Fabricating a Mid Mount Grader Blade Assembly for a D-Series Tractor

[BradKahler 410]

I've decided I need a mid mount grader blade for my 18 HP Automatic and I realize the odds of finding one are pretty much non existent so I'm going to make one.  I found someone that's willing to provide me with dimensions so I've started the ball rolling.  It took a few weeks but the fab shop was able to roll 1/4" steel plate so I now have the blade, the blade backing plate and some 1-1/2" x 2-1/2" tubing.  I'll post pictures and build information for anyone that wants to fabricate their own setup.  The two round discs are for fabrication of a rear hub puller for the 18 HP.  

 

More to come....

 

[TonyToro Jr. 2,547]

I’ll definitely be following along. Maybe my d series will need one.. 

[C100guy94 127]

Oh yea definitely following this. 

Would love to do this myself. 

If you don't mind me asking whats a shop charge to have that rolled? 

 

 

[BradKahler 410]

6 hours ago, C100guy94 said:

Oh yea definitely following this. 

Would love to do this myself. 

If you don't mind me asking whats a shop charge to have that rolled? 

 

 

 

I bought three items from the shop and didn't get a breakdown on cost.  I bought six feet of 1-1/2" x 2-1/2" tubing and online pricing puts the cost for that piece at about $80.  The total bill was $280 so that leaves about $200 to roll the two 1/4" thick plates.  I doubt the labor to roll two pieces, one long and one short, would be different for either piece since they are being rolled to the same curve.  I guess the bottom line is I would say I got the two rolled plates for $200 for material and labor.  

 

The grader blade I made for my B100 used 3/16" plate and was 48" wide and it only cost me about $60 for the blade and I'm guessing the difference in plate thickness probably had something to do with the price increase.

 

In the near future I'll upload the first drawing that shows some of the dimensions.  The guy I'm working with got most of them but there were a few missing and I need those dimensions to know what other materials I need to obtain.  

 

I'm in the middle of tearing into the transaxle at the moment so as mentioned previously, the grader blade project will stretch out over several months.  No need for a grader blade when the tractor isn't running

 

 

[C100guy94 127]

34 minutes ago, BradKahler said:

  No need for a grader blade when the tractor isn't running

 

 

Well logically you may be right there can't say I can argue. 

What I will say is the 😈 on my shoulder would probably be knocking out the 😇 on my shoulder telling me how I just have to do the blade first. 

 

But no your 100% right on what your doing just poking fun. 

You did an amazing job on the last blade.

And I would also much rather take the route your going. 

Spend the money at a shop to prep the blade then even finding a good conditioned one for the same cost or near. 

The experience also is something you don't get from buying used 

 

 

[BradKahler 410]

On 8/30/2026 at 6:03 PM, C100guy94 said:

Well logically you may be right there can't say I can argue. 

What I will say is the 😈 on my shoulder would probably be knocking out the 😇 on my shoulder telling me how I just have to do the blade first. 

But no your 100% right on what your doing just poking fun. 

You did an amazing job on the last blade.

And I would also much rather take the route your going. 

Spend the money at a shop to prep the blade then even finding a good conditioned one for the same cost or near. 

 

One of my biggest problems is trying to concentrate on what "needs" to be worked on now and not get distracted by what I "want" to work on now.  

 

Unfortunately more often than not the latter is what happens and consequentially I never seem to get anything completed 

 

Quote

The experience also is something you don't get from buying used 

 

The experience and the enjoyment of doing something yourself.  I look at projects like this as a challenge, I don't always succeed but it's fun while it lasts.

 

Below is the first set of dimensions I received.  There are a few more I need to ask for.  I suppose most could be deduced but I'd like to stay as close to original as I can.  Anyway, I hope this helps you get started.

 

Edit: I forgot, the length of the blade is 50".

 

Edited September 5 by BradKahler

[BradKahler 410]

The gentleman (Rick) that has been kind enough to provide me with dimensions was out of pocket for a week or so.  Yesterday he provided me with the last few dimensions I needed to start fabricating and to get the rest of the metal ordered.   This morning I got the 3/4" holes drilled in the uprights and the A frame section tack welded together. 

 

Once I get the remaining metal, probably early next week, fabrication should go a happen at a faster pace.  The only tricky part is the sector plate (plate with 3 slots), but I've already fabricated one for my other grader blade so I pretty much know how to lay it out and punch the holes. 

 

 

 

 

 

I'm also attaching the pictures that Rick provided of his blade which explains a few things better than the parts diagram shows.  The big one is the bottom side of the blade that has the pivot support attached to the blade (2nd picture below).  That isn't shown anywhere in the diagram.  

 

 

 

 

 

More to come over the next few weeks or so....

 

 

[Bugzilla46310 56]

There is one on marketplace in Kirkland IN for sale. Only 1 photo of it posted which really shows less details than the photos of Rick’s you have.

[BradKahler 410]

I haven't made a lot of progress on the grader blade lately, with the big drop in temperature I've been out removing old fencing among other things.  I should be getting back to more fab work in the next week or so.  I did worth through various issues on paper to make sure I was building it correctly and I've attached a couple of sketches showing how things fit together.  Also attached is a picture of the almost completed quadrant plate.  I just need to clean up the slots and radius the top and it will be ready to weld in place.  

Brad

 

 

 

 

 

 

[BradKahler 410]

More progress on the grader blade fabrication.  It's actually starting to look like something that might work. I've finished the slot in the A-frame plate for the sector lock arm to lock into and I'm currently waiting on some round stock for making the two bushing clamps that hold the sector locking arm.  I was getting ready to drill the mounting holes in the blade and realized that the blade was twisted, i.e. it wouldn't lay flat on the floor.  Apparently when the shop was feeding it into their roller they weren't holding it straight.  I took it back and they are going to straighten it for me.  

 

I did make one change in how the blade mounts to the backing plate.  The original design used 6 mounting holes, I changed it to 8.  The middle holes were really close to the round pivot block so I decided to put bolts on each side of the pivot block instead.  Other than that I've been trying to stick to the original design as much as possible. The last important component to fabricate is the lifting arm assembly.  I have the material but I'd like to have the sector arm installed first.  

 

Now if only I had a running tractor to use with the blade