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Loader Built For MTD Garden Tractor
When Michael Heron decided he needed a loader for his 1980’s MTD 990 garden tractor, he used various parts he already had to build a self-designed rig.
  The tractor came with a small hydraulic cylinder on front but it had a very small stroke so Heron replaced it. He kept the original hydraulic hoses and extended them.  
  He used 2-in. square tubing to make a subframe that bolts to a steel plate on front of the tractor, which originally supported a snowblower. The loader arms are hinged to the subframe and also welded to the back side of a 3-ft. bucket made from 1/8-in. thick steel. An electric winch is used to gravity dump the bucket, and a hydraulic cylinder to raise and lower the loader.
  The winch bolts onto the frame and the cable attaches to the bucket. “For some reason the winch wasn’t able to hold the load once it was raised off the ground, so I made a hook-shaped metal catch and bolted it onto the bucket,” says Heron. “I flip a starter solenoid switch to open the catch and dump the bucket, then push a button so the winch will pull the bucket back into position.
  “The loader works well and is limited only by the power of the tractor’s hydraulics,” says Heron. “It comes in handy to lift gravel and dirt. I also use it around our garden and to clean out our barn. It didn’t cost much to build as most of the components were used.”
  Contact: FARM SHOW Followup, Michael Heron, 452078 Range Rd. 13, RR 2, Rivercourse, Alberta Canada T0B 3X0 (ph 306 821-6367; m.heron@sasktel.net).



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2019 - Volume #43, Issue #1