If You Have a Long Driveway to Maintain ......

[Gordon Gould]

In the spring when things are just getting pretty soft I run my blade backwards at 45* with a little crown tilt along the grass road edge and it doesn't dig in much but it does move gravel as you can see in the picture. I do this mostly to make sure there are no little dams or ruts to prevent the water from running off the road edge after the winter's plowing. When we get the spring rain and snow run off if the water gets trapped or channeled in the road, especially on down grades, things erode quickly.
I never tried this with a rake. I think it would take some practice to keep from ripping the grass unless you ran the rake backwards ?? Don't know, just guessing.

 

[SPYDERLK]

Can someone help me understand a question that's been bothering me for a while? I see lots of members here who really like the use of land planes or box blades for maintaining gravel driveways. But it seems to me that what either mainly does is move gravel along the length of the driveway, as show by the OP's first photo. That would be good for filling potholes or washboarding, I'd think.

But that's not my problem. I have a quarter-mile driveway, fairly steep, in the mountains of western North Carolina. Here's a photo of a part of it.

View attachment 317790

My problem is moving the gravel back on the road after it's thrown to the side by traffic or plowing snow. I find an angle blade works well for that, once one learns how to use it. I'm having trouble seeing how a land plane or box blade would work as well. What am I missing?

Terry

Right on! ... I have a 1 mile drive. Ive tried a rear blade and a York rake and been frustrated with inadequate results for my trouble. So far nothing comes close to a power brush followed by a chain drag. - Pretty much perfect control of where the gravel moves.
larry