My mini dozer build

ArlyA · Mar 31, 2021

OTHill said:
So far not noticeably light in the back. The fuel tank is under the seat and the back and sides of it are 1/4 inch plate also the hydraulic motors add some weight back there. Originally when I started I was planning a front end loader but needed to move dirt on a new place sooner so bought a 2520 JD with FEL so I'm planning a six way dozer now for the crawler. There is an auxiliary hyd.pump built into the hydostat.pump that I will use for the dozer. Right now it's just returning to tank. Don't have a lot of pictures of the build but will send some of various parts.

Grill and some track frame parts.
Fuel tank fan shroud hyd.tank and front grill mountEngine and belt tightened bolted into frameView attachment 692473
Front idlers and drive sprockets

Did you find drive sprockets or build them yourself?? Tracks are from a??

OTHill · Mar 31, 2021

Thanks for all the kind remarks everyone! And yes Smokeydog each track frame is held onto the main frame by 2 5/8 in.bolts making it very easy to service.

OTHill · Mar 31, 2021

ArlyA said:
Did you find drive sprockets or build them yourself?? Tracks are from a??

I looked for sprockets to buy but couldn't find big enough ones so I cut my own. My plasma won't cut 1 in material so I cut 1 main complete sprocket out of 1/2 in plate and another rim also out of the same. Welded them together to make 1 in.thick. Same with front idlers and all the rollers. Tracks are 300 mm width by 52.5mm pitch and 74 link if I remember right. They fit numerous machine

Closer view of sprocket build. I used free software called sprocketeer. Very easy to design sprockets of any size or pitch. The trick I found out though is that a 52.5 mm track takes approx.a 50 mm sprocket because the thickness of the track doesn't allow the track to hinge on the center of a pin. I cut 3 or 4 trials out of 14 ga.before I got it right

OTHill · Apr 7, 2021

Gonna share a little more of the start of the project which I should have done at the beginning of this post. I've thought of a project like this for a long time so when I ran across a fire damaged portable welder with a mostly undamaged Kubota engine for a reasonable price I bought it. A beautifull starting and running engine with 3400 hours! Next problem what size? I surely wanted it big enough to ride comfortably and do some usefull work. The engine had the front grill intact and looked like it could have dimensions to start with. I pictured a machine maybe 4 ft.wide and six ft.long. So sat down with Corel draw on my computer and came up with the following.

On the left is the size and shape of the original grill with some tracks sized to what I thought would look right. Now don't laugh anybody!! On the right I progressed to a side view with a six foot operator in block from to make sure he would fit. So here is how you start designing a dozer when you don't have an engineering degree

!

ArlyA · Apr 7, 2021

You don't need to have a degree,,, if you look through history many, many people dropped out of school yet did great things. Some people will even argue that a engineer degree will quash peoples thought process and have written books about the stifling of great minds, that a university will do. Whatever the case, I've designed many things by looking at current machines and made improvements. Or at least attempted improvements.

Where are the tracks from????

OTHill · Apr 7, 2021

Thanks AlyA. I've never even wished for a degree. I've just happily invented all my life. I've always detested things that were hard to service but low and behold by the time I was done crowding the hydrostatic pump and motors into to small a space I've come close to doing it myself

OTHill · Apr 7, 2021

The tracks are from an outfit in Edmonton Alberta called Rubber Track Canada.

ArlyA · Apr 8, 2021

OTHill said:
The tracks are from an outfit in Edmonton Alberta called Rubber Track Canada.

Camso and Soucy are by far the largest rubber track builders in the world but the real question I should have asked is "what machine are the tracks made for?"

blacktruck · Apr 8, 2021

Late to the party here but did you complete a blade for it or other attachments or implements? The machine looks great.

OTHill · Apr 8, 2021

blacktruck said:
Late to the party here but did you complete a blade for it or other attachments or implements? The machine looks great.

Working on a blade right now. Gonna be six way hydraulic. Bought a 2 spool joystick already for lift and angle and need to get a solenoid operated diverter valve for the tilt.
A little more progress today.

Some shots of A frame and mounting.

OTHill · Apr 8, 2021

ArlyA said:
Camso and Soucy are by far the largest rubber track builders in the world but the real question I should have asked is "what machine are the tracks made for?"

If I remember right they fit a 320 Bobcat mini hoe not altogether sure on that. I think they must be China made. All I can find on them is xtreme and than the size. They do fit a number of machines.

ArlyA · Apr 9, 2021

What will you attach the blade with?? Pisten Bullys use a spherical ball joint. When I built an all-way blade for a snow machine I didn't, but I should have....

OTHill · Apr 9, 2021

I'm using 2 4 bolt cast iron flange bearings.

ArlyA · Apr 9, 2021

I'm not seeing how those could work. Here is the spherical bearing that bully uses. Up close and further back. Its at the center of the balde and allows X degress of blade moveemnt. How could your 2 bearings at separate locations do something similar???

OTHill · Apr 9, 2021

I guess we're talking two different things. I'm talking the dozer frame up and down swivel and you are on the tilt swivel. I'm making the pieces for that today will have some pictures soon.

ArlyA · Apr 9, 2021

All-way means its adjusts on all planes.

OTHill · Apr 9, 2021

The way I'm used to it here is a six way dozer will move up and down, angle sideways as in pushing snow or dirt sideways,and tilt corners up and down. Are we talking the same thing?

ArlyA · Apr 10, 2021

Now that I think about it, yours is not all-way. (slow thinker?) Snow machine blades can vary there's on one more plain. The top of it can be made closer to, or further from, the operator. That's what the single, top cyclinder does.