Made a plow for my BX23S

Here's a close-up of one of the upper struts. The length and angled cuts on each end more or less had to be fit ( cut, try, repeat ). The yoke that clutches the top lip of the bucket were a bitch to make, and I screwed them up. My goal was to make them large enough to line with some 1/4" felt ( from an old boot liner? ) to avoid scratching the bucket. I have no press so I spent a LOT of time heating it with the torch to bend it, and I got the bends a bit too close to each other. A made a paper cut-out the shape of the bucket lip and tried to bend to match with extra room. I failed.

A good ol' bowline knot in the right place on the cinch strap is all that's require to tie it to the lower hook.

This shows the strut spanner in place. I used a piece of angle iron. If you look at the first diagram, you'll see there's a hole where the strut meets the blade frame. This is for a 1/4" pin, so when storing you can pull the pins and the upper strut assembly comes off so it's not so clunky to store.

It's not important to have a lot of strength in the struts, and thus why they're not welded to the blade ... as most of the pushing force is against the lower V-notch in the frame.

And last, a bottom viewing showing the strap hooks. The main 3/8" bar welded to the bottom technically gives the 1/4" hooks a bit of clearance from drag, but it could be better. Again, a bolt on sacrificial edge ( steel or rubber ) that hangs down 1/2" would solve any potential strap wear issue, and would provide a necessary replaceable edge.

So, let me see if I can recall the bill of materials:

4 or 5 1/8x1.5x6' angle iron ( Menards )
1 3/8 x 1.25"x66" steel bar.
1 1/4 x 1.25"x65-3/4" steel bar.
1 19.5" x 66" 16ga steel plate ( I used 14ga ... overkill )
Some 1/8x1" strip for the rib patches. ( Menards )
1 1-1/4"sq x 36" sq tube for the struts (Menards )
1 1/4" x 1-1/4" x 36 bar for the strut yokes (Menards)
4 2" wide, 1/4" square hooks (Menards)
2 Ratchet tie-down straps (Menards)

Total is less than $200. About 12 hrs. assembly time.

DO get yourself a power hack saw. Harbor Freight has them for about $100. Construction not possible without it, IMO.


After this learning experience, despite it's pretty functional as is, I'm very temped to redesign this using some CNC cut ribs and something other than angle iron for the laterals. I'm guessing there's got to be some shops around that wouldn't charge too much to cut these out, and it would yield a much cleaner look and would go together much better. I'm also guessing the same shop might be able to curl the steel sheet as well, thus eliminating the need for the forming process I used.

North Idaho Wolfman said:

You could put a piece of belt rubber on top too.

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Yep, mention of that belt rubber again. I can picture it, about 1/2" thick, I can see the inner cords at the edge, I can feel how rigid it is ... but for the life of me I can't remember where I saw it, and I believe it was some scrap from something and I didn't give it a 2nd thought.

Where to find?

D2Cat said:

I don't think you would have to have someone curl the 16ga. plate. Just get your framework welded up then place the 16ga up to the frame. Then have a 4x4 of wood, or some strong steel the length (5'-5") you could put up against the 16ga in the center of the blade heighth. Then just clamp that long piece to your frame with a C-clamp on each end. Then the 16ga would lay right on your gussets. Weld it in place.

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Probably right. The 14ga I used I'm sure gives it a bit more strength, but not really needed and just adds extra weight. 16ga would be more than adequate and is what I'd use doing it over.