A HOMEBREWED SCRAPE BLADE
A cheap home plow, includes materials list, instructions, diagrams.
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[I]The home built blade can be used to push or draw-with equal ease. [2] A vertical pivot allows a full range of scrape angles for such tasks as grading and smoothing. Note the reinforcing framework at the blade's edges. [3] At horizontal pivot enables the cutter to be used for shallow ditching and crowning.
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Our mini-tractor's first implement will work with any
Category 0 tractor hitch!
Just last year, in MOTHER NO. 78 (on page 172), we
completed a three-part feature article about a sturdy home
built mini tractor that our research crew put together for
about half the price of the factory-made offerings. The
photos included in that piece depicted a handy little
Category 0 scrape blade that, if you remember, we promised
to detail in a future issue . . . and, with the winter
season upon us, we thought that now would be a perfect time
to describe the construction of that particularly versatile
implement.
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The heart of our budget blade is nothing more than a 12" X
48" section cut from the wall of a discarded water-heater
tank. With its fairly heavy-gauge material and ideal
contour, it provides an excellent starting point, but be
aware that-unless you can locate a 66- or 82gallon
"highboy"-style tank (these models have a diameter of at
least 20", and a length of 48" or more)-you'll have to cut
two sections from a short, squat tank (30-, 40-, or
52-gallon capacity), and then weld them together to achieve
the desired dimensions. Keep in mind, too, that
galvanized vessels give off harmful fumes when
welded, so you may want to limit your search to standard
black steel tanks.
To prevent the blade from flexing under stress, you'll need
to weld stiffeners to its back to form a perimetric
framework. The horizontal ones are 45-1/2" long, and can be
made from 1/4" X 1" angle iron. The vertical braces-which
have to assume the curve of the tank-can be either cut from
1/4" plate or formed (with heat) from 1/4" X 1-1/4" X 12"
flat stock.
Once all that's done, you can tackle the blade's main
frame. It consists of an 11 gauge rectangular tubular steel
base (measuring 1-5/8" X 4" X 21-1/2") that's fastened at
right angles to a 1-5/8" X 4" X 18-1/4" arm made of the
same material. Of course, if you have stock of another size
lying around, use it . . . because a substantial piece of
square, round, or even channel steel will work just as
well.
