need advice building a road drag

[brucewj]

brucewj: The drag you built is almost exactly what I envision for my needs. Where I will make a change is at the front blade. I will flip it end for end and weld it to the bottom of the sides so that the cutting edge will shave the high points but not dig aggressively. Other than the sides being heavier channel than yours, mine will be almost a copy. Also, instead of using a top link I plan to have a length of chain there. That way the drag will be self balancing while in use.

NormL

I angled the front blade on mine so that the blade would "slice" rather than dig. I was also hoping that the scrapings would float over the front blade and then be smoothed by the blade on the back of the drag. It works pretty much as planned.

As to using chains, you can see eye bolts on the back of the drag. I hooked up chains when I first built it instead of the solid bars going to the top link.

I find that I can adjust the angle much better with solid bars instead of chain, and without chains the device seems to drag much smoother.
YMMV

 

[NormL]

NormL

I angled the front blade on mine so that the blade would "slice" rather than dig. I was also hoping that the scrapings would float over the front blade and then be smoothed by the blade on the back of the drag. It works pretty much as planned.

As to using chains, you can see eye bolts on the back of the drag. I hooked up chains when I first built it instead of the solid bars going to the top link.

I find that I can adjust the angle much better with solid bars instead of chain, and without chains the device seems to drag much smoother.
YMMV

I had thought of angling my first blade that way but I thought it could work well just positioned underneath with the cutting edge turned down. The thickness of the blade will be the depth of the cut and any material loosened this way will float over the blade and accumulate in front of the rear blade, filling holes and ruts as it moves over them. Any excess would spill over the back and once the dragging is done I can use my backblade to shape the crown. Also, if the chain in place of the toplink proves to be a mistake, I can always go back to a regular toplink.:laughing:

 

[billybobjimmyjoejack]

You might check into the design of a grader/scraper. If you go to everythingattachnents.com there is a video of the grader/scraper in action. I was able to find a used 5' box blade for $150 and used the scraper blades and the 3 point and modified the sides to be longer and put on skid shoes and I also made the blades independently adjustable for height which will allow me to put a crown in a road. I think I have about $250 into the whole thing including all new hardware. The 3 point works great all you do is lift and carry it instead of dragging to a storage area and it seems to have plenty of weight and cuts very well. I pull mine with a Ford 1715 and it seems to work fine.

 

[Renze]

The problem with a drag is that it pushes material out into the ditches and lowers the center of the road. It then collects water. Water leads to potholes. No matter how you try a drag will never properly crown a road.

He could pull it with two chains on each corner, one longer than the other so it drags at an angle. It still cant build crowns but at least it wont eliminate it either...