Going down-slope without the weight box and with a full FEL makes the front end terribly unbalanced, even at a dead crawl the rear wheels may come off the ground. With the weight box the rear end stays on the ground. I still drive slowly because bumps can start the tractor rocking fore and aft. It's disconcerting. I made the box about from 1/2 inch plate cut to 1.5 ft x 2.5 ft by 1.5 ft deep. I welded a couple of cross braces (3/8 inch rebar) inside of the box, about half-way to the bottom. Then poured concrete and scrap steel into the box. I estimate that the box weights about 600 pounds. The hydraulics hook to both ends of the long end of the box.

I have never used the ripper to bury pipe. I have seen 2" schedule 40 bent around a middlebuster and pulled into the trench created by the middlebuster. Then go back and fill-in the trench. It puts the pipe about 6" under the soil surface. That's enough down here, given light frost and rare longterm freezing. Probably not deep enough farther north.

The ripper I built from the tooth of a large box blade (the tooth is 3/4" mild steel with a hardened tip). For the hydraulic lifters I cut a hole on each side of the pipe and vertically welded the tooth to the pipe. I cut holes in two steel plates for the pegs and then welded the pegs to the plates, cut to fit at each end of the pipe. I used another piece of pipe welded vertically to the pipe. I cut a notch on the top of the pipe for the top link. Then cut holes through the pipe for the pin. I cut a short segment of 3/4" steel pipe to slide through the two holes and welded them in place on both sides of the notch, inside and outside. Then I cut the smaller pipe away from the walls of the drill pipe, essentially making smooth bushings welded to the drill pipe so the toplink could move freely on the pin, with the pin smoothly contacting the bushings.

I got some big 7014 rods and built-up the face of the tooth which I then sharpened with a grinder so that the ripper would have a working edge rather than a flat face. In operation I have found that I should make a sharper bevel, which means welding a least 3 more beads of 7014.

For the entire project I used mild steel and 7014 rods. I used the core welder only to tack pieces prior to welding. The stick welder is a Miller Bobcat 225. I ran the rods at between 120 and 150 amps DC to get good penetration. I have some stainless rods somebody gave me and I'm thinking about building-up the cutting edge with stainless. So far my experience welding stainless has been terrible -- like gobs of shiny chickchit where there should be a bead. But stainless is a lot more wear resistant, if I can figure it out.

I highly recommend finding a friend who has a Bobcat welder and stealing it. That machine makes you think you can weld! But oh boy, that list price is scary for a non-professional, sometimes welder!