My DIY counter weight

[600xc4me]

I had a lot of heavy clay, gravel, top soil, trees and what not to move this summer while setting up our acreage, so I figured now was the time to get this thing built. I worked at an asphalt plant for a few years, so I had access to the worn wheel loader cutting edges, which were the perfect width for my 3320. We used 744 John Deere and CAT 972 wheel loaders, so fairly large loaders. Each worn cutting edge is between 120-150 lbs. so I stacked them up, welded them together, built the 3pt frame on top, and a frame around the whole thing, sheated it, painted it green and called it good! Came in at exactly 925 lbs. which so far I'm very happy with! No more need for 4x4 when scooping up dirt or gravel. The difference is just unreal from my box blade I used to use for ballast. I can totally max out my FEL and one rear wheel will get a little bit light, but Im very happy with the weight. I didn't take a lot of pictures during the build, but here's a couple. Hopefully somebody can use the idea. Very simple to build, and if you have a gravel/aggregate supplier in your area, chances are they will have some of these cutting edges laying around.

 

[newbury]

Looking great!

 

[dusty3030]

Great build. Good job.

 

[Wagtail]

Very nice! :thumbsup:

 

[Gordon Gould]

That is one heck of a counter weight you built. Good idea and nice job.

 

[k0ua]

Looks very nice, and useful, with storage space too!:thumbsup:

 

[Threepoint]

Nice! That's some serious fabrication.

 

[Baby Grand]

All that weight, way down low, is an optimum use of material and unusual in the many home brew counterweights seen on TBN.
That's got to give you all kinds of stability improvement on side hill work.
Nice build quality and really well thought out design.
Congratulations on a job well done!
-Jim

 

[George2615]

Looks very nice.
Is there a way for rain water to drain so it doesn't fill up if left outside.

 

[Threepoint]

Looks very nice.
Is there a way for rain water to drain so it doesn't fill up if left outside.

Heh, heh, that thing is so purdy, I'd never want to leave it outside if it were mine!

 

[600xc4me]

Thanks guys! I get a grin everytime I do any heavy work with the FEL, because I know how big of a difference this thing is making. I put it to use yesterday again. Brought home a load of flat rocks for a sidewalk next summer. Enough weight to make my F150 squat pretty good, lifted it off the box without a hint of the back end getting squirly. Love it!



And nope rain water can't collect in it. The cutting edges are worn unevenly, so there are gaps between the sides and the blades where water can drain. It is collecting a lot of leaves right now though lol