How to Make a Wood Pedal for a Plow

Farmers and homeowners in rural areas know the importance of do-it-yourself equipment repair. Generally, mechanics and other professionals may be miles away and not able to look at your implements immediately to get you back in service. To do repairs yourself, at times you need to use ingenuity and create parts from scrap wood or parts from abandoned equipment. Since many plows sit outside year-round, the elements can take a toll and cause rust or damage to the pedals and other parts.

Instructions

1

Remove the rusted or broken pedal from the plow. Depending on the technique used to put the bolt in place, it may be necessary to use two wrenches or a corded impact wrench to remove the bolt, nut and washer.

2

Measure the distance of the connecting arm, which is the length of metal between the bolt hole and pedal, from the piece removed. This arm needs to be replicated along with the pedal, so the plow operator can use the equipment comfortably.

3

Record the size of the pedal to be reproduced. If the old pedal is no longer part of the piece removed, estimate the appropriate size it needs to be.

4

Cut a length of pressure-treated lumber to size for the connecting arm. Drill a hole at one end big enough to accommodate the bolt attaching it to the existing plow.

5

Build the replacement pedal. First, cut a piece of treated wood to size for the flat surface. Cut two 1 x 2 inch strips the length of the pedal. Cut two 1 x 2 inch strips to one-sixteenth inch greater than the width of the connecting arm.

6

Mark the location where the connecting arm will meet the pedal. About half an inch outside the marks, drill pilot holes through the pedal. Screwing through the top of the pedal, attach the smaller pieces to the bottom side outside of the marks. Using the smaller pieces as a guide, screw the longer strips to the bottom of the pedal. This creates a receiving point on the bottom of the pedal for the connecting arm.

7

Place the top of the connecting arm into the plow pedal's receiving point. Drill a hole large enough to accommodate a carriage bolt through the longer strips and connecting arm. Insert the carriage bolt and secure with a lock nut.

8

Attach the wood pedal to the plow using the bolt taken off the equipment at the start of the project. If the original bolt is not useable, replace it with a new bolt, washer and nut.