Need some ideas on building a land grader

[Taylortractornut]

I made mine straight as most of my work is landsacpe grading and didnt need to favor sides. We had a contractor in the area that had a local shop build one for planing yards. He built in a hydraulic fold out back so it could push backwards and drag a load. they pulled it with a 4440 JD with duals.

 

[brucewj]

I made one from scraps that I had in my scrap pile and grader blades. I had the blades sticking down 1/2 inch.

If I had it to do over again, I would definitely angle the front blade a little. Being straight, the drag wants to "jump" instead of dig in. I also would have made it much heavier , but I was using what I had on hand.

If I could figure out how to do it, I would also make the blades' depth adjustable.

 

[Gordon Gould]

I would hazard a guess that not many of us have used graders with both straight and angled blades. Including me. It is natural to think what you have is better than the other way. I think it is like any other tool - Sometimes angled blades are better and sometimes straight would be better. In any case I think the difference between the two is being over emphasized here. Independant of blade orientation: If the unit is heavy it will cut and not jump; If the unit is heavy the blades will be full of material all the way across and it will fill ruts; If the unit is heavy it will flatten wash board like a dream. My blades are straight - it does a good job, not better. I can go in either direction on either side of a crowned road without worrying about material flow direction. I can maintain a flat road with a pitch running to one side without worrying about material build up on one side. (Crowns are not always desireable.) On the other hand angled blade units can also do those things because there is not that much difference. You just learn to use what you have. Thats my rant and 2 cents worth.
This is the kind of results I get.

 

[Taylortractornut]

Thats a great looking blade Gordon. I like the tailgate on your blade. THat was handy on the contractor blad e I used before.


I did use a land plane one time that had was built similarly to a grader box and it had removable blades thaey could be set on angles. For working feilds and long gravel roads we ran the 4 front blade angles to the right and left and then back again and the 2 back ones straight. We pulled this with a Stieger Panther. On packed gravel the blades working the material left and right mixed the courses and fines better.

It was amazing to watch the material run back and forth.

 

[Gordon Gould]

Thats a great looking blade Gordon. I like the tailgate on your blade. THat was handy on the contractor blad e I used before.


I did use a land plane one time that had was built similarly to a grader box and it had removable blades thaey could be set on angles. For working feilds and long gravel roads we ran the 4 front blade angles to the right and left and then back again and the 2 back ones straight. We pulled this with a Stieger Panther. On packed gravel the blades working the material left and right mixed the courses and fines better.

It was amazing to watch the material run back and forth.

That sounds like a great set up, Front blades angled each way and the back blades straight. I like that.
I have a couple stop pins that the tailgate works against. If I swing the tailgate up and over so it hangs inside it traps material like a box blade. If I swing it to hang on the outside it swings free going forward but if I back against a pile it acts as a blade and I can push stuff off the road. I find it handy.

 

[smiley]

That sounds like a great set up, Front blades angled each way and the back blades straight. I like that.
I have a couple stop pins that the tailgate works against. If I swing the tailgate up and over so it hangs inside it traps material like a box blade. If I swing it to hang on the outside it swings free going forward but if I back against a pile it acts as a blade and I can push stuff off the road. I find it handy.

The one Taylortractornut is talking about sounds just about like the one I built, only mine had only 2 angled blades in front, straight in back and it still worked good. It finally wound up as parts for another project. Yours appears to be just about the same size as mine and the swinging tailgate sounds like a good idea too.

 

[Taylortractornut]

The land plane I was using was 22 feet long and trailed but it hade 3 sets of the blades. I thought about when I built another one I d build in a mix of angled and straight blades. I wished I had also built my sides a little longer and my cross members a bit higher. I clean up alot of old driveways that have a lot of sod comming up in the center. Also reclaiming shoulders. Mine clogs up some times. I built one for a friend and made it like the Soilmover brand and It handled the grass and gravel mix better.

 

[Gordon Gould]

If I get to much sod mine clogs up to. I made sure that I didn't put a cross member over a blade so I would have good clearance. If I get a little sod at a time like on the road edge it rolls around in front of the tailgate and gets chewed up. If it does clog so that it impedes the gravel flow I lift the grader, pull forward a little, then drop the grader and back into the sod pile to push it of the road with the tail gate. I have no trouble with gravel but would definately like it taller if I had a lot of sod.

 

[Jay4200]

I am looking for something to grade my limestone driveway and was looking at a land grader.

What are you trying to achieve? A landscape rake with gauge wheels will provide a perfectly flat result on a gravel drive after a few passes.

JayC

 

[Jay4200]

Thats my rant and 2 cents worth.
This is the kind of results I get.

Is that your driveway? Nitpack (aka hardpack) Gravel, I assume? That's what I used for my driveway. I am impressed by how clean and straight the edges are, more than the flatness of the grade. You must've got the wife out there swinging a shovel to clean up those edges so nice.

JayC