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Tell us about yourself: “I am a retired welder/pipefitter who still enjoys projects like this. My friend is the brains behind the designs and is also a machinist. I am also an Amateur Radio Operator.”
Art needed an alternative to clearing snow by hand, so he and a friend combined their knowledge (Art’s welding and his friend’s machining skills) to build a small loader. While originally meant for removing snow, Art has found many other uses for it. Now he can operate the loader in comfort, while letting the machine handle the heavy work!
Nice project, Art! Thanks for sharing it with us!
What is it used for? I got hurt at work a few years back and have trouble handling snow. This loader is used mostly for that but also for moving things around the yard and anything heavy. It is designed, width wise, to be able to drive up the ramp to our home and back drag the snow away. Turns out I find more uses for it than I ever thought, including spreading grade “A” gravel this summer.
What is the main power source for your project? (e.g. electric motor, gas engine etc.) It uses a 27 HP twin engine. There’s a (gas-powered) generator mounted above the engine on the loader. If power goes out, just drive it around to where ever you need it and start the generator up.
What components are used to perform the work for your project? (e.g. hydraulic cylinder(s), hydraulic motor(s), sprockets, pulleys etc.) Hydraulic cylinders, motors, pumps, flow regulators.
What design/build challenges did you overcome? We built it all from the frame up. Finding the right pump size for the hydrostatic drive, and arm and bucket. My friend likes to call this “on-the-fly” engineering, but the biggest problem was fitting things into the compact space. We used a forklift rear-end for the rear and had to figure out how to run this off a 14 gpm pump. We ended up putting a gear on the pump and designing one for the rear end as well.
We used the solid rubber tires on the rear and found out the first winter that even with studs in them they would get stuck in big potholes, etc. This summer we replaced those with air filled tires and it rides and comes over drop-offs, etc. much better.
If you had to build it again, what would you do differently? Make it bigger.
Which Princess Auto location do you visit most? Dartmouth, NS