Land Plane Cutting Edge Depth?

[Flyboy712]

Hey folks!

Over the last couple days I've built myself a land plane.

The cutting edges are going to be fixed so I'm wondering what is a good all around depth for the blades below the skids? I was thinking about setting them about 1/2?3/4 does this sound about right?

Also I can't seem to figure out how to upload pictures, so if I could get a quick tutorial or pointed in the right direction then I'll add a bunch of pictures of the build for everyone.

Thanks,
Mike

 

[CADplans]

If it is gonna be fixed,, set the blade too low ((SAY,, ABOUT ONE INCH?)) ,,

then,, if the blade is too low, simply add runners whatever thickness you desire to get the blade to the correct depth,,
(something like 1/2 x 3 steel bar, ) it will also make a nice replaceable wear strip.

That is a LOT better than making it 1/2" , then wanting the blade to be deeper in the future,,

 

[CADplans]

Hey folks!


Also I can't seem to figure out how to upload pictures,

so if I could get a quick tutorial or pointed in the right direction then I'll add a bunch of pictures of the build for everyone.

Thanks,
Mike

Does it look like this?

:laughing:

 

[Flyboy712]

Pretty much haha!

I think they all look basically the same.

 

[Flyboy712]

That's a good idea!

If it is gonna be fixed,, set the blade too low ((SAY,, ABOUT ONE INCH?)) ,,

then,, if the blade is too low, simply add runners whatever thickness you desire to get the blade to the correct depth,,
(something like 1/2 x 3 steel bar, ) it will also make a nice replaceable wear strip.

That is a LOT better than making it 1/2" , then wanting the blade to be deeper in the future,,

 

[Flyboy712]

Here are some pictures:

Land plane is 5' wide and 4' long. The sides are 1/4" plate 4' long and 12" high and I chamfered the lower corners up 2' and in 2". The skid plate is 3/8" flat bar and I used a torch to heat the chamfer and bend them up. I used two 4x4x1/4" angles for the cutting edge mounts. Still waiting for the cutting edges to come in should be here in about a week or so. The front beam is 4x4x1/4 square tube and the rear beam is 2x2x1/4 square tube. The rest is 2x2x1/4 angle. Standard CAT 1 spacing for the 3 point (26" wide for lower pins and 18" up from lower pins for the top pin). Lower pins are about 14" off the ground. I welded on some extra material to the pin locations so there is 1/2" of material where the holes are. I used a heavy front beam in case I wanted to add scarifiers later on I could.

I had to buy the front square beam and the two cutting edge angles. The rest of the material I had laying around.

The steel and plow bolts for the cutting edges was about $115 from my local steel supply place. The replacement cutting edges were $85 each from the local Kubota dealer Land Pride PN: 820-041C. Couple lower link pins from the local farm supply $3 each. I'll have about $300 total into it when done. Took me about 6hrs to cut, weld and paint everything. I probably have 2 more hours to drill and attach the cutting edges. Local prices for a 5' land plane started at about $1300. Buying online I could have gotten a cheaper price but shipping makes it about the same or more expensive.

Weight I estimate to be about 450lbs. If I add 5 scarifiers weight would be close to 500lbs.

 

[oosik]

I have a Land Pride GS2584- it has scarifiers/shanks. I run the blades approximately 1 1/2" below the side skids. I run the scarifiers at that same depth also. I use it on my mile long gravel driveway - primarily. My "gravel" driveway is a mix of gravel, sand, volcanic ash and silt. It dries out in the summer and is hard as concrete.

At 796# this LPGS is just barely heavy enough. There are times when I will stack bags of pellets on the LPGS also. Four bags will add 160#. It looks somewhat "Rube Goldberg" with these bags strapped on it. There are even times when I will run the M6040 in 4WD to pull through the tough areas.

I bought the LPGS when my tractor was a Ford 1700 - 4WD. If I had purchased it after getting the new Kubota in 2009 - I would have looked for a unit - 7' wide and in the 1500# range. Live and learn..............

I've used this unit for eleven years. Adding the 160# with the bags of pellets has not damaged the unit. I don't think I would want to go any heavier with the added weight.

That's going to be a fine unit - Flyboy. If the unit proves to be to light - a chunk of plywood across the top will prove to be an ideal area to strap on added weight.

 

[Flyboy712]

Oosik, thank you and thanks for the info. I tried to make it as heavy as I could with what I have. It's pretty stout as is so I don't think I'd hurt it much by straping on weight if I needed to.

I like your area. Beautiful country over there. I'm in Ephrata.

 

[oosik]

I have 80 acres here. Mile long driveway - straight as an arrow - going West off the county road. Ten mile SW of Cheney. It's alway the same here - this time of year. We could SURE use some rain. It's dry as a popcorn fart around here. Wheat harvesting is just getting underway in selected areas this week. Another week and it will be going, full bore.

I have several primary land engagement implements. Rear blade, disk harrow, Roll Over Box Blade, LPGS. The LPGS is, far and away, the easiest implement to use. Just hook it up and drag.

I'm envious of your abilities to make such a fine piece of equipment. I have a small welder and make fine looking pigeon poop - ha, ha, ha.

 

[Flyboy712]

It's been really dry this year. Not much rain. We don't get a lot to begin with but this year has been dryer than most it seems. Had about 6 rain drops today but that's the only rain we've had in a couple months.

Thanks for the compliment. I've done a bit of welding over the years. I have a 180amp MIG, a oxy-acetylene setup and a 200amp TIG/stick box. I really like the TIG but it takes time to weld stuff up and it's not really portable. I built a welding table out of a 1/4" 4'x4' plate and do most of my TIG welding on the table. It's a AC/DC unit so it'll do aluminum also. The MIG is pretty easy to weld with, my boy likes to come out and help weld stuff. He's starting to get the hang of it at 10yrs old.