Asking for advice on adjestments of landscape rake

[CFHartman]

I'm looking for some advice on adjestments for a landscape rake.
1st about what angle should the tines be pointed by adjesting the top link.
2nd I'm building a set of gauge wheels for it. Approximately how high do you sit the wheels and or tines for different jobs.
Thank's in advance for any help.
Charlie

 

[jbrumberg]

Charlie:

I do not know if this information really answers your questions. The angle of the tines is dependent upon what you are raking and how deep you want to rake. Lengthing the top link will cause the tines to contact the ground with a sharper pitch and feed themselves into the ground more efficiently; shortening the top link will do the opposite. For smoothing out and/or moving my driveway gravel which is in pretty goood shape currently I keep the top link pretty short with the tines at around 90 to slightly past 90 degrees (perpendicular). For moving dirt/rocks and smoothing everything out I keep the top link pretty long. I adjust the guage wheels after adjusting the tine pitch and depth to try to keep to a desired working depth. Jay

 

[RobS]

How timely, I just got in from raking my gravel drive. I've never set the top link for tine angle, but rather for pitch of the whole thing when it's angled. Normally, I rotate it so it's parallel the the tractor centerline (90 degrees to a more "normal" position). Then I set the top link so it's level front to back. Basically, I'm making the pivot pin vertical. Then no matter the angle I choose, it's level to the tractor and not gouging on one end or the other. Of course, if I want some pitch, I can dial that in too, like when crowning the drive.

Added: I get the most variation in cut by running the rake forwards or turned around backwards. Backwards is great for smoothing!

 

[zzvyb6]

My Arps brand has chisel ends on the teeth. they are set leaning slightly forward when the tooth roots are horizontal. My gage wheels are behind the teeth so they set the depth and minimize undulations. I don't use a top link but a chain so it can float as necessary to give me a very flat grade. I recommend you cut into the driveway using a high angle of attack at first to scarf out some material to work with. just to be clear, the rake is yawed 45 degrees with the right front forward and the left front far back. This combs the loose stuff to the center of the roadway. I usually throw some of the tractor front weights onto the rake frame to help it cut through the hardpack. Then I straighten it out most of the way to give it a crown.

When I run out of 21AA, I hitch up the rototiller and run it backwards to churn the gravel. This floats the good stuff up and the sand to the bottom. Lately, I've been thinking of making a screen to sift out the gravel from the sand. The tiller doesn't struggle at all doing its job. After 20 years of this, I never have broken a tooth. I set the depth to about 2 inches and crawl the tractor backwards in low gear. I do this mainly for weed control.

 

[DrainPondDesign]

You might want to check this previous thread & give SkunkWerx an email.

http://www.tractorbynet.com/forums/showthread.php?t=105732

I'm learning to use my landscape rake with gauge wheels too. Go slow & watch what each adjustment does & try not to move more earth than you need to. My gravel drive gets fluffed up by the rake so I have to wait for a rain to settle it again before making more grade adjustments.

Good luck

 

[CFHartman]

I would like to thank all of you for the info posted for me. I found some very useful info in each of your post. Hope I can get the metal tomorrow and start on the gauge wheels. I will try and take some picturs and post them. I have looked at a lot of different pictures. Mine idea is to use some of the best features of each + a couple of mine.
Thanks again Charlie

 

[Houndsman]

Cfhartman,
another adjustment I make to my Lscape rake, is to remove every other tine, depending on the type of work being done.
EX: prepping ground for seeding/over seeding, I go w/ every other tine.
EX: Road maintenance or moving earth, where angling the "blade" is preferable, I use a full rake.
v/r mark

 

[SkunkWerX]

Front to back:
I try to level the main support beam (that runs from pivot pin to 3PH) parallel to the ground. I find if the 3PH part of the rake is Lower, it tends to hop and skip when it hits rocks, ruts or dips. If the 3PH end is higher than the rear, then I find it likes to dig in. That's just my un-scientific and very general observations.
Depends on how aggressive you want it to bite.

Side-to-side height is pretty intuitive. if you want crown a driveway, set it lower on one side. if you want to pull more material the center, angle it.

I've only got a few hours on my gauge wheels, so far, as a mere-fledgling, I am finding that you will probably operate the gauge wheels for the rake anywhere between Zero inches and plus or minus 2". Zero is when the Rake tines and wheels are even with each other. 2" up is when the gauge wheels are 2 inches higher off the ground, which would give you 2" of "cut".

When finish grading dirt for grass seed, I ran the gauge wheels about 1 inch up, meaning the rake could dig in 1 full inch, and that gave good enough cutting it dirt, without getting too deep. it also did some filling in small low spots.
Running the Gauge wheels at Zero inches sounds non-productive at first, but, I found it good for raking trash and small limbs, without cutting into the dirt. Without gauge wheels I tended to end up with a pile of trash and dirt, all mixed together, and scarred-up gouged ground left behind.

If you have an existing pile of dirt that you want to spread evenly, then you can raise the rake a bit (Lower the wheels so the rake tines are off the ground a little) , and pull the pile which will allow a measured amount of dirt to slip out underneath.

I haven't used it on any gravel yet, but if i did, and was smoothing a driveway, I think I'd start with the wheels UP by 1 inch, allowing the rake no more than 1 inch of "dig" , try that, then adjust from there.

Hope this helps a little bit, it's something you may need to play with, to see what works for each situation.

One thing is for sure, the gauge wheels are like being on auto-pilot compared to not having them.

Good Luck

 

[CFHartman]

Wow it is hot. Almost to hot to be welding. At least I finished my gauge wheels. I tried them out and like them very much. I'm going to try and post a couple pictures.
I want to also thank Houndsman & SkunkWerx for the advice and info. It all helps a lot. Thank You.
Charlie

 

[SkunkWerX]

Wow it is hot. Almost to hot to be welding. At least I finished my gauge wheels. I tried them out and like them very much. I'm going to try and post a couple pictures.
I want to also thank Houndsman & SkunkWerx for the advice and info. It all helps a lot. Thank You.
Charlie

Nice wheels you got there, Charlie! Good luck! let us know how they work.