How to make a snow blower from a Druzhba chainsaw

A small snow blower with a chainsaw engine will help the owner of the cottage to clear the yard and the surrounding area from snow. For the manufacture of homemade products, it is unnecessary to buy expensive spare parts. The frame and body of the snowplow can be welded from metal lying around in the yard, the main thing is that a working engine is available. The more powerful the motor, the more productive a homemade snow blower from a chainsaw can be made.

How does a snow blower work and what does it consist of?

The design and operation of a homemade snow blower is no different from factory counterparts. The driving force is provided by the motor, so it is desirable that it be powerful. It is better to take an engine for a snow blower from a Druzhba or Ural chainsaw. Motors of these brands are characterized by endurance, power and long service life.

In addition to the engine itself from a chainsaw, snowplows will need to weld a frame. In order for the machine to move by itself, it can be equipped with a drive and put a pair of wheels or tracks. It is easier to attach skids from below. Then the car will have to be pushed so that it rides like on skis. The body of the snowplow itself is bent and welded from sheet metal. The working mechanism is the screw. It rakes the snow with disc doges, grinds it, and two rotating blades push the loose mass through the discharge sleeve.

Improved homemade snowplows are additionally equipped with a rotary nozzle. The design resembles a vacuum cleaner and consists of an impeller with welded blades. The snow blower rotor is placed in a round housing, after which it is attached to the back of the auger bucket. During rotation, the fan sucks loose snow coming from the auger. Inside the housing, the snow mass is additionally ground and thrown out through the outlet sleeve with a strong air flow.

The sequence of work in the manufacture of a snow blower

To design a snow blower from a chainsaw with your own hands, you need to prepare drawings. There is nothing complicated here. The general scheme of the machine can be seen in the photo. The most difficult will be the process of creating an auger, but this still needs to be reached. When making a snowplow from a chainsaw, the dimensions of the bucket and auger are calculated so that they capture a snow cover 50 cm wide and 40 cm high. If the motor power from Druzhba or the Urals allows, then the size of the structure can be increased.

So, let’s get acquainted with how to make a snow blower from an old but working chainsaw:

• The first step in the manufacture of a snow blower from a Ural or Druzhba chainsaw is to check the motor itself for performance. If the engine starts easily and runs stably, it must be freed from the tire, handle and other mechanisms that are unnecessary for the snow blower.
• The bucket is welded from a metal sheet. First, a strip 50 cm wide is bent in a semicircle, and then the side shelves are welded. Inside, the diameter of the bucket should be 2 cm larger than the dimensions of the auger. The optimal dimensions are: the diameter of the rotor disc knives is 28 cm, the bucket is 30 cm.
• A hole with a diameter of 150 mm is cut from above in the center of the bucket. A pipe for the exhaust hose is welded here. If the auger design is improved by a fan, then another hole is cut through the back of the housing. Here the rotor casing with the impeller will be fixed.

  

• Do-it-yourself auger shaft for a snow blower can be made from a piece of metal pipe with a round section with a diameter of 20 mm. Blades are welded in the center. They will throw snow. On both sides, I weld trunnions to the pipe. Bearings No. 305 are mounted on them. On the drive side, the trunnion is made longer. An asterisk is placed on it. In the combined screw-rotor design, a gearbox is installed instead of the blades, as shown in the photo. It transmits torque from the auger to the fan. To avoid jamming of the bearings on the auger, they should only be installed in a closed type. The plugs will prevent sand and dirt from getting in.
• Circular knives are cut from steel sheet. First, the rings are cut out, cut from the side anywhere, and then stretched to the sides. The resulting half-rings of the spiral are welded onto the shaft in turns towards the blades. It is easier to leave the edge of the knife even, but such an auger is unlikely to overcome the ice build-up. Here you can try to cut a jagged edge, which will easily cope with packed snow, and also cut a thin ice crust.

  

• You can equip homemade snow blowers with an auger with rubber blades. They are often cut with a jigsaw from car tires. But this design will only cope with loose snow.
• To install the auger inside the bucket, the bearing hubs are bolted to the side shelves. It is important to find the exact center here, otherwise the drum will wag and the knives will cling to the bucket body.
• When the previously made bucket design is equipped with an auger, it is time to think about attaching a chainsaw engine to the snow blower. Here you will need to weld the frame on which all the elements of the snow blower will be fixed.

  

• The photo shows a diagram of a simple frame. It is welded from a metal corner. The optimal size of the structure is 48×70 cm. A jumper is placed in the middle, and two longitudinal elements are attached to it, fitting the chainsaw motor under the fasteners.
• For the movement of the snow blower, any wheelset is suitable. It can be connected with a chainsaw motor drive to make a self-propelled machine. The disadvantage of this design is poor flotation in deep snow. It is easier to use wooden skids instead of wheels. Skis go easily in the snow and do not fall through.
• When the assembly of the frame with the undercarriage is completed, a bucket with an auger is attached to it. Behind him, they install an engine removed from a chainsaw with their own hands. The pulleys of the working shaft of the motor and the auger are connected by a belt. If sprockets are selected, then a chain is put on.

The entire assembled snow blower mechanism must be turned by hand. The auger should rotate easily, and the knives and drive parts should not cling to the frame and bucket elements. After receiving a positive result, the assembly of the snow blower is completed. It remains to fix the fuel tank to the frame, make control handles, and close all working mechanisms with a galvanized casing.

The video shows a snow blower powered by a Ural chainsaw engine:

In the finale, the most exciting moment comes – starting the engine. If no mistakes were made during assembly, then the auger will start rotating when the motor starts. The operator needs to put on a sleeve with a guide cap on the bucket outlet and you can try to clean the snow.