possible blade project

[wireburner]

been thinking about building a blade that moves up&dowm to put on my lawn mower , it will be on where the bumper is , to make new 4-wheeler ,lawnmower trails, any thoughts or ideas would be great

[Jim-TX]

Hmmmmmm..... I have to admit you have a novel idea. I've run a lot of equipment and have serious doubts as to the ability of a lawn mower to push much with a front mounted blade. I suppose it could bend over weeds and light brush but don't expect to do much dirt or rock moving.

[wireburner]

while all it will be moving is weeds , small brush

[HMW]

They used to sell front blades for the "old" type riding tractors. THey were much heavier than todays riding mowers but still did not push dirt or gravel to well. Might work better if you could pull something instead of push it

[fun4now]

i thought of the same thing when i got all this dirt for a new driveway/parking spot. i want to be able to get into my big shop without slipping all over wet grass. not to mention sinking into the mud.
but like the other said i don't think it will push much, and not to shore how well it would do pulling aether. just dose not have the wait or traction needed to really get the job done.
but if you come up with a good idea/plan let me know.

[SundownIII]

Don't most "lawnmowers" have a mower deck?

Not enough weight/traction to push/pull much more than you could move with a D-handle shovel.

John Deere used to (maybe still do) offered a blade/weights kit for their larger lawn tractors. Friend of mine had one. USELESS.

[HMW]

Actually have messed around with both. [Father owns a lawn/garden equipment business 30+yrs] Tried push blades on sevearl models and the small grader blade with wheel weights and blade weights worked the best. Still no comparison to the Bobcat or the 40hp 4x4 Kubota we have but would move a small amount of loose gravel or dirt. THe old John Deeres and cub cadets were the best. they were the heaviest and you would be surprised how much a 12 hp Kolher would pull, that is if you have enough traction. So in short, nothing beats a tractor/grader/dozer, but for someone to mess around with something and all you have is the riding tractor, go for it.
And all mower decks come off, the old ones actually had quick attach so they would come off easy so you could use other attachments, Something for a kid to have fun with at any rate

[Winger Ed.]

For what you want it to do, I don't think you'd be happy with the results from any machine that weighs less than about 7,000 pounds.

.

[HMW]

7000lb tractor , that would clear it None of the older tractors Ford 8n, 9n, jubilee, or massey ferguson, 35s or IH b, c, h, or Ms weighed that much....LOL, shoot ,even your pickup doesn't weigh that much. I think you should scrap the plans for a small blade on the riding mower and go out and buy a 50-70 Hp tractor to get that much weight. The 40 hp Kubota we have weighs a little over 5000lbs with the loader on it and its not small. Pulls a 6' bush hog or 2 bottom 16s plows.

Just my thoughts on the weight issue, good luck with your project

By the way I made an old scrap blade, for a riding tractor, a Ford 120 to be excact, about 30 yrs ago, made it from an old cutting edge off a big blade, was only about 6" tall by about 36" wide, and had fun playing with it. No comparison to the Kubota or Bobcat, but still fun and lets you learn to make stuff. Unless I'm mistaken, I took it He's not clearing land for a living, only making 4 wheeler trails through the woods. small brush, leaves etc

[fun4now]

i have a 22HP or 23HP in my mower but still think i would have better luck in the long run just renting a little bobcat for the day if i can come up with the $$ but a blade would work for a little snow removal.
now if i get a hold of this JD "mule" i think its called, a 6 wheeler i might have better luck pushing with it if i fill the bed with dirt for wait.

[HMW]

I agree, if you have alot to move better to rent one or get a friend. But the little ones are fun to play with and will do OK with snow. They will move some loose stuff, nothing packed. I have a co-worker that has 3 Bolens one even has a loader on it. He has all the attachments, most he made . he has weights and all. All hydraulic. He loves them and spends alot of time tinkering on them

[fun4now]

i thought about adding hydraulics to my yard truck if i ever get it finished. but just got a line on a possible J.D. mule that would make a great starter point for the yard truck. if it dose not pan out this week i think i'll get back on the one i am making from scratch.
it seems like my pore lan mower spends more time being used as a utility vehicle then it dose mowing the lawn. with the hot dry summer we are having its spent even less time mowing. i been thinking of making some kind of little basket type attachment for the back of it to carie some yard tools in also, but been putting it off thinking i wont need it if i get the yard truck working.
i did make a watering cart for it this week though. i planted a bunch of new trees and have to water them every day or so. i have a big sprayer for that but i was putting it in the trailer behind the mower. that works fine unless you need the trailer for other stuff be for you empty the water out so with the new water trailer i can have it 1/2full and just disconnect and reattach the real trailer for moving dirt or trash cans or whatever.. so far its worked out great. a little ugly but works great.
first 3 pic's are the cart, last one is it hooked up to the mower ready to go.

[HMW]

The mule would be awesome around the yard. I have a John Deer gator which is great, hydraulic dump bed. Bought it from a golf course for $100, the engine was in a basket. It had quit and they overhauled it, quit again so they took it apart and left it that way. I had to put it together to see what was wrong with it. Long story short, It had fire and compression but would not run. Found a bad ignition trigger, seems the electronic module would not retard the timing to start but would stay advanced, it would start occasionally but not most of the time. Replaced for $135 and ran great since. So I got $235 in it.

[fun4now]

that could well be the same thing thats wrong with this one i'm supposed to get. i know the thing dose not run but thats about all i know. its a free bee so i cant complain. i have a new B&S 12HP i have never used sitting in the shed that may end up being its power source depending on how it looks or what it needs, i may try to get it back to stock, or close. just depends on the condition and if i can come up with the $$ . but for free its worth looking into.
could end up to be a complete POS but only time will tell. i may just be able to use it as a starting point to build from or it could be a restore me kind of thing ?? cant wait to find out........................

[HMW]

Hey if the trans is good and frame, wheels etc is good usually getting a motor to fit is not bad. Mine has a Kawasaki on it, I think its only 8 hp but does really well, not as fast as the new ones but has plenty of power. Mine is 5 wheels, it has a single front wheel. I like the 6 wheel ones better but I cant complain for the cost.