back blade

[jcbwls]

what size back blade for a 1945 2n ?

 

[ScoutB]

I have a 6' back blade on my 9N and it seems just right.

 

[grayrider]

I don't have a 2N or 9N any longer but when I did have them I used a 6' blade behind them with no problems....

 

[Bruce (VA)]

I like a 6' blade because you don't have to
dismount it to change its angle or reverse
it.
75 Tips

 

[howdy1960]

Don't have a back blade yet but do run a 6' landscape rake behind my 43 2N.

 

[Kirk-NJ]

I have an 8' blade that I usually have on my 4000. It had another implement on it so I put the blade on my 41' 9n to clean up some stripped bark at the landing where I pull out and cut/split logs. It moved the
bark ok but kept spinning the wheels. I probably won't have been able to move a load of dirt with the full blade. I agree with others that said a 6' blade is about the most you want to go on these little N
tractors. With a 6' blade you will still be able to spin it around on the tractor to use it as a dozer blade without taking it off to reverse it.

Kirk

 

[Tim PloughNman Daley]

As others said, a 6' back blade is typical and ideal for an N-Series Tractor. I highly recommend using stabilizer bars with a back blade too. They keep the blade from kicking to one side under load especially when pushing backwards. They also will help prevent strain on the lift arms. Stabilizer Bars are sometimes called SWAY BARS. NOTE I didn't say STAY BARS; they are two different animals so know the difference and proper set up and use of each before proceeding.

1948 Ford 8N with 6' Back Blade & Stabilizer Bars -

Original Dearborn Stabilizer Bar Brackets and aftermarket angle iron style -

Stabilizer Bars proper set up with rear mower -

Stabilizer Bars -proper set up -

Stabilizer Bars -proper set up of fender brackets -

Tim *PloughNman* Daley(MI)

 

[Ultradog MN]

For dirt a 6' is best.
If you use it mostly for snow then you
will like a 7' as it kicks the snow well
past the tires when angled.
I have a heavy 8' that I use behind my
3000. I use it clean - without all the
appurtenances, appendages, peripherals,
impediamenta, accoutrements, accessories,
apparatus and supplemental gizmos.

 

[Kenockee 8N]

(quoted from post at 03:10:56 10/31/16) As others said, a 6' back blade is typical and ideal for an N-Series Tractor. I highly recommend using stabilizer bars with a back blade too.
Tim *PloughNman* Daley(MI)

Question on the stabilizer bars.

Do you have to disconnect them to put an implement on? If not, how do you move the lift arm outward to go around the pins on the implement?

I currently just have a 6' back blade (also would agree with others that it is about perfect for these tractors) and a draw bar with stays that I use to pull a set of drag discs, but can already see the need for the stabilizer bars.

 

[HCooke]

"Question on the stabilizer bars.

Do you have to disconnect them to put an implement on?"

Yes. Like UD, I don't see any reason to use them with a back blade. I also use a 6 footer - no stabilizer bars.

 

[Greg (2N) TX]

6' is easy to adjust and does a very good job if your
tractor is running good under load.
Greg

 

[Tim PloughNman Daley]

Yes, each time you change an implement you will unlock linch pins and remove, then slide off stabilizer bars to unhitch the implement. Note you will NOT use the bars on every implement you use. Some guys have fabbed bar holders on the lift arms so when you do this you don't have to remove the entire bars from the fender brackets as well. If you unhitch an implement, you will no doubt move the tractor to hitch up the new one. You can't drag the stabilizer bars around and certainly not back up with them dragging. Securing the implement end to the lift arms will allow you to be mobile with the tractor. Anyway, you won't be using the stabilizer bars on every implement anyway. I only use them on my back blade, my disc harrow, my WOODS mower, bush hog, spring tooth drag, and maybe the cultivator and never on a bottom plow -you want some back and forth sway with a plow. Like Harold said, he doesn't use them. It is not mandatory you use them, I just 'highly recommended' you do with a back blade. I use to plow snow and mow grass without them and always had the mower scallop the grass on turns and the back blade kick to the side when plowing snow. One day after a snowfall the neighbor and I were both out and stopped to chat. I was looking at his setup and noticed a stabilizer bar. I asked him and he said it helped out tremendously and he uses it when he mows grass too. Note I said he only had one side, one bar. You can get away with just one too. I went out that day and bought a kit and installed them---have not ever not used them since. Here's the proper procedure:

Taking your left hand, make a 'gun' with you thumb and index finger. Now turn it upside down so your thumb is pointing down and your index finger is pointing to the right. This is how the bracket that bolts to your right fender is set. The thumbnail area has the link pin and the index finger has the fender bolt mounting holes. The bracket link pin and lift pins now should align with each other. Now take both of your index fingers, point them at each other almost touching. This is how the pins locate correctly. Now, once you have positioning correct, snug down fender bolts, but do not tighten completely. Repeat procedure for the left side using opposite symmetry.

Next step is to get a back blade, bush hog, or rear finish mower that you will use the bars with and hitch to the tractor lift arms. Attach a top link too. Attach one stabilizer bar to the left side implement pin and latch with a linch pin. Attach a bar to the right side implement pin and latch as well. Take the left bar end nearest the point where it will attach to the bracket pin and fit it onto the link pin on the bracket. This may take some 'to and fro' motion to get it to fit on and one reason we left the brackets loose. Do not tighten down fender bolts yet. Repeat procedure now for the right side. Latch fender bracket link pins with linch pins. Once implement is attached with bars in place, still loosely bolted down, proceed to final adjustment.

Final Adjustment: At this phase you will proceed with extreme caution working slowly so you do not bend or break anything. Be sure your Finger Control lift is set at the bottom of the stoke -all the way DOWN. Start tractor. SLOWLY begin to raise the lift observing that the bars are not binding or that anything sounds or looks like it is under stress. There may be some 'positioning' of the fenders as they self adjust themselves to the bars. If something doesn't look or sound right, drop the lift arm right away and determine what it is that is out of sync. You will do a series of up and down lifts to ensure that the positioning is set correctly. Correct positioning is when the lift is all the way UP and the bars don't pinch, bend, bind, crack, break or otherwise fail. When you have a warm & fuzzy about the lifting, now you can secure the fender bolts down tightly. Always repeat the lift sequence a few times once the fender bolts are tight. That's it -the bars are set to your lift. There is no way they need to be changed.
Once this procedure is successful, you won't need to muck with the setting again. You should be able to go from a mower to a back blade to a disc harrow without any worry about touching the bar settings. You might want to do an occasional routine PM check to verify they didn't move. Jamming a snowbank full throttle can cause one side to move.

This method is a proven system to set stabilizer bars. I have seen bent lift arms, blown hydraulic pumps, and bent and twisted bars because the stabilizer bars, mostly the brackets, were installed wrong. One reason is the new, aftermarket style brackets have multiple pin location holes to use with different tractors, and if you don't have the pins in the right hole for your tractor, you will end up with a disaster. Most all issues with bars is they are not set up correctly. Either the pins are in wrong position or the brackets are facing the wrong direction.
I hope this helps you and anyone having the same problem...

Tim *PloughNman* Daley(MI)

 

[Caryc]

(quoted from post at 05:45:13 10/31/16) "Question on the stabilizer bars.

Do you have to disconnect them to put an implement on?"

Yes. Like UD, I don't see any reason to use them with a back blade. I also use a 6 footer - no stabilizer bars.

Or you can use a set of Pat's Quick Hitches. The sway bars always stay connected. Just back up the quick hitches under your implements pins and lift up the arms to catch the pins.

Of course you can always remove or reinstall the sway bars depending on your implement.

 

[Caryc]

(quoted from post at 05:45:13 10/31/16) "Question on the stabilizer bars.

Do you have to disconnect them to put an implement on?"

Yes. Like UD, I don't see any reason to use them with a back blade. I also use a 6 footer - no stabilizer bars.

Or you can use a set of Pat's Quick Hitches. The sway bars always stay connected. Just back up the quick hitches under your implements pins and lift up the arms to catch the pins.

Of course you can always remove or reinstall the sway bars depending on your implement.

Sorry, I forgot the picture.

 

[jcbwls]

thanks everyone for all the info

 

[R Geiger]

I have a 6 ft blade for my 8n that has a 10 extension on one end. Best of both worlds, I can still turn it around if I ever wanted to, I don't, and I get the extra width to move gravel or snow out just a bit further.