JUST MY OWN .02 I love fabricating and designing things for my tractor. When i decided to build one of these, I did a lot of research and browsing. I think the 2 most important things to a good grader is weight and length overall with a cutting edge close to center. The longer the grader, the flatter the grade. I have a york rake with gage wheels, and it works well but it pulls up the larger rocks (which you really want to leave as good hard base material) and then you end up with a win-row of rocks. The box scraper I have also does OK especially after I added
ballast to help prevent chatter marks, bouncing, and to dig more solid. Also I added a hydraulic top link in which you can allow the material to build up or let out. the one problem with the box scraper was rocks would get caught in the box / cutting edge and just make for a pain, not to mention it would follow a tighter contour of humps because of it's shorter length. the box scraper does work well for crowning or ditching by adjusting your 3pt arm.
The land leveler / plane or whatever they want to call it has some great advantages over the others by the overall size makes it 1. heavier 2. longer overall 3.more stable 4. material still builds up inside for a reserve to fill low spots 5.it allows material to flow out the back when not needed. 6. no win-rows. Now here is one great advantage and I might find some disagreements. The cutting edges are set from right to left not for the purpose of crowning, but for the purpose of cutting. (very little material moves from one side to the other, it really just pours out the back) Think of it as a knife sliding across the ground, making the cut more effective rather than a knife being dragged across the ground bouncing and chattering. When I want to crown a grade I set one side higher than the other. Also 2 cutting edges are normally used for double the pleasure, double the reserve material, double the chances of a smooth cut, but more importantly it breaks up and churns the material so when it flows out the back it lays smoother and flatter. Heavier rocks will tend to settle on the surface, but you'll get that anyway except with a rock rake. Besides it's nice when the rocks don't get trapped like that of a box scraper. A quick pass with a roller or compactor does wonders. I still use a hydraulic top-link for adjustments on the fly, it really helps to work the material. I made mine 6' wide and i think 5' long. it would have been nicer to have it longer but i didn't want it sticking out that far, it would have made it that much more difficult to maneuver. Well there you have it. I feel like an editor writing an article. I'm just another average guy who thinks he can solve all the problems of the world.:confused2:
