Joseph 332 #1 Posted November 21, 2020 It has been a while since we have have posted. We have started a new project which is to build a replica of the Bolens large frame snow/dirt blade, Bolens part number 18085. The simple rule is that it is not allowed to snow until we are finished This is a very rare attachment and realistically our only chance of owning one is to make a replica. Chris Stoneman recently purchased one of the few know to exisit in the UK and we picked it up for him which gave us the chance to take lots of measurements. Chris's blade did not come with the lift push rods and we need some help with those. In the manual, it says that the distance between the centre line of the holes in the clevis rodes is 26-1/2" which gives a bit of an insight into the lengths of the rods. We did some searching on the Internet and that highlighted that the push rods are 20" long for the early large frames and 22-1/2" long for the HT's. We will be fitting this to our HT20 which suggests we need to make 22-1/2" rods. If someone has this attachement I would be grateful if you can measure the length of the push rods and confirm if they are 22-1/2". Also it would be helpful to know the length of the threaded part of the rod. Thanks in advance. At the moment we get one tractor day a week so this project will take a while but it should be fun and I hope you follow along. I am making some notes of the work we are doing and making videos of the progress. In today's video I cover the preperation and cutting of the metal. 8 Alan, pmackellow, Stormin and 5 others reacted to this Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Stormin 4,458 #2 Posted November 22, 2020 12 hours ago, Joseph said: The simple rule is that it is not allowed to snow until we are finished I wouldn't worry to much about snow, Joseph. Some years back I built my own snow plough and we've not had any snow to speak of since. There's a thread on it way back. BTW. It's plough NOT plow. Your English. 2 Joseph and Triumph66 reacted to this Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Joseph 332 #3 Posted November 22, 2020 10 hours ago, Stormin said: I wouldn't worry to much about snow, Joseph. Some years back I built my own snow plough and we've not had any snow to speak of since. There's a thread on it way back. BTW. It's plough NOT plow. Your English. We were hit had with the beast from the east a couple of years ago and it would be good to have something similar, but only after the plough is built and assuming we have plenty of fire wood in the house. I have been spending too much time on US forums, where nobody knows what you mean if you call it a plough 1 Triumph66 reacted to this Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Triumph66 1,256 #4 Posted November 23, 2020 Great video and you are, ahem, ploughing ahead...... Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Joseph 332 #5 Posted November 28, 2020 We had another day on the project. It was a day of cutting, drilling, milling and welding. Video update of progress 2 pmackellow and nigel reacted to this Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Stormin 4,458 #6 Posted November 28, 2020 Makin a really professional job there, Joseph. All the drilling and milling reminds me of my toolroom/machine shop days. Lucky lad to have equipment like that. 1 Joseph reacted to this Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Joseph 332 #7 Posted November 29, 2020 21 hours ago, Stormin said: Makin a really professional job there, Joseph. All the drilling and milling reminds me of my toolroom/machine shop days. Lucky lad to have equipment like that. Thanks Norm. Yes, we are very lucky to have some good tools and it is great to have a project to help learn more about using them Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
pmackellow 2,738 #8 Posted November 29, 2020 Looks like a good job going on there Joseph 1 Joseph reacted to this Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Joseph 332 #9 Posted December 5, 2020 Further progress on the Bolens HT snow plow replica. In this video, we do more welding on the frame and finish the mount for the swivel 2 Alan and Stormin reacted to this Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Alan 1,273 #10 Posted December 5, 2020 Looking good Joseph. 1 Joseph reacted to this Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Joseph 332 #11 Posted December 6, 2020 15 hours ago, Alan said: Looking good Joseph. Thanks Alan. I think this is going to take much longer than I thought. Dad and I really missed not being able to catch up with you and the other members at RPT and TF this year. I hope you are well and a catchup is overdue Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Joseph 332 #12 Posted December 12, 2020 A bit more progress on the Bolens HT snow plough replica. In this video we make up the brackets on the frame for the hydraulic cylinder and make the pins for the frame. 3 expeatfarmer, Alan and Stormin reacted to this Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Joseph 332 #13 Posted December 19, 2020 A bit more done on the snow plough. This time we worked on the blade swivel bracket. We already had a swivel bracket from a different tractor which needed to be modified. A lot of work went into modifing this and it might have been easier to make one from scratch 2 Alan and Stormin reacted to this Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Stormin 4,458 #14 Posted December 20, 2020 Doing well, Joseph. I think you need to tell dad to get some heating in your workshop. 2 Alan and Joseph reacted to this Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Joseph 332 #15 Posted December 20, 2020 11 hours ago, Stormin said: Doing well, Joseph. I think you need to tell dad to get some heating in your workshop. We have a space heater but I think dad hides the fuel It would be great to have a wood burner in the workshop Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Joseph 332 #16 Posted January 2, 2021 Further progress on the Bolens HT snow plough replica despite the workshop feeling like it is 10 degrees colder than outside and the outside temperature is at freezing point. The workshop soon warmed up or we got the hang of the temperature. We finished work on the swivel, started making the clevis forks and finished the main frame. Video of progress 2 Alan and Stormin reacted to this Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Stormin 4,458 #17 Posted January 3, 2021 Nice, professional work there, Joseph. 1 Joseph reacted to this Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Joseph 332 #18 Posted January 9, 2021 A bit more progress on the snow plough. In this video we finish making the clevis forks and get the hydraulic cylinder cleaned up and painted with primer. I was very pleased with how the clevis forks turned out. 2 1 Alan, Stormin and Wristpin reacted to this Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Joseph 332 #19 Posted January 16, 2021 Some more progress on the Bolens HT snow plough replica. In this video we start the repairs to the blade 2 Stormin and Alan reacted to this Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Joseph 332 #20 Posted January 23, 2021 Very busy day today on the Bolens large frame snow plough replica as the aim was to get all the remaining parts made and all the existing parts repaired and cleaned ready for paint 1 Alan reacted to this Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Joseph 332 #21 Posted January 30, 2021 In this session we finish the project and we are very pleased with the way it turned out. All the parts are painted, everything is assembled and we gave it a quick test.It was a bit rushed and we were being very careful not to damage the paint, so we will do an overview of the project next weekend. We are now waiting for some snow! Thanks to Mark at restorationdecals for the decals Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Alan 1,273 #22 Posted January 30, 2021 Nice job Joseph, and Dad. Just need enough of the white stuff now for a proper test. Another project crossed off the list, so what next. 1 Joseph reacted to this Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Stormin 4,458 #23 Posted February 3, 2021 Nice work there, Joseph. 1 Joseph reacted to this Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Joseph 332 #24 Posted February 6, 2021 (edited) Our project to make a replica Bolens HT snow plough finished last week but it was a long session and we did not have the chance to talk about the project. In this video we talk about the project, the challenging parts and the bits we enjoyed most and what we would like to do next. This project would not have been possible without help from some great people. Thanks Chris Stoneman for letting us copy his blade, Rick (Bolens parts supplier) for supplying a hydraulic cylinder and Mark Smith (Restorationdecals.co.uk) for making and supplying the decals. Edited February 6, 2021 by Joseph 2 expeatfarmer and Alan reacted to this Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Damohick 18 #25 Posted February 8, 2021 (edited) Great project and very informative videos Joseph, I don’t know where in Norfolk you are but hoping you’ve got enough snow to try it out today! Edited February 8, 2021 by Damohick 2 expeatfarmer and Joseph reacted to this Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
