Gas Pipe Fast Hitch Spike and Rear Mounted 54 Blade

[drspiff]

I've done some work reverse engineering the Fast Hitch (FH) spike and have come up with a result that may be of interest. The Gas Pipe FH is pretty simple and very cheap. However, some assembly is required.

Here is the drawing of the Minimum Material Fast-Hitch Spike using 3/4" gas pipe.


And here is my rendition of this Gas Pipe Fast Hitch spike.

The spike is made out of 2 pieces of 3/4" gas pipe and a piece of 1" square bar stock. The stiffeners are 1/4" gas pipe and are fitted to make the pipes into a rigid beam.

This is the complete Fast Hitch arm based on gas pipe for the structural members.

The implement end is another piece of 3/4" pipe and will be the pivot for the rear blade. The vertical support is also a piece of 3/4" gas pipe with a piece of 1 1/4" angle iron attached. This gives a snug fit between the "ears" of the Fast Hitch. The following photos show how this spike fits into the Fast Hitch.


Here you can see the spike mounted in the Fast Hitch on Blue Boy. Also note the face of the stop block where the latch will hold the Fast Hitch arm in place.

This is a detail shot looking down on the red vertical Fast Hitch member.

Notice how the piece of angle iron fits between the "ears" on the Fast Hitch and the angle makes contact with lateral tube in the Fast Hitch structure.

What to do with this marvelous new toy? Well, I have a 54 blade that was missing some of the mounting pieces. How 'bout making a back blade for Blue Boy? The following photos show the mounting brackets on the blade and how they will attach to the Fast Hitch arm.

On the back of the 54 blade are 2 curved angle iron brackets with 3/4" holes for mounting the "ANGLE, Support Blade", AKA "that triangular thingy". I used a couple of pieces of angle iron to make vertical blade mounts as shown below. These are bolted to the blade with 3/4" bolts in 2 places on each iron bracket. You can just barely see the bolt heads on the right side of the vertical mount.


Here is another view of the vertical mounts bolted to the back of the blade.


I used another piece of angle iron to tie the 2 vertical mounts together. This horizontal mounting piece bolts to the Fast Hitch arm. Here is a shot of the horizontal mount in position on the blade.


I'm still in the process of welding and painting the blade mounting pieces, but here is a photo of the horizontal mounted bolted to the Fast Hitch arm. Picture the blade hanging down from the horizontal mount, and you will get an idea of where I'm heading. Here is the FH arm with the horizontal mount bolted on.

Notice the chain stays and turnbuckles from the ends of the horizontal mount to the FH arm. When the turnbuckles are tightened, the blade will no longer pivot on the center bolt. By changing the number of chain links on each side and adjusting the turnbuckles, it is possible to set the angle of blade to anything your heart desires. If these turnbuckles are not stout enough to hold up to the stress, I have some 3/4" all thread as a backup plan to replace them.

The curved brackets on the back of the 54 blade required wedge washers to take up the slack between the blade bracket and the vertical mount. You can see the amount of mismatch between the straight piece of angle iron and the blade bracket.

The wedge washers are ordinary 3/4" washers with a build-up of weld metal on about 1/2 of the washer. The buildup is about 1/4" to get the washer to bear on the blade bracket.

So there you have it. It is possible to build a Fast Hitch spike out of gas pipe. It remains to be seen how well it works on this back blade. I will post a picture of the back blade completed and mounted and let you know how well it works.

Rick (Why? Because I can!) Dulas

BTW this is another project built out of scrap picked up from the junkyard.
Total cost for materials is about $5 which is scrap value of the steel.

[Jim Becker]

Pretty slick piece of work. Here are a couple observations on it.

- Your stop bock is attached at the angle of the upper pipe. Thus it will contact the pull bar latch on a corner rather than the flat of the front side. It may not be a problem but there are 3 possible problems for the latch: wear, breakage and accidental unlatching.

- An alternative for attaching the blade would have been to place your upright angle irons at the outside of the existing brakets on the blade. They could have been attached with a single bolt each and an additional cross piece could have been placed at the lower end of the uprights to hold the blade at the third bracket. This would have allowed use of the tilting feature of the original design. You could have incorporated the spring cushion.

Jim (because criticism is less work than doing) Becker

[Rick Prentice]

I like it Rick . Does your brain ever shut down. Seems you're always dreaming up something. I'm trying to take lessons, but can't keep up with you You might want to visit your local TSC store. Up here, they've been having sales on spring loaded spikes(tines) of various shapes and sizes. It'd be real easy for you to adapt a spring tooth rake to your framework.

Rick

[pete1941]

Rick, when do you sleep? 30 minutes a night, maybe? I like it a lot and shows that what the mind can conceive, the body can achieve, well in some folks anyway . Pete

[Buzzard Wing]

Very, very nice....

[George Willer]

I especially like the chains for angle adjustment.

[Harold R]

That's an interesting design. I could certainly use that to level out my gravel drive. Let us know how it turns out!

[BigBill]

Nice work, great thinking....

You can buy what they call "hillsides" its actually a wedge shaped washer its used when bolting to I beams.

I just picked up some ripper tooth shank's at TSC to make a single ripper for my 3pt hitch so i can pull out those pesky rocks my 60" mower always seems to find.

[drspiff]

Pretty slick piece of work. Here are a couple observations on it.

- Your stop bock is attached at the angle of the upper pipe. Thus it will contact the pull bar latch on a corner rather than the flat of the front side. It may not be a problem but there are 3 possible problems for the latch: wear, breakage and accidental unlatching.

- An alternative for attaching the blade would have been to place your upright angle irons at the outside of the existing brakets on the blade. They could have been attached with a single bolt each and an additional cross piece could have been placed at the lower end of the uprights to hold the blade at the third bracket. This would have allowed use of the tilting feature of the original design. You could have incorporated the spring cushion.

Jim (because criticism is less work than doing) Becker

Interesting ideas. I thought about using the lower spring cushion bracket but could not think of a way to do that and maintain the stiffness. But the vertical mounts are not welded yet, so there is time to work the angle adjustment into the design. It does seem like a waste not to use the bracket the IH engineers so thoughtfully provided.

Regarding the stop block angle. It probably does not show in the photos well, but the stop block is parallel with the top of the FH. The flat face of the block allows clearance for the latch to fall into place. If the stop block face were parallel with the face of the latch, there would have to additional clearance allowed for the latch to close. I elected to keep the slop to a minimum and the stress to be concentrated on the lower edge of the stop block.

In an ideal world, I would have designed the FH latch so the pivot point was forward of the stop block. By reversing the latch swing, the stop block could have an undercut face and the closed latch which would have acted as a lock while pulling. But it was designed while I was still throwing my mashed carrots around.

I'm going to go back out to the shop and think about incorporating the blade tilt into the design. I'll post updates as they happen.

The chain stays were the result of a conversation with a friend. I was going to use 3/16" wire rope but that would have limited the swing to travel in the turnbuckles. But I think the chains are a much better solution. Easier to use, adjust and maintain. And no punctures from wire rope strands.

I did not know the wedge washers were called "hillsides" so I've learned something. The only place I had ever seen them was at a place like McMaster-Carr or MSC and they carry a stiff price tag. I guess I need to expand my shopping range.

Rick (always willing to try something new) Dulas

[BILL PASTOR]

NICE JOB--LOOKS REAL GOOD

[deputy jailer]

Slick piece of work there Rick

[drspiff]

I've been thinking about Jim Becker's idea of using the spring clevis attachment point. The changes will be fairly minor and an additional benefit is that the blade can be dismounted and the framework will serve as the back of a carrier. Once the blade is dismounted, a pair of horizontal arms would be hung off the frame. Throw some lumber or plywood on the horizontal arms and across the back and "instant carrier".

Will post pictures as concrete progress is made.

Rick (exploring the possibilities) Dulas

[Bus Driver]

I am convinced that the ladder-truss arrangement will handle far more weight vertically than the Cub can lift. Should be fine in that respect. Rear blades, especially if tilted for greater depth on one side, tend to steer the tractor while making "deep" cuts. That puts lots of side thrust on the blade mounts. The ladder-truss spike probably has less lateral strength than does the solid spike. Please let us know how it works in practice.

[drspiff]

The ladder-truss spike probably has less lateral strength than does the solid spike.

I agree and have a backup plan. After all, life is all about how you deal with "Plan B".

If the simple truss fails, then I will probably build a triangular truss like a radio tower. While not foolproof, the triangular truss should be stout enough for just about anything. My real concern is the 3/4" bolt that couples the truss to the horizontal blade mount. But I think I have a solution for that as well.

It was a little too cold to be tossing iron around today, and tomorrow Donny, I, and his son Steven are making a roadtrip to pickup 3 Cubs down in Southeast Texas. So I doubt I'll get back to the FH rear blade project before the weekend.

But I will post progress when it happens.

Rick (plan is pain, just spelled differently) Dulas

[Bill Hudson]

It was a little too cold to be tossing iron around today...

Rick,

Certainly you jest!!!! Remember, you are in Texas, suffering from "global warming" no less.

...and tomorrow Donny, I, and his son Steven are making a roadtrip to pickup 3 Cubs down in Southeast Texas.

Rick (plan is pain, just spelled differently) Dulas

You are breakin' my heart!

Bill