Added Weights Help Blade Dig In

Added Weights Help Blade Dig In Dale Freeman’s rear-mounted blade digs in rather than sliding over the snow. All it took was some weight. A sand-filled, 10-in. dia., 30-in. long, schedule 40 steel pipe mounted over the blade was just the start. “I added a 19 by 25 by 10 1/2-in. deep angle-iron frame with expanded-metal sides to the top of the pipe,” says Freeman. “It works great for holding a small poly barrel of salt and a bucket with tractor-tire chains, should they be needed.”  For added weight, Freeman welded lengths of 3 by 1-in. channel iron to the pipe. They extend beyond the pipe ends by about 11 in. “I mounted 1-in. all-thread rod in the channel iron and stack old barbell weights on them for additional down pressure,” says Freeman. At the rear of the catch-all box, Freeman mounted two snow-shovel holders he fabricated from nylon blocks. With the addition of D-clips, they keep a shovel handy for clearing snow as needed.  “I like being prepared, like the Boy Scout manual suggests,” says Freeman. As part of his preparation, Freeman also outfitted the snow blade with receiver hitches for his chainsaw holders (Vol. 50, No. 3). A length of 2-in. square tubing is welded to the blade’s lower link cross member. He can mount his 20-in. gas chainsaw holder to it. The receiving tube is equipped with jam bolts to reduce vibration when the chainsaw holder is in place. A second receiver hitch, made from 1 1/2-in. square steel tube, is welded to the angle-iron frame at the right end of the catch-all box. Freeman can mount his battery-powered 10-in. chainsaw carrier to it. “If a tree or branches fall in a storm, I have my chainsaws handy,” says Freeman. Contact: FARM SHOW Followup, Dale Freeman, Monroe, Va.

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