2011 - Volume #35, Issue #1, Page #42
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"Made It Myself" 6-Ft. Mower Blade
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The blade can be angled left or right by pulling a pair of pins and then manually moving the blade. The mower's original lift cylinders are used to raise and lower it.
"The company offers interchangeable attachments for the mower deck, including a blade, but it sells for $1,500 to $2,000. I used salvaged material so my cost was almost nothing," says Herren.
The 30 hp riding mower was originally equipped with a pair of mower deck mounting arms that fit into a pair of 2-in. sq. sockets. Herren removed the arms and used 4-in. I-beams to make new ones, "turning them down" at the end to fit into the 2-in. sockets.
A 700-gal. water heater, salvaged from a commercial building, was used to make the blade. He cut a 12-in. wide by 6-ft. long section out of the tank. A 2-in. high steel plate welded on back of the blade provides reinforcement. He welded a semi circular flat metal plate on back of the blade that's used to change the angle of the blade. Four holes drilled into the semi circular plate match up with a pair of holes drilled into the mounting arms. The blade swivels on a 3/4-in. bolt that fits inside a pipe.
"I can hydraulically raise and lower the blade using the mower's original lift arms. I welded a length of pipe between the mounting arms to help keep them rigid.
Contact: FARM SHOW Followup, John Herren, P.O. Box 72069, Louisville, Ky. 40272 (ph 502 741-7521; jrherren31@yahoo.com).
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