The ice buggy build is coming along pretty well! Hope to finish up the prototype tomorrow, hit the ice, and then get to the finishing stages. The initial buggy will be pretty ugly as a prototype should be. I always like showing off a build process so others can comment or draw inspiration for their own builds, so;

Started earlier this week upon receiving this box of mower stationary blades from a friend


Blades radiused and cleaned up, hooray for plasma cutter


Slots cut in carriers to hold the blades


Blades bolted in, yes the bolts are very low, they are there to squeeze the slot and not to bear the load. The load is coupled to the wooden carriers via friction and the blade being bottomed out in the slot.


The rear axle is complete, the runners float on the pipe nipples to help them ride better over chop. The coupling and end cap hold them in place. Spacers will be added to firm up angular travel once the initial testing is complete. Also, the runners will be shaped and painted, right now things are looking pretty raw!


Gave the axle a test jump up and down on, it has a decent amount of spring without being floppy, which will hopefully give me a bit of suspension. The blades don't wobble at all or lift off. Axle is 4' long and will be mounted to the main wooden "frame" by u-bolts.

In the last picture why is one blade longer

Perspective is exaggerated on the tiny lens of the junk phone camera I'm using. Both runners are the same length. The steering runner is a little shorter as the blade it came from was a bit shorter.

U-bolts ready to accept the axle


As a boy, I loved reading my grandfather's old Popular Mechanics and the "Boy Mechanic" plans contained in them. Perhaps that influence and the old farmer's attitude of "the item most suitable for the purpose is the item that is closest at hand" were the inspiration behind the quickly made seat. This is a very sturdy box made sturdier with some engineering, but it obviously can't take very much leaning side to side...


The really simple steering system, this will be replaced by a system that allows the front runner to float as well. It was slapped together to get on the ice this weekend. Captive bolt as bearing, lots of wood glue and screws to bear the torque. Feels sturdy.


Frame assembled. Camera died before the seat was installed.


Perhaps the axle is a little long. It fits in my trailer nicely, but not in my small truck or SUV - fortunately the axle comes off readily and it is sitting in 2 long thin halves in the SUV right now.

The sun is down, it's Canada cold, and there isn't a breath of wind. Testing tomorrow.

Innovative!

I'm excited to see how it works!

Here's my advice from my buggying experience:

Great build up rectifier!

thanks for the very interesting info and pics

Im getting excited to see how she works

Have a great test. If the box doesn't hold, you might end up being a rectum fryer. I have a very basic PL buggy that you'd be welcome to borrow for the remainder of the winter - you could rig some way to attach your blades quite easily I think. I could drop it off the next time I'm heading up to Calgary.

Barely any wind... we might go push it around on the lake though or try a down winder with the big NPW.
The box is definitely temporary... boat seat is going on this puppy if it works OK.
Don't want too much speed with the box seat or the ride could definitely turn into a cheek spreader!

So it's a good thing there was no wind and we just shoved it around the lake. It would've worked great on glare ice, but our local lake currently has some sort of god-forsaken rough bare ice/grain snow/frozen chunks mix on it

So what happens when you transition from ice to crap? The blades sink into the grainy chunks, and then the blunt unfinished fronts of the runners dig in hard, which brings the buggy to a rapid stop. Since the runner is balanced around the center, it can even catch, flip over and run with the blade on the bottom! This wasn't fun but at least while pushing it was more "lame" than it was "superman".

Steering works well though, the blades glide great, and the big surprise is the box seat, which is fairly robust and comfy with a good combination of flexibility and strength. Maybe it will stay on a little longer. Just don't leave it out in the rain.

Back to the shop for some mods:

The blade carrier needs a curved front edge, so if it sinks in, it can ride up and over and not catch. Also, the axle is moved back of the center, in an attempt to emulate leaning back on skis to ride over a rough surface.


The front runner receives the same treatment.


I'm going to make new carriers that fully encapsulate the blades, but this is a quick mod before I waste my time on them and find out they aren't what I wanted. I was going to taper the front of the carriers anyways, but that was going to be a cosmetic thing - turns out it's also important to function!