LPGS For Kubota B2910

   / LPGS For Kubota B2910
  • Thread Starter
#21  
Also, since the LPGS is wider than the tractor the sides can extend forward to keep the weight closer to the tractor to help in lifting it.
Also another very good point :thumbsup: ... will scope my clearances when I go back up here in a few, in terms of positioning the 3PH.
 
   / LPGS For Kubota B2910
  • Thread Starter
#22  
Not all grader blades have the holes centered. I have a pair like the smaller one in this photo. Double-edged but off-center holes.

View attachment 466725

Bruce
Thanks.

All cutting edges built to use on a commercial road grader are non reversible. Holes are offset.
Hmmm ... gonna have to think about this a bit ... free ... or reversible ?

That's why I suggest securing the edges before building so you use the right material that can be drilled in the right place.
Yup ... not going to be doing any drilling until I figure out what might be available to me and what I'm going to use.

Fortunately tomorrow is Saturday and my neighbor should be around and out on his property so there's a decent chance I might have an answer from him, one way or another.

If no soap there, then I'll have to do some more digging.
 
   / LPGS For Kubota B2910 #23  
I buy my cutting edge from an equipment rental/ repair company. Haven't bought any real recent but it wasn't anywhere near $25 a foot.

Shipping might kill it but I've also bought replacment cutting edges for my back blade from agri supply, $104 for a 6ft double sided.
 
   / LPGS For Kubota B2910 #24  
Yeah ... rethinking this:


I'll keep the 4' length on the ground, and rather than cutting the side plates to achieve the upward angles at front and rear, I'll use some bar stock to form the runners and then plate them in ... less useless waste that way.

Good plan. And other than cosmetics they wouldn't even need plated in at the front. No material carried there.
 
   / LPGS For Kubota B2910 #25  
Everyone will have a different way to build a lpgs, and there are many designs that will work satisfactorily. You can easily see that the two I built have different shapes and materials used to build the skids. I use my lpgs quite a lot from driveways, lawns to open fields. I have picked up a few things that help with their use and will add some changes to subsequent builds. The more you use one the more important the subtle differences make.

Of all the home built designs I have seen on TBN so far I like Gordon Gould's and my own the best. When I build another one it will combine some of the features of both Gordon's and mine. Just my opinion.

My opinion on a few points discussed in this thread, you can take them or leave them.

Skid length, short skids will work but not as well as longer skids. Motor graders have a long wheel base for a reason and the same principle applies here. There is a huge difference in how smooth you can get a driveway or field depending on how long the skids are.

Blade setting is another point of interest, if all you ever do is work a gravel driveway you could set the blades 3/4" below the skids and leave them there (fixed). This would give you slightly better mixing of the fines and larger rock. If you do fine or precision grading and packing, the blades are better set flush, this keeps you from moving material that is where it should be. Before packing the ground or driveways a lpgs with the blades 1/2" above the skids will still churn up a full load of gravel very quickly because the skids will dig in the loose materials. As you pack the surface down the skids tend to ride on the surface and you move less material. The reason I choose to set my blades flush with the bottom of the skids is simple, it works on both loose and packed surfaces without a need to adjust the height.

Grader blades are not all the same. A good quality, heavy duty blade will cost more than a soft, thin and short one. You can pick either a single edged or double edged reversible blade as long as it is mounted properly it will work. The better quality blades will last longer than the cheap thin ones, take your pick. I agree with Richard (overszd) that you should mount the blades to their support before mounting. I found that 3" angle did not have enough room to allow the plow bolts and nuts to be tucked under the edge enough to prevent wearing the nuts down, 4" angle was a better fit and is what I suggest. The plow bolts are 5/8" and require these holes to be the same size and you need enough clearance to get a socket on the back side to tighten them. Once you have the angle iron and blades made up you can choose the height you want to install them.

How far forward you set the skids is a consideration, when I built the smaller lpgs for the garden tractor I took this and the height of the limited category 1 hitch into consideration. I use a 12' trailer with a fold down tailgate to transport and made sure that it would fit inside, just enough room.

Size of the overall land plane, you don't want to struggle too much pulling it and have your tires spin. This is a finishing tool and if you spin the tires you have a hole to fill in. Better to have one you can pull a little easier and faster, you can get the same amount of work done in the same amount of time. A 54" or 60" width with long skids is what I would recommend for the 2910. With the optional tail gate similar to Gordon's design the overall weight should be in the 700 lb. range and is all you want to handle.

Here are a few pictures of the 4' and 8' land plane grader scrapers I built
 

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   / LPGS For Kubota B2910 #26  
Excellent advice. Thanks for taking time to share.
 
   / LPGS For Kubota B2910 #27  
Just a thought: Road graders are made as short as possible and still get full range of motion of the blade. Otherwise they could be much longer than they are.

:)

Bruce
 
   / LPGS For Kubota B2910
  • Thread Starter
#28  
I buy my cutting edge from an equipment rental/ repair company. Haven't bought any real recent but it wasn't anywhere near $25 a foot.

Shipping might kill it but I've also bought replacment cutting edges for my back blade from agri supply, $104 for a 6ft double sided.
Thanks for the info :thumbsup:
 
   / LPGS For Kubota B2910
  • Thread Starter
#29  
Good plan. And other than cosmetics they wouldn't even need plated in at the front. No material carried there.
Good point ... :thumbsup:

And it sounds like a good way - up to a point I'm sure - to extend the overall length without adding much weight.
 
   / LPGS For Kubota B2910
  • Thread Starter
#30  
I worked up in the shop until around 05:00 last night. Got the two 7' C-channel pieces trimmed to 4' and then ran the needle scaler over all four pieces. The channels were kinda scabby in spots as they had been sitting outside for the last 10 or so years.

Despite that they still had some mill scale on them, so last fall I hit them with muriatic acid to peel that off. Seems to have worked pretty well.

Couple of "before" pics (the ones in the background of the second pic have already been scaled):

IMG_0295.jpg
IMG_0298.jpg
Now all I have to do is fix my one SNAFU where I wasn't thinking properly and trimmed the angles into one end of the two 4' pieces ... :laughing:
 

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