54" John Deere Hydraulic Snow Blade

I would not have started this project except for two things.  First, the blade was given to me, so the price was right.  Second, the tractor has a quick detach loader that leaves the hydraulic controls on the tractor mounted loader frame.  So the hydraulic valves are available to be used for the blade.

The blade had been stored for 25 years without ever being used.  It was used for a few years before that on a JD 317 garden tractor.  One of the hydraulic cylinders was extended, and had some surface rust on the shaft.  I used some emery cloth to polish the shaft, and then lubricated it.  I flushed both cylinders with diesel fuel before re-installing them on the blade.  After building the mounts, I had to have hydraulic hoses made.  I just about had a heart attack when I had to spend over $200 just for 4 hydraulic hoses.  But it should be worth it this winter when I don’t have to leave the tractor seat while plowing snow.

     

Here are two photos of the removable bracket I made to mount on the tractor as an adapter to mount the hydraulic blade. This adapter is constructed of ¼” plate steel.

    

The photo on the left shows the permanently mounted hardware on the tractor.  The second shows the removable adapter mounted on the tractor.  4 pins hold this adapter on the tractor.  Note that the belly mower hardware is still on the tractor, so I can leave the mower and still use the blade.

    

These two photos show the mounting procedure.  First the hydraulic hoses are attached.  With the blade on a couple of 2x4’s you drive the tractor forward to engage the bottom two pins into the curved slots.  Then the hydraulics are used to push the top of the blade’s frame back onto the adapter.  The top pins are spring loaded and are pushed outward by the adapter as the frame is forced back.  Then the pins snap into the holes, and the blade is attached.

This photo shows the final mounting.  I have already used this blade to do some dirt grading around the swing set I put in our back yard.  It does work very well.

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