As my list of projects hs been cut down some I'm (finally) tackling the 10' Western HW that I got with my GMC 5500. It's old, and now that I look at it closer it's obvious it was rode hard and put away wet. My plan was originally just sandblast and paint and get it on the truck. Plan changed after we seperated the moldboard from the push frame. A-frame has been patched (poorly) on both sides, one side is bent, even after the repairs were made. Semi-circle is bent a little, the pins still line up but not well. Looks like I'll be building a new A-frame and straightening and reinforcing the semi-circle. I could use it as is this year but I don't need it critically at this popint and once it's in use I want it "right" so I don't have to worry about breaking it. Now that it's apart it looks pretty sorry, but when I look at list price on a new one (around $5,800)I think I can justify a few days work when I have nothing else to do. [Edited by Alan on 12-09-2000 at 09:46 PM]
It won't be bad, maybe two days, at the most, to get all the dimensions and fabricate the frame. It's all just angle and plate fabrication, only a couple pieces that need bends, the rest is all cut and weld. I'll move up one thickness on angle, from 3/8 to 1/2 inch and I'll probably make a bigger pivot pin. I could probably buy one as cheap as I can build it, but I think I get make it quicker than I can get one shipped in and have a better one in the process.
Well, my two day project has taken longer than I planned, what else is new! I don't have all that many hours in it, but between chasing materials, helping on the body work on my buddys truck and plowing/salting it has dragged on into many days. Along the way I've strengthened the new one up quite a bit, using heavier material. The old A-frame was in such bad shape that it was hard to get good measurements off it. Today I got the brackets for the angle cylinders cut off the old frame and on the new one but even that took trial and error to locate the brackets and swing stops. Tomorrow I'll do the last welding and it will be ready for paint. Now I need a couple days of decent weather so I can sandblast and paint everything.
