Lazy Susan Loader Blade

Lazy Susan Loader Blade TRACTORS Loaders 27-6-10 "I had a blade on a 4-wheeler but I needed something bigger," says L.A. Doubek, Marinette, Wis., who has 80 acres of land with a long driveway. He decided to mount a blade on his IH 300 utility tractor's front-end loader. "I had a big V-plow that I bought for $30. I cut off the top 2 ft. and straightened it out, making it 7 1/2 ft. long and 2 ft. tall. I added angle iron stiffeners along the top and bottom. The cutting edge came from an iron shop and cost $75," says Doubek. The tricky part was mounting the blade on the loader arms. He got some pieces of plate steel from a friend and went to work. What he ended up with is what he calls a "Lazy Susan" mounting system that pivots easily from side to side. A piece of plate steel 1 ft. wide attaches to the back of the blade, mounted to steel plate brackets that weld directly to the back of the blade. The plate pivots on a bracket that pins to the loader arm. Two cylinders move it back and forth as needed. The blade also pivots top to bottom by adjusting vertical braces just behind the blade. Spring stops keep the blade from turning too far, and shoes on each side keep the blade from digging in too far. "It works far better than any other blade I've seen on the market and is built very heavy. We use it for road grading as well as moving snow. It's much easier to use than a rear-mounted blade because the loader makes it easy to control," says Doubek. Total out-of-pocket cost to make the blade was less than $500. Contact: FARM SHOW Followup, L.A. Doubek, W690 Heath Lane, Marinette, Wis. 54143 (ph 715 732-2951).

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