Hood Guard…Head Guard

[Henro]

Well it's finished!

Always seems to take longer than it should!

I think I am pretty satisfied with the result. The height of the folding ROPS was a factor I had to live with. The head guard only adds about an inch and a half to the height. Plenty of head room, but if I try to stand up…not enough. That is no problem for me.

It is actually quite strong. The front supports remove easily and the top could be used as a canopy if I wanted to, but actually there is no reason to remove those front supports, because you hardly notice them there when you are in the driver’s seat.

The front dropping down and being narrower than the back keeps things out of the way. I don’t think this thing will get in the way at all, where I will use it. I can still see me sneaking between trees and so on, just like before, because the ROPS was always there anyway.

It was a great day for photos! I got about ten to post. Hope I don’t tire you guys out!

 

[Henro]

/forums/images/graemlins/cool.gif

 

[Henro]

I did not drill my ROPS (yet). I did however drill 2 half-inch holes in the ears of the hinge assembly. Had I thought more carefully, I could have used one existing hole (or both if I could find the right bolt). I am thinking I may drill two holes in the top crosspiece to prevent the guard from slipping sideways in an event, if one should happen. I will decide later on that.

 

[Henro]

/forums/images/graemlins/smile.gif

 

[Henro]

View from the driver’s seat

 

[Henro]

Easy to see through this 9 gauge diamond expanded metal. Works just as I had hoped.

 

[Henro]

Another angle

 

[Henro]

a different angle

 

[Henro]

Side view

 

[Henro]

Ready to work

 

[ronjhall]

Bill

Your tractor looks like an OUTLAW with Teeth with them gaurds.

Click Here

 

[Inspector507]

OH NO.........he drilled throught the ROPS hinge.......Bill, don't ya know that was the WORST place to drill a ½" hole /forums/images/graemlins/shocked.gif

 

[Henro]

Ron,

Looks like a possible future use for the tractor if I get tired of playing...err working...on the hill out back... /forums/images/graemlins/smile.gif

Jerry,

I don't think it is a problem. There is a lot of metal in those ears on the back. I did not drill the hinge. That being said, I could have been smarter and used the existing holes that Kubota already had in that area...but I did not think far enough ahead.

 

[TOMDUALLY]

BILL

LOOKS LIKE YOU ARE GETTING PRETTY GOOD WITH YOUR NEW PLAY TOY (WELDER)
HEAD & HOOD GUARD LOOKS REALLY GOOD.
ON THE SUBJECT OF THE BELLY PAN, BE SURE TO BUILD ONE THAT IS EASY TO CLEAN OUT, GOING THRUOGH YOUR TREES IT'S GOING TO CATCH LEAVES, LIMBS AND ETC.
MY BROTHER LOST A $30,000 SKIDDER WHEN THE DEBRIS IN THE BELLY PAN CAUGHT FIRE.

 

[jmc]

Re: Hood Guard?Head Guard

Henro,

I like that hood guard. Sometimes I have to walk on my hood to get up in the FEL bucket when its raised. The sheet metal bends a little and pops back but its an unpleasant feeling. That guard would be a nice walkway. And I've got a permanent dent too.

What kind of a welder did you use? I tried welding some of that mesh to some thin angle iron with a stick welder and it wasn't pretty. Also that nut weld looked good as well.

John

 

[bebster]

Bill, what's with the chains on the rear tires? How do they help you? Or did the snow just melt in Pittsburgh?

 

[Henro]

<font color="blue"> MY BROTHER LOST A $30,000 SKIDDER WHEN THE DEBRIS IN THE BELLY PAN CAUGHT FIRE. </font>

Wow! /forums/images/graemlins/shocked.gif /forums/images/graemlins/shocked.gif /forums/images/graemlins/shocked.gif

Never thought of that...I think I will burn that thought into my memory banks... /forums/images/graemlins/smile.gif

Thanks for the compliments on the "protectors." These were my first attempts to make something useful with the TIG side of my welder.

 

[Henro]

Re: Hood Guard?Head Guard

<font color="blue"> What kind of a welder did you use? </font>

John,

I have a Thermal Arc 185TSW. That is a tig welder. Tig units normally have stick and tig capability. I am self teaching myself tig, and these protectors were my first projects. Better than wasting gas and time on scrap!

This tig welding is everything I hoped it would be. I like stick too for things like welding hooks on my bucket and so on. The neat thing about tig is that it is quiet and clean. No smell at all. I can do it in my workshop and the wife doesn't even know I am there if she comes down to get something from the freezer... /forums/images/graemlins/cool.gif

Downside is that TIG welders are expensive, as you know...

Like tractors, I am glad I sprung for a good one. /forums/images/graemlins/smile.gif

The mesh was welded to the tubing in most cases without adding filler rod. If the mesh was up off the tubing a little I sometimes added filler.

 

[Henro]

<font color="blue"> Bill, what's with the chains on the rear tires? How do they help you? Or did the snow just melt in Pittsburgh?
</font>

Bebster,

I put my chains on in fall and take them off in late spring, after the April showers are history.

The snow has been gone for a couple (few) weeks now, but on the slopes here, it does not take much when they are wet to break into a slide that would make a snow-covered slope proud.

After the first /forums/images/graemlins/shocked.gif one, where I could do nothing except wait for the tractor to find its own stopping point, I got the chains and have not looked back since. They make a huge difference in late fall and early spring when things are soggy. I have not found that I need them in summer after a heavy rain even, as the ground seems to have a different kind of wetness in summer...

 

[jdmar]

Hey Henro,
I don't care if you do garage and baby the tractor. It is still a big investment and work caring for. You've done a great job and your protector screens look factory original. I like your idea and it looks great.

And I thought you said in another post you were just an occasional garage welder....looks pretty professional to me!

Peter