final leveling of lawn - drag harrow, landscape rake, other?

[orangetree]

I have about a half-acre of lawn to finish. It'll be rough-leveled by a combination of blade/box-blade and FEL float, but from past experience I wouldn't want that to be my final surface. I have a 25hp TLB and a JD lawn tractor.

I've been been considering a landscape rake for this (such as GoodWorks/ or titan import), as I also have some beach/sand area locally I am interested in doing yearly cleanup on. I recall my dad doing my childhood ~1ac lawn with a homemade thing that I believe is called a turf/drag harrow.

The advantage of the landscape rake, a 3pt version specifically, is it seems great for cleaning debris from sand, and forest debris from pine areas, so I have some other stuff to use it with. However, a smaller harrow type unit could probably be pulled behind the lawn tractor which is way(way) less ground pressure - but would it actually even things enough?

The area isn't huge, and I'm no pro with floating the bucket. What should I use to make it a nice smooth final lawn? Thanks!

 

[RjCorazza]

IMHO you can't beat a landscape rake WITH guide wheels.

 

[airbiscuit]

I think you may have 2 issues, Leveling the area and Smoothing the area.
Here is a super cheap implement for smoothing the area/seedbed prep, and your sand and woods debris.

 

[airbiscuit]

Tow behind version for your lawn tractor.

 

[airbiscuit]

I like the idea of a drag harow for leveling, or make something like this.

 

[orangetree]

I like the idea of a drag harow for leveling, or make something like this.

add a bunch of chain-link fence, and some weight, and that's about what pop used

 

[orangetree]

Tow behind version for your lawn tractor.
View attachment 3157668

View attachment 3157673

IDK, i can't imagine that specific implementation (weight, rigidity, lack thereof) doing much compared to a drag harrow?

 

[airbiscuit]

If I was going to use just one, it would be a drag harrow. That said, t doesn't take much use to justify a $180 purchase. I think that straw rake would do a nice job of removing the trash, and preparing the seedbed after it has been leveled.

 

[Gordon Gould]

When I did the final dirt work for our new lawn seed bed I dragged around a big old pallet with a rock box on it so I could adjust the weight. For the beach clean up it would be a pine straw rake for me.

gg

 

[mikester]

rent a power rake