3pt BH Ford 4000 Subframe?

A 6' hoe is fairly small and not all that powerful. Well, not in terms of tractor breaking strength! It is sure more powerful than a man and a shovel. If you use it mostly for trenching work in softer soils and take care with the stump work, it will probably be ok for a very long time. As you expose the stump's roots, use an ax to cut the roots. Don't power them until they break.

If you use it a lot, you may want to spend the time to make a sub-frame with a 4pt mount. For now, just use it and see.

HD tractors with dedicated hoes will be seen with the bucket in the full dump position lifting the front off the ground and the stabilizers lifting the rear wheels off. They have a full frame that is engineered to do that. Most small hoes don't and a 3pt hoe fer sure does not. just use enough down force to remove the bulge from the tires, but leave the tires on the ground. That will be more stabil and twist the tractor less.

jb

Ford used 2-1/2"x6"x3/8" channel for the subframe on the tractors with hoe's. The bottom hoe mounts then slid into the channel at the rear and were bolted to the channel and the bottom of the axle trumpets. The channel went forward either was part of the FEL mounting. The top mount was from a spot about 3' forward of the axle and rotated down on to the top. It was held in place by a threaded rod welded to a member that mounted just behide the lower mounts.

Tractors of your vintage would have had a 10' or larger hoe and needed extra support.

If your "small" hoe is a 7' or so one you may be ok for occasional use. Even so, I would spend some time and tie it into a solid mounting. 3pt mounted hoes are typically looser and feel sloppier than a mounted hoe. Also, 3pt hoes have been known to stress tractors to the point of cracking transmissions or differentials. It's fairly rare, but the greater the use and the more powerful the hoe, the greater the risk.

HTH,

jb