Front-Mount Blades For Smaller Tractors

Front-Mount Blades For Smaller Tractors TRACTORS Accessories 23-1-8 If you have a utility tractor, you'll like this new front blade and mounting system that takes the place of a conventional 3-pt. mounted blade, providing improved vision, tractor stability and depth control, according to inventor James E. Baird. "I came up with the idea a year or so ago and was so pleased with the way it worked out, I'm now using front-mount blades on all of my tractors," says Baird, Judson, Texas. He uses a standard 6-ft. long dirt blade attached to two 12-ft. lengths of 2 by 4-in. steel tubing that runs back to the tractor 3-pt. The beams each have a pivot plate halfway back under the belly of the tractor or on the side rails. The beam ends attach to the two hydraulic arms on the 3-pt. A 14-in. dia. steel pipe filled with sand and capped on the ends mounts horizontally between the hydraulic arms to serve as a counter weight for raising the blade. It weighs 50 lbs. more than the blade. Beams ahead of the pivot point exert downpressure to raise the blade. The blade can be lowered as much as 4 in. below ground level and raised, simply by lowering the 3-pt. arms, up to 18 in. above the ground. "The entire assembly weighs about 370 lbs., which adds a great deal of stability to the tractor, compared with a 3-pt. mounted blade," Baird notes. "It's ideal for snow removal, grading and preparing road beds, making fire breaks, cleaning fence lines, clearing land, cutting terraces and scraping manure." When in full production, he expects his patented blade and mounting system to sell for $650 to $800, compared with up to $450 for heavy-duty Cat. I 3-pt. mounted blades. He's looking for a manufacturer and will make plans available for $30 if there's inter-est. Contact: FARM SHOW Followup, James E. Baird, P.O. Box 541, Judson, Texas 75660 (ph/fax 903 663-0975; E-mail: ebairdo@aol.com).

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