Dava grader in process

A couple of years ago, I picked up a Duragrader for another member after Katrina wreaked havoc on their shop and business. While I was there, I picked up a set of blades in anticipation of building one for myself. The project got put on the back burner more times than I can count, especially since the needed use for it went away. However, due to a friend having a lot more spare time and better fabrication skills, the project got moved a little closer to becoming a reality.
As a favor for picking up the Duragrader, Wayne took the time to label all the dimensions of the five footer I picked up for him and send them to me. I took those dimensions and added a few feet to them, and started looking for the materials that I could use to build it. I had a single piece of 4x7x3/8 angle 12 feet long, but needed just over 14 to build this thing. Never did find a short drop, so I finally told a friends shop to look for me one. They found a 4x7x1/2 that was 15 foot long, but they wanted $250 for it. After checking the local steel suppliers, I convinced them to accept a more realistic price for it. At $145 it didn't hurt nearly as much. That was the only piece that I had to purchase after buying the blades. The sides are from a deal with several tables that I got with no money but had to arrange shipping of one to Iowa to get the rest. The four inch square tubing came out of the walls of a local breakfast shop that was being turned into an attorney's office. The runners or skid pads are 2x3/4 flatbar that was stripped from a job of shortening a 45 foot boat trailer into a 27 foot trailer with a 12 foot dump capability. (search Ugly trailer for this). I will add some of the 80 pictures as I get them loaded to photobucket. The 2x2 tubing from the roof of a friends shop. The 3x3 tubing from another trailer project that also ended up in Iowa.
A special note of thanks to Dserf101 who made this happen, took the time to figure out the flaws in my design and supplied the labor. I just took it over to his house and dumped it in his lap and said call me when it's done. GOOD FRIENDS are hard to find, and easy to abuse, so hopefully he is still speaking to me, lol.
Enjoy the pictures as they arrive...
David from jax

Raw materials were needed first, and hauled to the garage of Dserf101 to await assembly.









David from jax

Well, this post with all these pictures sure didn't generate many comments. Guess there were just too many thumbnail pictures to look at.
David from jax

Yeah, I'd like to see somebody complain about a lack of pics now!! Very nice build! I have been playing around designing one for my place, but the need just really isn't there. Great work!!

sandman2234 it appears that you will be using that on a 3 point hitch, right? I have a few questions the angle iron at the bottom of the side rails looks like they are at an angle and on a 3 point hitch that wouldn't matter, but if you was going to tow that behind a utv mule hooked up to pull like a trailer do you believe that would cause the implement to ride sideways or if you was building it to be used like that would you have the angle iron straight across? Does the angle iron extend below the side runners or are they even? Would a box blade be better for leveling out a trail where water has ran across the road washing out little trenches? If you could use the grader to fill in these trenches would you have to put some loose material in it to fill in the low spots or would it cut the high spots and drop off that in the low spots? If you were going to build either the grader or a box blade to do a project such as I mentioned which would be better the box blade or the grader? I haven't used either one so I'm not sure, thanks.

Very nice grader. I noticed that you don't have any extra bracing at the rear of the grader with the exception of the angled blades. I realize that you're using 1/2" side plates, but will the lower blades be enough without a cross brace at the rear of the blade?

Jim in ICT said:

Very nice grader. I noticed that you don't have any extra bracing at the rear of the grader with the exception of the angled blades. I realize that you're using 1/2" side plates, but will the lower blades be enough without a cross brace at the rear of the blade?

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Mine have no rear cross brace and are fine.

Your grader came out very nice. I think you will like it. I use mine quite a bit, and am glad I finally built it. Here's mine.

toy said:

sandman2234 it appears that you will be using that on a 3 point hitch, right? I have a few questions the angle iron at the bottom of the side rails looks like they are at an angle and on a 3 point hitch that wouldn't matter, but if you was going to tow that behind a utv mule hooked up to pull like a trailer do you believe that would cause the implement to ride sideways or if you was building it to be used like that would you have the angle iron straight across? Does the angle iron extend below the side runners or are they even? Would a box blade be better for leveling out a trail where water has ran across the road washing out little trenches? If you could use the grader to fill in these trenches would you have to put some loose material in it to fill in the low spots or would it cut the high spots and drop off that in the low spots? If you were going to build either the grader or a box blade to do a project such as I mentioned which would be better the box blade or the grader? I haven't used either one so I'm not sure, thanks.

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Toy,
The blades are a half inch below the side runners or skids. The main reason for the angled blades is so you can put a slight crown in the road by just raising the rear a half inch from level with your top link. Since the blades are at an angle, and the side rails prevent it from dropping into a washout, it fills a washout, unlike a boxblade that drops into the washout and then pulls the far side with it, actually making the canyon wider. There is a learning curve to the grader,as they are sinsutive to adjustments of the top link. I never had to worry much about the boxblade as long as it was cutting, it worked. The grader seems to do a much better job, as the operator improves. David from jax

Sandman 2234 Thanks for the reply. I have never used either one and it seems that the grader wouldn't be too difficult to make and probably less expensive also. Would a tongue off of a house trailer be good to make the sides out of?

House trailer frames and tongues are lightweight, and wouldn't last behind my tractor, with me operating it, but they might work out ok for a smaller tractor and a more careful operator. I would fishplate the critical areas and maybe add the rear brace Jim was asking about. David from jax

Jim in ICT said:

Very nice grader. I noticed that you don't have any extra bracing at the rear of the grader with the exception of the angled blades. I realize that you're using 1/2" side plates, but will the lower blades be enough without a cross brace at the rear of the blade?

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Actually Jim, the sides are 5/8" which puts the weight even higher, and yes it works fine without a rear brace, but I was thinking about adding a rear plate, pivoting at the top with a hydraulic cylinder to raise and lower, till I actually tried this thing, and realized it moves a lot of dirt without the rear plate, so I don't feel like I will gain anything by adding a rear end piece, except making it heavier. A rear brace isn't need, as was confirmed earlier.
David from jax

Nice build, thanks for sharing the pictures and details. The angle on the blades takes out the washboards also. I watched my neighbor work on his driveway for a couple of weeks with a box blade, only made it worse... Now I see them towing a concrete railroad tie at an angle. A few trips down and back and it is smooth.

Again, thanks for sharing the nice grader.:thumbsup:

sandman2234 said:

Toy,
The blades are a half inch below the side runners or skids. The main reason for the angled blades is so you can put a slight crown in the road by just raising the rear a half inch from level with your top link. Since the blades are at an angle, and the side rails prevent it from dropping into a washout, it fills a washout, unlike a boxblade that drops into the washout and then pulls the far side with it, actually making the canyon wider. There is a learning curve to the grader,as they are sinsutive to adjustments of the top link. I never had to worry much about the boxblade as long as it was cutting, it worked. The grader seems to do a much better job, as the operator improves. David from jax

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Sandman,
That's a nice looking little grader you built with the big advantage of the blades being angled to give the cutting effect. But, If anyone already owns a boxblade, you can achieve the basicly same bridging affect by adding 4-6 ft angle irons with the fronts turned up, to the sides of your boxblade. I anchored mine at the front of the box and slotted the box at the rear so the runners could be adjusted up and down, to adjust the height of the cutting edge to lay a specific depth if you're working with loose material.

Smiley,
That is a good idea to keep from having to build one of these graders. Just wish you had mentioned it about two years ago when I started this project, lol.
David from jax

sandman2234 said:

Well, this post with all these pictures sure didn't generate many comments. Guess there were just too many thumbnail pictures to look at.

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Your thread is bookmarked for later (when the snow flies and I have the free time to get to fabricating :thumbsup ..... I already have some c-channel and square tube set aside for the build, still need to p/u the angle .....

sandman2234 said:

Smiley,
That is a good idea to keep from having to build one of these graders. Just wish you had mentioned it about two years ago when I started this project, lol.
David from jax

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David,
Actually I did post it with photo's a couple years ago, but it was over on machine builders.
I built it not for spreading gravel but for blacktop. I used to get leftover blacktop from some of our jobs (3 full loads one time) so I'd tailgate it out of the trucks up my 350 ft driveway, knock it around with the loader then use the boxblade to spread it at a fairly consistent depth. I had a IH 350 Utility tractor with downpressure on the 3 pt so it worked out real good.
I've got friends in Jax and live on the other side near Crystal River, in the winter. It's too hot for me there now, but when snow flies, that warmer clime sure is nice.
Smiley