Gauge Wheels on a Scraper: Progress Report

[HomeBrew2]

Rob, I'm just up the road a piece from you. Actually in Squaw Valley but say Dunlap cuz I got tired of giving everybody the geography lesson that I'm NOT near Tahoe. I'm east of Hwy 63 (north of Visalia), on Hwy 180 towards Kings Canyon Nat'l Park.
You might try planting a lawn to attract the pigs ... worked well for me /forums/images/graemlins/wink.gif

 

[3RRL]

Steve,
That is nearby me!

I drove into Kings Canyon and out through Sequoia on the 198. That's how I found my place at Three Rivers a few years back.

Don't know if you've checked my website but I live in the foothills and there's natural grass all over the place (not planted or intentional lawn). I hear what you say and I'm sure when I plant my lawn they'll come runnin'. We've got some hogs near the riverbed about 500 yards away, but have never seen them on the property. I tried to lure them in but no luck yet. A guy here TBN (Schmalts) told me to make up a 50 lb. batch of corn soaked in sour milk and topped off with a couple of cans of beer. Let it sour it real good and put it in a hole in the ground they'll come smell it out. I did that a month ago with no luck yet. 'Course it's rained several times since and maybe the scent is down because of it. I may need to throw more sour mild and beer on it again.

Are you going to that AG show in Tulare this month? I think it's the 12th, 13th & 14th? If you are, PM me and maybe we can meet...that would be dandy.

 

[HomeBrew2]

This weekend I decided to finish up a swale that I started a while back. Originally, my soil was just too dry and hard to do much more than rough out the alignment. Now it has taken some rain and dried to the poing where dirt sticks to the back of the box but flakes off easily with a shovel.

My setup was to shorten the 3PH side link all the way then adjust the gauge wheels so the right one was twice as high as the left thus following the tilt pretty close. I used the top link to set a workable cutting depth ... had to increase it a little then back it off some.

The wheels provide a smooth clean consistant cut. I was able to pull ~150' of dirt. I had the BX at 3/4+ throttle, 4wd (as always), low range, diff locked and ran some speed to keep momentum up to overcome the drag. As you can (barely) see in the pic, the box has dirt piled 6"+ above the top and had even overflowed slightly.

 

[HomeBrew2]

Finished swale ... with virtually no skill required ... machine does all the work: wind up motor, drop box blade, hold beer tightly, stand on go-pedal /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif

 

[Highbeam]

Was there an end haul of material that had filled the box? As you move along and the blade becomes full, what do you do with it? I am thinking since the box is angled the you couldn't just raise the box a little and skid the material to the end without it dumping out.

Is the final swale pictured from a single pass? Is the swale to receive sheet flow or to transport water from an upstream puddle? Asking because it appears that there is a sidecast berm that would prevent sheet flow from being picked up.

I sure wish our ground was that dry. The nice weather will soon begin drying us out just in time for a spring blast of rain.

 

[RonR]

Hey Homebrew,

I must have missed these. Would you please post or PM me a couple of closeups of the receiver hitch mount on your box blade and where the tube mounts to the wheel assembly (above the wheels).

THKS.

ron

 

[HomeBrew2]

>Was there an end haul of material that had filled the box?

No, that was a single pass of 100-150'.

>As you move along and the blade becomes full, what do you do with it?

Because the swale was just roughed in originally, my first finish pass required me to dump the box about half way. Then pull it away with the FEL. Then resume that pass.
Because that pass took out the bumps and filled the bottoms, I was able to haul the box all the way on the subsequent passes, then just scatter the dirt. You can really make a fine depth adjustment with the toplink.

>I am thinking since the box is angled the you couldn't just raise the box a little and skid the material to the end without it dumping out.

Yes you can. I chose to set the cutting height pretty shallow for the length I had to run and and almost didn't make it, but did. Interestingly, the gauge wheels allow a much smoother feathering effect, tilted or not, than I could ever get without the wheels.

>Is the final swale pictured from a single pass?

The part in the foreground was roughed in some monthes ago so it took 4 passes total. The part in the background is new and took 3 passes ... ~4-6" deep.

>Is the swale to receive sheet flow or to transport water from an upstream puddle? Asking because it appears that there is a sidecast berm that would prevent sheet flow from being picked up.

Sheetflow, from the left only. The pics are a bit misleading anyway. Sidecast is minimal, if any and will probably wind up getting scattered with the mower. Eventually I'll cut the other side so it looks more like a valley gutter rather than rolled curb and gutter.
Cheers!

 

[Gamemaster]

How about some close-ups and different camera angles on that gauge-wheel set-up? appreciate it...

 

[HomeBrew2]

Ron, Gamemaster,
I don't have a pic with me showing a closeup of the receiver on the box but, it as simple as just that ... 6" receivers welded directly to the top rear corners of the box
The following are closeups of the backblade setup which has more parts to it. Pardon the mud and rust ...

 

[HomeBrew2]

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