Heavy Roller

[tc35dforme]

This may not be the right spot to list this but I figure it will have the most broad coverage.

I have pretty much decided on a box blade to maintain my 1300 ft gravel drive. It is made up primarily of 3” minus crusher run dressed with some 1 ½” minus stuff. Pretty good to work with. Experience shows that a rake just sorts out the gravel and I end up with all the nuggets on the surface. I figure the rippers will chew everything up and let the box set it all smooth.

My plan is to follow this up with a rolling to compact it all. Has anyone built one ? I’ve seen a bunch of old ones made from concrete. I was looking at some 24” sonotube form and thought that with an ’axle’ in the middle I’d be in business. I would plan on building it about 8’ wide and of maybe 4 sections to avoid cornering trouble.

Thoughts ???

 

[rdbrumfield]

Would take a pretty stout axle to keep it from bending in the middle. As they wjould have to turn independantly in a corner, how would concrete fare slipping on an axle shaft.
I suppose if a person used a pipe bushing through the middle for the axle it would work. I would want to be able to take the axle out easily to be able to grease it though.
Just rambling on, good luck with your roller.

 

[Anonymous Poster]

I have an Agri-Fab 24" roller, 48" wide that I filled with concrete topping mix. With water fill, it weighs 910 lbs. I'm not sure how much the concrete weighs, but it is quite a bit. It does a decent job, but a larger diameter sure would be nice. Norther Tool sells it for about $200. I keep looking for something bigger than 24" diameter to make a new one out of.

 

[tc35dforme]

JN3410,

24" diameter x 24" long concrete would weigh somewhere near 975 pounds. Maybe that's a bit too heavy and I'll reduce it to a bit over 6' in total width.

My plan was to pour in place a steel pipe ( sleeve ) and then fit a solid shaft with nylon bearings, probably a 3/4" dia. shaft. I'd set the shaft in some nylon sleeve bearings. They won't last forever but they're cheap enough to replace every few years. A jig ougtha keep the shaft sleeve straight while I slop in some concrete ??

Getting it all together will be the trick.

 

[CTyler]

What about just using the pipe? Weld on some end pieces and install a bung, etc... Fill it half way with sand then if you want more weight add water to suit your needs.

I've been eyeballing some of the water pipe laying around giving me ideas.

 

[Anonymous Poster]

Would this float your boat, or should I say sink it?
8 foot drum width, puts 7.3# per square inch on the ground with a total weight of 4300#.
Scraper bar across the top prevents mud buildup.
Hubs are from a 1 ton truck

Of course, it's really not the best thing for a gravel road, a tire roller works much better on gravel roads because it can accomodate crowns and rutting paths

 

[CTyler]

Did you make the drum or salvage it from something else?

 

[Anonymous Poster]

The drum is a chlorine transport cylinder, 1" thick steel.
They cannot be recertified for transport, so they get sold for scrap. The empty drum weighs 2200#. It is full of water for additional weight.

 

[beenthere]

For packing gravel - freshly worked up and spread out flat - the best IMO is what Franz says, and that is a wheeled packer of some kind. I use the car (SUV) and drive back and forth until the entire drive is packed. I do it when the spread is still fresh and still damp. If one waits until drying starts, or worse yet, after a rain, then it won't pack and you end up with marbles (rolling stones). I have a very heavy 36" concrete roller with stacks of concrete silo staves on top, but it will not do the job packing the fresh-spread limestone gravel on the drive. My neighbor informed me that the roller wouldn't work many years ago, and he was right every time I tried it! /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif

 

[Anonymous Poster]

For initial packing of fresh material, nothing beats a sheepfoot roller.
You can make a good unit for stone driveway maintainence from 8 tires of the same size in 2 banks of 4. Weld 2 1/2' pipe in the hubs, and slide a 2" pipe axel thru 4 tires per bank.
Fill the tires 2/3 with water and enough air to get to about 35psi. Stagger the second bank to cover the spaces between the tires on the first bank, and you have an excellent roller that will compensate for the ripples in a stone drive
If you need more weight, you can always put a rack on top of the tire banks and add weight there.
As far as ripping up a driveway with a boxblade, going deeper than necessary to get to the bottom of tracking ruts does more damage than good. I don't use a boxblade, see attachment.

 

[Soundguy]

I picked up a 6' 'sod roller' from tsc for next to nothing.. less than 100 bucks late last year.. and it will hold about 100 gallons of water.. has bearings, etc.... could add eco-safe rv antifreeze to it as well..

Sure beats filling oil drums with concrete, and fixed or sleaved axles to worry about all the time...

Keep in mind that all gravel will do is consolidate.. not compact.

Soundguy

 

[tc35dforme]

I'm not totally happy with a boxblade either. I don't like the idea of not being able to angle the blade to direct the excess as needed. Seems like a bit more work and much better aim required to use the box. I really need rippers though to remix the fines and course aggregate to a depth of about 3-4".

I have looked at Land-Pride's ripper/ scarifier attachement on a rear blade, but it doesn't seem to work independently. I need to be able to pull the rippers and use the blade. I'd use the top link with a box blade to do that ??

Maybe the roller isn't the best idea.

 

[Soundguy]

Anyone have experience with using a drag harrow ( chain harrow ) with a gravel drive?

Soundguy

 

[Phred]

Attached is a shot of the gift a previous owner left behind.
Basically two 55 gal drums welded togheter and then filled with concrete.
Major league heavy. Works well for packing gravel.

Even has a couple of grease fittings, not that I get around to greasing it very often. It was a rust mess the day I got it. Probably been out in the pasture for many years.

The only design change I would make is a double plate at the draw bar connection. One plate above the drawbar with a hole and a second that goes under the drawbar and also has a hole.This one requires a bolt and nut to keep it connected up. Negative force on the tongue, like when you go over a bump, will break the small holding pin on a normal hitch pin.

Fred

 

[Soundguy]

Yikes!.. I'll bet that is a heavy monster to pull around..... Guess you don't want that on your riding lawn mower..! /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif

 

[beenthere]

It wasn't a good experience. Caused a lot of loose "marbles" on top, and didn't get a good mix with the fines to make a good, compacted driveway surface. Similar to using a york rake.

 

[Phred]

sounguy,

Yes. I dont know the exact weight but would not want to lose control if it on a hill.
Either the 3/4 ton truck or a heavy tractor are the best options.
I usually use the 2" reciever on the truck. Just take the ball off and use a grade eight bolt and two nuts as a hitch pin.

Fred

 

[ns_in_tex]

I am in the process of building a 36" x 72" concrete filled roller now. Just filled it with concrete today. It has a 2" solid steel axle with self aligning ball bearings.

I am hoping to use it to do some asphalt driveway patching. If I need more weight, might set extra 55 gal drums of concrete on top.

Not sure how any of this will work, but will try anyway.

Also, does anyone know how long it will take the concrete in this 36" enclosed drum to cure enough, before I start trying to move it around?

 

[Soundguy]

Don't know what kind of mix you are using... there are many kinds.. high early strength.. hydraulic, etc. Most portlands set up fairly quick.. and continue hardening over 50 years...
if you give it overnight it should be pretty safe unless you are running it down stairs or something...

Soundguy

 

[Anonymous Poster]

Initial cure is 24 hours, second stage cure is around 96 hours, final cure is 30 days +/- for normal household concrete.
If you're planning to roll asphalt, you'll need a water source to keep the drum wetted to prevent sticking.