible. More like a subcompact than a garden tractor and seem to be able to handle what ever I've thrown at it. Every time I use it, I smile.

Nice job on the hydraulics! The bends on those lines are awesome

Thanks BearsFan. I like the look of hard lines a lot. In the work that I do, we will often use soft copper tubing and all the other guys that I know just run them with their hands. I always use the same bender and you pick up a few tricks. It's good practice for when the important stuff like this comes along.

 

[Techie1961]

This is a little tour from the front door to the back as it is today. I got a chance to tidy up a bit and figured some photos were in order.

And the back of the shop in the electronics department and "warehouse area.

 

[Techie1961]

I found this tool post grinder on Kijiji and the guy was decent enough to hold onto it for the week until I could manage it. Now I have to figure out how to mount it on my lathe and where to get wheels.

I got it VERY cheap and was shocked last night when I looked at how much they are new. Almost $2K USD!

 

[Bears Fan]

Wow! What a cool, cool space, thanks for the tour. The pictures make me want to come over and fabricate something with you It will be interesting on how you will mount the tool grinder to the lathe? Keep posting...

 

[Bib Overalls]

I got one of the big Dumore tool post grinders at an auction for $175. Lots of professional used tool dealers in attendance and they all let me have it. So, despite the current price of new ones there does not appear to be much of a market for used.

Made a grinder/buffer out of mine.

 

[xtremek]

I love the tour. When you said you were going to put up slat wall, I was afraid it wouldn't fit the look, but keeping to a minimum, it looks good. Are your windows going to remain covered with insulation, or are you going to replace them in the future with something energy efficient? The lighting looks really good, but to me, nothing beats natural lighting. Anyway, the place looks awesome.

 

[andyaus]

The shop looks excellent, you must be very pleased

 

[twizzle]

love the workshop wish i had the room............. subscribed

 

[madoc1]

techie, i see you made the front page of the tractor forum. more good work!

jim

 

[Denwood]

There's a whole lot of awesomeness in those tour pics The tool compliment is pretty amazing too.

 

[larry_g]

techie, i see you made the front page of the tractor forum. more good work!

jim

link please?

lg
no neat sig line

 

[Drill]

WOW!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
That's all I can say. I just went through all 32 pages. Your very inspirational. I need to get my mess cleaned up now.

 

[Denwood]

This is a photo timeline of adding the rear hydraulics to the tractor and rear blade. It's not really about my shop but what I did in the shop and since there were some photos about the blade, I figured I'd wrap it up a bit.

I looked this post over a bit more carefully after the last post...very nice work! I'm guessing there are not too many back blade setups quite that nice out there.

We're doing a prototype hydraulics project right now with some very small (3/8" bore) cylinders in a master/slave system. It may or may not be the core to a pretty cool new jib system we're working on. Working on Solidworks and our Alaris 30 prototyper to print kibbles and bits for the system.