Snow Removal On a Chip & Tar Driveway

[Reb954]

Whichever method you end up with you might consider putting a protective edge on the blade. Thanks to the getting the idea from folks on this site I put a protective edge on both my snow blower and bucket last year and both worked great.

Basically you take a piece of schedule 80 pipe, I used 3/4" as I remember, cut a slot into it so it slips over the cutting edge of either/or the bucket or snow blower edge. Attach it however you need to and it keeps the edge from cutting in.

I will see if I can find the pictures I posted last year showing how I attached mine. If I can't find them I will try to get some new pictures this weekend.

 

[Reb954]

I just found pictures of the protective edge on my bucket. I also found I made a mistake, I used 1/2" schedule 40 due to not being able to find schedule 80 pipe in this area. When I find some I will redo it.

 

[WranglerX]

After hours of web-surfing, I have found what I think would work:

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These were posted on this forum 12 years ago by a member who has not posted since March 2017. I have PM'd him but don't expect a reply.

This setup appears to be heavy duty - enough to handle the weight of the blade and FEL on float. But it is NOT a Woods accessory (per their tech support).

The curvature of the brackets seems way too precise (i.e. engineered) to simply be someone's fabrication. So, I am guessing that this is someone's accessory...but whose?

Does anyone recognize this assembly?

I have had thought of same thing for general use but was considering trailer jacks to adjust height of cutting blade...

Maybe something similar to these...

Probably need to research more, just grabbed a image for sake of showing one...

Dale

 

[Tractorable]

There’s another thread on here that discussed the use of trailer jacks as gauge wheels for a rear blade and the general consensus was they’re not strong enough, have skinny wheels with little floatation so would dig into soft surfaces, and the bearings would get easily contaminated. More robust Bush hog tail wheels or zero turn casters would work better.

 

[Snakebit12]

More robust Bush hog tail wheels or zero turn casters would work better.

I have been looking at bush hog tail wheels as they look quite stout. They tend to come in either 1-1/4" or 1-1/2" shafts. The skid shoe brackets on either side of my blade take a 1" shaft. It would be great if I could re-use these skid shoe brackets - item 13 in the picture.

If I was to test the effectiveness of these tail wheels, I would either need to weld on 1-1/4" or 1-1/2" skid shoe bracket or have a machine shop grind these shafts down to 1". Not sure which would be more cost effective.

 

[SkeeterFood]

I haven't read all of the replies (cause I'm still up at 4am!!), but I live in extreme NW MN. Our snow is "normally" a dry snow. I'd imagine yours is normally wetter. In any case, I have two ideas you might consider:
1. using a brush attachment, such as those used for sidewalks. You can get stiffer brushes that will work well with light to moderate snow.
2. Consider going old school and make/modify a blade to have wood edge. Yes, wood. If you have a small planer, you can freshen up the edge now and then.

With a driveway that long, you may have to change out boards several times in a season. However, how much does 5' or 6' of 2x4 cost??

My wife's parents had a neighbor (central MN) who had their trusty old pickup, and he used ONLY his wooden snowplow for his driveways. Even in his field, the cold would turn gopher mounds into lethal weapons for snowplows. So he happily used a wooden plow for many years. I doubt his angled, but never saw it personally.

 

[WranglerX]

I have been looking at bush hog tail wheels as they look quite stout. They tend to come in either 1-1/4" or 1-1/2" shafts. The skid shoe brackets on either side of my blade take a 1" shaft. It would be great if I could re-use these skid shoe brackets - item 13 in the picture.

If I was to test the effectiveness of these tail wheels, I would either need to weld on 1-1/4" or 1-1/2" skid shoe bracket or have a machine shop grind these shafts down to 1". Not sure which would be more cost effective.

Actually #13 in picture is linch pin... Do you mean bracket above #18 shim stack...

Dale

 

[Snakebit12]

Actually #13 in picture is linch pin... Do you mean bracket above #18 shim stack...

Dale

Yes - sorry. The actual bracket itself was not referenced so I pointed to #13 to direct you to the right area.

I have spoken with several tailwheel manufacturers and all expressed concerns about the tailwheels being able to handle 2,500 lbs of weight.

I am beginning to focus on a "softer" blade...either wood as previously mentioned or rubber (horse mats or these...Rubber Snowplow Cutting Edge 725 PSI).

This would require holding the blade above the pavement manually (which I do now) but at least the penalty for actually hitting the pavement is not as severe as it would be with a steel blade.

 

[WranglerX]

Try GOOGLE Images search "skids for snow blades" for some ideas... A flat skid or "ski" to keep blade up off driveway surface may be what you want and just let blade float on skids...

Dale

 

[farm boy00]

Try GOOGLE Images search "skids for snow blades" for some ideas... A flat skid or "ski" to keep blade up off driveway surface may be what you want and just let blade float on skids...

Dale

Guessing you haven't read the thread? That has been ruled out because of wrecking the driveway.