BX2360 front snowblower - how to keep it from digging in?

[dsmiley]

UHMW is incredible material. We used it for water bearings in hydro units weighing tons. I normally do a lot of snow blowing and the first set I made lasted 5 years. They would have lasted longer but I was making a set for a friend so I made a new set for me at the same time. I also wanted to shape the edges but in the end I don't think that was as important as I thought it was. Steel would never wear out soooo...[/QUOTEW

What thickness of the UHMW did you use?

I made them first with 1" material (that's what I had) and after trying them a bit I decided it left too much snow so I ran them over a jointer or put them through the planer and they ended up at about 5/8". These worked well so when I made the new ones I used 5/8" material, although 1/2" would work too. It all depends on how fussy one is with the amount of snow left. I hate changing shear bolts so I'll err on the thicker side. As a side note, these would be excellent for people who don't want to mar their pavement or other hard surface.

 

[BleedingOrange]

So if you are using these 1/2 spacers under your snow blower shoes, does your driveway surface get 1/2 " higher each time you blow your driveway all winter long, or do you just use them for the first few passes til you get up high enough to get out of the gravel ??

 

[dsmiley]

So if you are using these 1/2 spacers under your snow blower shoes, does your driveway surface get 1/2 " higher each time you blow your driveway all winter long, or do you just use them for the first few passes til you get up high enough to get out of the gravel ??

Well, theoretically, that sounds like what would happen but in reality, there is melting and evaporation between storms so it has never been an issue. But I like to get a little hard pack going anyway to get away from the rocks; sometimes early in the season I'll just pack the snow. The skids are permanent fixtures on the blower and the height is never changed.

 

[dsmiley]

That pipe thing sounds interesting

This is what it looks like. The bolt is a 5/16 grade 8.

 

[PILOON]

On my blower I simply welded 2.5 X 10 onto the existing skids and turned up the edges to act like skiis.
Works great!
Luckily I had cut offs from a cutting edge so that material simply refuses to wear out.

I also made up wider skids for a couple of friends and that solves a lot of frustration.

 

[jayhawk238]

Thank's dsmiley. Think I will buy some and make me a couple. Any chance of a picture of your setup?

 

[dsmiley]

Thank's dsmiley. Think I will buy some and make me a couple. Any chance of a picture of your setup?

In the lineup the ones on the left are from an older BX; those on the right from a newer BX.



The mounting holes are slotted so all you need do is to loosen a bit to remove.

 

[aczlan]

I put a piece of 1 1/4" pipe over the cutting edge on our 7' Loftness front mount blower, it helps a lot with reducing how much gravel gets scraped up.

Aaron Z

 

[jayhawk238]

Thanks big time dsmiley for the photos. I will be building some my 6' blower.

 

[jayhawk238]

I put a piece of 1 1/4" pipe over the cutting edge on our 7' Loftness front mount blower, it helps a lot with reducing how much gravel gets scraped up.

Aaron Z

Do you end up pushing much snow with the pipe?