Rear Blade Land leveler

Mallard1 · Jul 19, 2015

Done for today, all I have left is the diagonal brace for the top 3pt link, flip over and weld everything on bottom, paint and bolt the blades on.

Thanks for all of the help, I think I'm at least on the down hill side now

Mallard1 · Aug 2, 2015

Well apparently in my rush to get this done I screwed up!!! I got a free busted case of green paint from work so I painted it last week and today I put the blades on. My holes line up perfectly BUT I drilled them a little high

. They extend 1-1/2" past the angle iron but with the angle of the angle iron and the curve of the blades my cutting edge is even with the bottom of my runners.

So now I need help, the holes are 11/16" if move down 1-3/8" the holes will be stacked directly on top of each other. Any ideas on the best way to this?

For some reason it won't let me post pictures tonight

JerryK · Aug 2, 2015

Fill the old holes with weld and drill the new holes... but probably drill the new holes first, then fill the old holes. Might find some big thick weld washers that will fit the old holes to make the process easier. I know how much fun you had drilling the holes in the first place....

Mallard1 · Aug 2, 2015

A little better news, I just pulled all the bolts out and slid the blade down to where I want it to be and held it with c clamps. It looks like it actually needed to slide 1-1/2 maybe a little more. The hole might not end up being to close together to matter.

Drilling the holes the first time wasn't to much trouble. 13/32 pilot point followed by 11/16 s&d on the drill press. I had all the holes drilled in around an hour maybe a little more. This time around will be a hassle. I'll use my cordless with either a regular hole saw or a anular cutter but it will take much longer than an hour.

JerryK · Aug 2, 2015

Depending on how robust you welded the angle to the side, especially underneath, you could also cut the weld with something like a 7" Metabo with cutoff wheel. Then move the whole assembly down lower and reweld. But you probably weld like me... Weld the krap out of it then decide it needs to be moved......

Mallard1 · Aug 2, 2015

Yea I would rather not cut it off, I beveled the inside edge and made 3 passes on the whole underside and the top part for the 6" side.

Gordon Gould · Aug 3, 2015

Try clamping the cutting edge on where you want it then using the holes as a guide cut the new holes in your angle with a hole saw. Keep the chips cleaned out of the kerf and you will find a hole saw is way easier than drilling. I use a Milwaukee right angle drill which is slow. The key is cleaning the kerf out or the saw will ride on the chips rather than cut. Air hose or wire will do it.

gg

JerryK · Aug 3, 2015

I knew a few guys that were REALLY good with a torch, and could cut the angle off just about as clean as if you saw'd/cutoff wheel'd it off. But not me, I am farmer quality on my cutting/welding.... [ at best ]

Mallard1 · Aug 4, 2015

Well I got one hole drilled with a cordless drill and a carbide tipped hole saw then it shattered. I think I'm just going to drill pilot holes the flip it over and use the mag drill to finish it out. Due to the bracing I can't fit the mag drill in from the top. One day I will get to try it out!!! Thanks again for all of the suggestions and help.

Gordon, I didn't forget about your tail gate design, I just wanted to see how it does without then if needed it would be a quick add on.

jenkinsph · Aug 6, 2015

When building my land planes I did exactly as Gordon mentioned. Clamp the blades in place and use a hole saw, drilled 8 holes through 5/8" plate in about 45 minutes. Used Lenox hole saws and a Milwaukee 1/2" drill, no need for a magnetic based drill. This doesn't need to be complicated. If it were me I would try out the blades set flush and see how it works for you.