Help with landplane choices for land leveling and road/drive maintenance.

[sandman2234]

David,
I've looked at your pictures quite a bit, and they will come in really helpful for when I build my grader. Thanks for the additional information as well. I see what you mean about the teeth grabbing certain objects like roots and small sticks and things.
I've called a few adds on craigslist but they've all fallen through for steel. That is my hardest part is finding the steel. There is a scrap yard not too far from me and I may try taking a ride up there to see if they have something available. Do scrap yards sell steel to the public? Or do they just buy it and then melt it down and sell it to businesses for reuse? I've never been to a scrap yard before.



Why do some graders have the 2 grader blades almost all the way forward, whereas some graders have the 2 blades almost all the way back?

For instance, this Landpride grader has the blades offset to the rear of the unit.
GS25 Series Grading Scrapers | Land Pride
Same as Road boss...
Home | Road Boss Grader


Whereas a lot of the other's I've seen have them closer to the front of the unit, like the Grade master ones, and most of the homemade versions I see on this forum?
What are the pros and cons on blade placement? Whether closer to the front, or closer to the back?

-Matt

Actually, that may be a optical illusion, as on one side the blades go to the rear and on the other side, they go to the front. The angle is figured out, then the length of the sides is calculated, having to be long enough to handle the rear on one side and the front on the other. I really didn't want my grader to be as long as it was, but with seven foot blades, at what I considered the right angle, it made it considerably longer than I really wanted. Eight or nine foot blades would be restrictive due to the length of the sides. Which side the photographer takes the picture of gives you the impression that the blades are mounted at the front or rear. Notice in the links you posted showing the blades to the rear, that in reality the blade is angled going towards the side you can't see. A straight down camera view would show this better.

As far as scrapyards go, they vary in what they do with their scrap. Very few around here allow you to wander around and buy what you see. Most have a policy, though some can and will vary it depending on the color of your green. Too much chance in getting sued by someone saying they got hurt. Back when I handled the scrap for a couple of machine shops, I had a little more pull than I do now, so I was always trading out aluminum and steel for stuff I could use. Those trips, coupled with friends "finding me stuff" has fueled my projects for many years. Most of those contacts are gone, so useable materials are getting harder to locate back in my stock pile, though I still have more than the average guy.
Another source for metal is machine shops and fab shops. They buy a lot of metal in full lengths and use part of it, then put the drop on the rack. My old boss had a soft spot in his heart for guys looking for a particular piece of metal, because when he started out, if you didn't buy 10K worth of metal a month, the metal suppliers didn't want your business. They did, and still do maintain a minimum purchase amount around here. Typically $500 p/u or more if delivered. One metal supplier is also a scrap yard and last time I checked they had a $200 minimum. I had an account with them for years, and bought a lot of metal (for a homeshop guy).

David from jax

 

[Piston]

Thanks - land plane grader makes it easy. Yes it is homemade. A picture before paint and cutting edges.


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Grader 4'-6" long, 5' wide ( inside) 575 lbs

Notes
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Lift Arm Braces 28" center to center
Upper Cross Braces 2' apart
Blade Mounts 2' apart, first blade mounted 10" back, front of Blade Mounts are 3/4" below runners
3" X 3" triangles cut from bottom corners of sides for runner angles
1/2" Grade 8 bolts and extra long nuts for tail gate stop pins
swinging tailgate up and forward to hang insde against stops is like box blade ( sort of )
swinging tailgate up and back to hang behind stops allows use like push blade in reverse

Steel
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Standard lengths - Bought and picked up at steel supply house, They make one cut at no charge

3/8" X 12" steel plate 20' (2/10') $210
2 sides, 6pcs 6" X 3" for hitch clevises, tail gate

3/8" X 2" steel bar 10' $25
2 runners

2 1/2" X 1/4" Square tube 24' (2/12') $115
2 upper cross members, top link verticle and angle braces, 2 lift arm braces

4" X 4" X 3/8" angle 10' $69
2 cutting blade mounts

1 1/2" schedule 80 blk iron pipe 10' $46
hinge pin for tail gate ( used 3 short pieces of 2" sched 40 I had for hinges )

Total Steel $465

Figure on another $250 or so for a pair of heavy duty cutting edges.

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I copied this quote from another thread, I keep referring back to this thread when thinking about making a land plane, this way I'll have a good pic of Gordon's pretty plane in my notes :thumbsup:

Thanks Gordon. (if you want to post any details/pics I would love to know more )

 

[sandman2234]

One thing not mentioned about my grader is the hook-like thing on the back side of the top link. It was already fab'd on the piece of metal I was using, and I just incorporated into my design. I use it all the time to hang chains on when I have the grader on the tractor and need to pull something using a chain. I just hang the chain there and it rides fine till I need it.
David from jax