Norman Fox loved his new John Deere Z740R mower. But at 83, balance issues made him nervous about getting on and off the machine. He fixed the problem by going through his scrap pile to find parts to build a grab bar that looked like it came from the factory.

   “I don’t like to drill holes in brand new machines,” Fox says, so he found existing holes on the deck to work from.

   He bent a 3/4-in. steel pipe to create the grab bar and welded a 1/2 by 1 1/2 by 5-in. plate with a drilled hole and a gusset on each side to set over the holes. Fox secured the grab bar legs with 3/8-in. bolts.

   “It’s very solid,” he says, noting he was fortunate to bend the pipe at the right angle the first time. It’s close enough that he can hold on to the bar to get on the mower and to help him sit down, stand up, and get off. A neighbor gave him leftover truck bed liner paint to make the bar easier to grip.

   As a bonus, Fox bought a toolbox online and drilled holes in it to attach to a piece of metal welded to the grab bar legs.

   “I use it to hold my billfold, cell phone, goggles, garage door opener, and other things,” he says, pointing out he added a John Deere decal after painting everything the appropriate green.

   “I’ve had people ask if it bothers my vision and it doesn’t. It’s like a muffler on a tractor. You don’t even see it,” Fox says.

   Contact: FARM SHOW Followup, Norman Fox, 71 Hoover Rd., Carlisle, Penn. 17015 (thebigfox1938@aol.com).