Homemade Pull behind grader

   / Homemade Pull behind grader #1  

kdlamoreaux

New member
Joined
Oct 5, 2010
Messages
3
Tractor
Mahindra 2616 hst
After doing a lot of reading on this site and looking at all of the projects I decided to embark on a build of my own. This is a tow behind road grader that I built to reshape and rebuild my road and driveway. Please take a look and let me know if you have any suguestions, I am always looking to make it better.

thanks Doug
 

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   / Homemade Pull behind grader #3  
Welcome to TBN.
Do plan on adding some sort weight over scraper rear tires?..help for traction also stop bouncing when pulling.
 
   / Homemade Pull behind grader #4  
After doing a lot of reading on this site and looking at all of the projects I decided to embark on a build of my own. This is a tow behind road grader that I built to reshape and rebuild my road and driveway. Please take a look and let me know if you have any suguestions, I am always looking to make it better.

thanks Doug

I would suggest shortening the distance between the blade and wheels - make it as short as you can before the blade interferes. Narrow the wheelbase if you have to.

As the pull vehicle rises and falls through the whoop-do-doos, the blade will follow and re-create the whoops, but the vehicle to blade distance behind. However, the height/depth of the new whoop will be reduced by roughly the ratio of the distance from blade to back wheels divided by puller to back wheels. With a very short distance between blade and wheels, the blade will have little vertical movement - two passes and it'll be flat!

I like it though - it looks pretty rugged.

JayC
 
   / Homemade Pull behind grader #5  
Graders were one of my favorite machines to run just behind excavators, mainly because I could actually cut a good grade with them unlike dozers where the blade is out in front and you can get rocking back and forth and do what we called fancy dozer work. That's when you've got bumps all over the place and the boss hollers "never mind that fancy work, just make it level".
As Thomas suggested , weight will definately help. I can't quite tell from the photo but it looks like you can adjust the tilt with the link on the rear axle which will help to build the crown in the center. As far as length, the general theory as I always understood it, is the more length the better, as it will bridge further over any crowns to take them out and fill in the hollows over a longer area.
You've probably already discovered you can't cut much at a time. To start you can run through with a straight blade cutting lightly to discover where your highs and lows are. When you get them pretty well filled, start at the edge of the road and wing toward the center with a light cut. That action of the material moving across the blade fills any depressions the straight blade didn't get and the loose material in the resulting windrow will easily wing across on the next pass. You may have to move the material back and forth a couple times until you're satisfied that it's smooth enough. For any leftover windrows, just raise outside blade edge a little and lose it. There is one problem with working the grade too much though and that is segregation. The larger stones will tend to come to the surface while the fines settle and unless you have a really good roller, you may get what we call raveling, where the stones get kicked off by traffic and you get an uneven surface again.
It's very hard to tell anyone how to grade, it's more of get out and do it until you learn how.
Hope this helps.
Smiley
 
   / Homemade Pull behind grader #6  
Welcome Doug, as you use it, you will be able to tell more of what it needs, than anyone. good luck man. looking good. zman :thumbsup:
 
   / Homemade Pull behind grader #7  
I made one and couldn't get it to track stright with blade turned and moving much gravel. You well need alot of weight over the wheels to keep it stright behind the tractor, as was said before.
 
   / Homemade Pull behind grader #8  
Doug:

I like it!

What is the function of the adjustable link at the rear, to tilt left or right?
 
   / Homemade Pull behind grader
  • Thread Starter
#9  
Thanks guys for all of the tips. I finally had a chance to use it last night and I must say it worked as well as I hoped. The blade did a good job cutting into the ground and I was able to take about a 2"-3" cut (blade angled to the right and tilted -3", then the whole blade lowered 1.5"). The grader tracked fine even with a full blade piled up it followed the tractor pretty well. I cut and shaped about 200 ft of road and it came out pretty smooth (so I thought) then I switched to the roller ( 6'x2' block of granite). Once it was compacted I can see some areas that still need some work, but not bad for a first timer. This weekend I will finish the road and I will try to get some action shots.
 
   / Homemade Pull behind grader #10  
I think I might try mine again. I might of had my wheels to close to the blade, Yours are back more then mine was and that might of been my trouble.
 
 
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