Unkle_John
03-28-2005, 11:06 AM
I sumbled across this article in an old Mother Earth News. I copied and pasted it from their website to here. I love Mother Earth News!
Sorry there are no photos.
Mother Earth News April-May, 2003
Need a push plow but can't find a new or used one cheap enough (or in good enough shape)? Well, if you can find an old bike and a plow blade, you can build a push plow without too much effort.
A dirt bike works best because the fires are wider, with bigger tread, so it rolls well through the dirt. I removed the pedals, brakes, cables, the front tire and the straight handlebar. I removed the stem bolt and stem at the steering mechanism, turned the front tire forks around backwards and reinserted the stem and bolt, so the front tire forks faced the back of the bike. I removed the high handlebar from an old banana-seat bike and inserted it backward on the bar clamp, so the handlebar was positioned to hold from the front of the bike (as pictured above).
[ILLUSTRATION OMITTED]
The last step is to attach the plow blade to the front tire forks. I was fortunate to already have a plow with an adjustable iron bar. It was a simple matter of drilling a set of holes through the front tire forks to match the hole spacing on the iron bar, then attaching the bar with bolts through the new holes. In this case, the front tire forks were wider than the iron bar: to securely hold the bar inside the front tire forks I used a threaded bolt and put a nut, flat washer and lock washer on each side of the bar, You will have to devise some way to attach the plow to the front tire forks at the appropriate distance and slant.
Once the plow is in place, you are ready to go! I found that it works best to make a small trench with a hoe for the bike tire to follow. The handlebars can be adjusted up or down to give the best pushing power for your height and the depth of the plow.
DAVID CAWTHON
Warm Springs, Georgia
When i get mine built, I'll post pictures.
Sorry there are no photos.
Mother Earth News April-May, 2003
Need a push plow but can't find a new or used one cheap enough (or in good enough shape)? Well, if you can find an old bike and a plow blade, you can build a push plow without too much effort.
A dirt bike works best because the fires are wider, with bigger tread, so it rolls well through the dirt. I removed the pedals, brakes, cables, the front tire and the straight handlebar. I removed the stem bolt and stem at the steering mechanism, turned the front tire forks around backwards and reinserted the stem and bolt, so the front tire forks faced the back of the bike. I removed the high handlebar from an old banana-seat bike and inserted it backward on the bar clamp, so the handlebar was positioned to hold from the front of the bike (as pictured above).
[ILLUSTRATION OMITTED]
The last step is to attach the plow blade to the front tire forks. I was fortunate to already have a plow with an adjustable iron bar. It was a simple matter of drilling a set of holes through the front tire forks to match the hole spacing on the iron bar, then attaching the bar with bolts through the new holes. In this case, the front tire forks were wider than the iron bar: to securely hold the bar inside the front tire forks I used a threaded bolt and put a nut, flat washer and lock washer on each side of the bar, You will have to devise some way to attach the plow to the front tire forks at the appropriate distance and slant.
Once the plow is in place, you are ready to go! I found that it works best to make a small trench with a hoe for the bike tire to follow. The handlebars can be adjusted up or down to give the best pushing power for your height and the depth of the plow.
DAVID CAWTHON
Warm Springs, Georgia
When i get mine built, I'll post pictures.