Land plane questions

[tkevan]

I have to respectfully disagree. Adjustment capability is good though. In most cases when pulling with a tractors and having roads with minimal surface thickness 2" is way to much.

I wonder how often you adjust your blade height ? Or did you just find a height you liked and left it there ??

gg

Depends on how compacted and what material. On one sons driveway, 2" is needed to get all the SB2 loose to level, on the other, 1/2 is enough for his recycled asphalt, On my land, leveling high spots uses more, my construction road uses less.

 

[JRobyn]

IMHO, cut depth is vitally important. Especially for a good crown. My LandPride independently adjusts on each side by loosening the 3 huge blade frame bolts, setting as desired and re-tightening. It's easy to set precisely by setting the whole thing down on a concrete pad with wood strips of the desired cut thickness underneath the skids on each side. Then just let the blades drop all the way down onto the concrete and tighten the blade frame bolts (impact wrench). I played with the setting a fair amount before I settled it in. Now it cuts about 3/4" below the skid on the right side and maybe 1/4" (or less) on the left side.

 

[bdog]

I have a 8' Road boss LPGS I use with my skid steer. It has a pin on bracket that lets you face it either way on the skid steer. I always push it but I do flip it around. I find the initial passes were best done with it running the way it was designed and for the final passes or just dressing I run it backwards. It doesn't want to dig in and just leaves things smooth. I push the thing facing backwards about 75% of the time. It has a 3 point hitch but I have never hooked it to my tractor as it works well with the skid steer. I do have a cab though and it would be a dusty experience if I did not.

 

[tkevan]

IMHO, cut depth is vitally important. Especially for a good crown. My LandPride independently adjusts on each side by loosening the 3 huge blade frame bolts, setting as desired and re-tightening.

About how I made mine. Each blade adjusts by a bolt plate at each end.

 

[bandaidmd]

So in an ideal world, which vehicle is better for smoothing a road? We have a skid steer and a tractor- which implement shall we purchase- one for the skid steer or for the tractor?

ideal world is a grader attachment for the skid steer or a land plane for a tractor

 

[bdog]

I can get a smoother surface with a box blade on my tractor with gauge wheels on the back than I can with my skid steer and LPGS but the box blade loads up with material and you get to the end of the road and have half a yard of material you have to figure out what to do with.

I graded my half acre equipment lot with a laser guided machine controlled system this weekend and it was the cats meow. I got it all within 1/4" and then rolled it with a vibratory roller. Looks like a parking lot. It was a buddies laser setup he let me borrow but I was so impressed I am buying one. They are not cheap about 25k but I figure I can use it on a few jobs for hire to pay for it and then have for myself as well. It is absolutely amazing how well it works and I was surprised how far I thought my perfectly manually graded area was off.

 

[jenkinsph]

I can get a smoother surface with a box blade on my tractor with gauge wheels on the back than I can with my skid steer and LPGS but the box blade loads up with material and you get to the end of the road and have half a yard of material you have to figure out what to do with.

I graded my half acre equipment lot with a laser guided machine controlled system this weekend and it was the cats meow. I got it all within 1/4" and then rolled it with a vibratory roller. Looks like a parking lot. It was a buddies laser setup he let me borrow but I was so impressed I am buying one. They are not cheap about 25k but I figure I can use it on a few jobs for hire to pay for it and then have for myself as well. It is absolutely amazing how well it works and I was surprised how far I thought my perfectly manually graded area was off.

I quickly found out how important laser grading was for flood irrigated fields, the water doesn't lie. I use box blades for grading and leveling. I use land plane grader scraper for smoothing. There is a difference in the terminology imo. Both are very useful tools for most members here but a box blade either drag or 3pt with laser machine control can accomplish both jobs on a graded area. Sure makes my jobs easier to complete with good results.