Matt Meiser
12-22-2006, 10:48 AM
I've been busy in the shop since I got my welder, and now a plasma cutter. First, I modified the cart that came with the welder (the grey Hobart box.) Originally the cart was real low to the ground and I had to bend over to make adjustments. I was considering building a new cart, but salvadged the steel legs off my dad's old grill and used them to raise up the welder instead. I also added several hooks for cables and the helmet. Next I built the stand for the plasma cutter (the black Thermal Dynamics box) from scratch. Wheels and casters are from Harbor Freight and cost less than $15. The rest of the steel is "drops" from a local steel supplier.
Then on to the tractor: I had previously posted something about modifying my back blade to fit my John Deere iMatch quick hitch. Here is the finished project. The final touch was a John Deere decal from Tractor Supply so it would match the tractor. Next, I built the chain box from some 4" steel tubing and welded it onto one of the loader uprights. This should work a lot better than draping the chain over the blade and hoping it stays there (usually it doesn't.)
BTW, that is "Lake Meiser" that forms every time we get a really heavy rain (like last night.) I used to stick around for several days, but now that I have a drain installed it will be gone by early afternoon. That was part of last spring's project.
I'm really enjoying working on these projects. In a lot of ways it is similar to woodworking with respect to designing something, building it, fixing your mistakes and getting a finished project. But I find it is also less fussy as you aren't cutting joinery that has to be ultra precise and paint and weld can cover some of your mistakes. :o
I've got four more tractor projects I want to do. First is to ad some tabs to the ROPS to mount auxillary lights. I've tried using u-bolts, then strong magnets to mount them but haven't been satisfied with the results. I finally decided I'm just going to ignore the warnings and weld to the ROPS. Then I want to build some brush guards for the front with some tubing and expanded steel to protect the grille a little better--I bent it up a little last year doing some brush clearing. Then I need to rebuilt the hitch on my brush hog to mate with the iMatch and build a stronger hitch for my lawn roller (it got bent up on the first use it was so flimsy.) Both will get painted to match the tractor like the blade as well.
Then on to the tractor: I had previously posted something about modifying my back blade to fit my John Deere iMatch quick hitch. Here is the finished project. The final touch was a John Deere decal from Tractor Supply so it would match the tractor. Next, I built the chain box from some 4" steel tubing and welded it onto one of the loader uprights. This should work a lot better than draping the chain over the blade and hoping it stays there (usually it doesn't.)
BTW, that is "Lake Meiser" that forms every time we get a really heavy rain (like last night.) I used to stick around for several days, but now that I have a drain installed it will be gone by early afternoon. That was part of last spring's project.
I'm really enjoying working on these projects. In a lot of ways it is similar to woodworking with respect to designing something, building it, fixing your mistakes and getting a finished project. But I find it is also less fussy as you aren't cutting joinery that has to be ultra precise and paint and weld can cover some of your mistakes. :o
I've got four more tractor projects I want to do. First is to ad some tabs to the ROPS to mount auxillary lights. I've tried using u-bolts, then strong magnets to mount them but haven't been satisfied with the results. I finally decided I'm just going to ignore the warnings and weld to the ROPS. Then I want to build some brush guards for the front with some tubing and expanded steel to protect the grille a little better--I bent it up a little last year doing some brush clearing. Then I need to rebuilt the hitch on my brush hog to mate with the iMatch and build a stronger hitch for my lawn roller (it got bent up on the first use it was so flimsy.) Both will get painted to match the tractor like the blade as well.