Issue With ABI Land Plane ... I Think.

[wirlybird]

So I have a 6 foot ABI land plane. Got it hooked up recently to do some grading on an area where I removed a mobile home. Just basic dirt!
I thought the blades were set to be "flush" with the side skids. When I ran it I found it was taking quite a big cut out of the ground.

I went back to adjust the blades higher so there would be a gap between the skids and the blade height.
Essentially, I wanted the blades higher at first so I can run the plane around on the ground and only cut the very highest areas.
As I work the area I would lower the blades some to get a final smoothing of the area. I don't want it to dig in but just skim the surface to smooth the dirt out some.

What I find is the blades stick about a 1/2 inch or more below the level of the bottom of the skids and cannot adjust any higher. This really makes it act a little more like a box blade as it takes a pretty big and deep cut.
Maybe that is good for some things but not for what I was trying to do.

Are all land planes like this? Any suggestions? Thanks.

I may end up drilling new holes for the adjustment bolts to let the blades adjust up higher.

 

[cathy liebchen]

Sounds normal

 

[Tomtint]

Blades should be below the skids. And the front one should be a hair lower than the rear one

 

[thclimer]

Are your skid shoes ware plates that can be replaced? If so you could place wooden shims between them to essentially raise the cutting edge of the blades.

 

[Gordon Gould]

You could try lengthening your top link to lift the front a little so it will be less aggressive and act more like a drag.

gg

 

[oosik]

That is EXACTLY the way my Land Pride LPGS is. Blades are approximately half an inch below side skids when at their highest setting.

 

[dj1701]

I had the same problem. Land planes are great on hard packed driveways but tend to dig and fill up pretty easily when on softer surfaces. I shortened the top link to raise the back allowing the rear blade to distribute the dirt and not dig it. It works for me. Give it a try, you have nothing to lose.

Dave

 

[Gordon Gould]

I had the same problem. Land planes are great on hard packed driveways but tend to dig and fill up pretty easily when on softer surfaces. I shortened the top link to raise the back allowing the rear blade to distribute the dirt and not dig it. It works for me. Give it a try, you have nothing to lose.

Dave

I guess it depends on the geometry of your unit - ie length of skids and where the blades a placed along the skids. On most planes putting more pressure on the front blade makes it more aggressive.

gg

 

[wirlybird]

I had the same problem. Land planes are great on hard packed driveways but tend to dig and fill up pretty easily when on softer surfaces. I shortened the top link to raise the back allowing the rear blade to distribute the dirt and not dig it. It works for me. Give it a try, you have nothing to lose.

Dave

That's exactly it. Digs in a lot and loads/clogs up so no dirt really goes over the blades it just piles up like a box blade.

 

[oosik]

I use my lpgs - with scarifiers down - on my, hard as concrete, driveway. Scuff and fill potholes. I also use it to create trails out thru my property. Yes - it will load up with sod and dry grass. But just a short trip to the side and dump all the loaded up stuff. Then - back on the trail - and on I go. It's the easiest, fastest way I have to create trails out thru virgin land.

 

[Fladogman]

Have you tried going in reverse? It might do better at smoothing off the high spots

 

[nyone]

Have you tried going in reverse? It might do better at smoothing off the high spots

This is a good idea.

You could also just back drag with your bucket. A front bucket is quicker to adjust the angle on and you can see what your doing better.

 

[wirlybird]

This is a good idea.

You could also just back drag with your bucket. A front bucket is quicker to adjust the angle on and you can see what your doing better.

Back drag won't work. There are mounds and ridges of hard packed, untouched ground and general uneven areas I want to try to level out.
That's why I wanted to raise the blades so I could more "shave" the areas and work the problem areas down with multiple passes.
As it is set now it is making more of a mess than anything! I think a deep aggressive cut is too much for this type of area.
I think I am going to redrill the bolt holes for the adjustment so I can raise the blades more and see how it goes. It's all a learning experience.

 

[wirlybird]

Have you tried going in reverse? It might do better at smoothing off the high spots

Yes, it works somewhat but doesn't really cut down the high spots. My goal was to try to "shave" off the high areas and get it to distribute the dirt to low areas with multiple passes.

 

[MtnViewRanch]

How about trying to simply hold the implement up with the 3pt?
Set it on the ground, then raise the hitch until there is no weight pushing down, but the blades are at ground level. Worth a try.

 

[nyone]

Back drag won't work. There are mounds and ridges of hard packed, untouched ground and general uneven areas I want to try to level out.
That's why I wanted to raise the blades so I could more "shave" the areas and work the problem areas down with multiple passes.
As it is set now it is making more of a mess than anything! I think a deep aggressive cut is too much for this type of area.
I think I am going to redrill the bolt holes for the adjustment so I can raise the blades more and see how it goes. It's all a learning experience.

It never works to just shave off the top of the high spots and dump in theblow spots. You need to rough up the whole area and smooth. In the end it's going to be quicker and easier.

 

[workinonit]

All of that is what 3 PH adjustment and draft settings are for.