Land plane/ grading scraper

[RDrancher]

Hope to build a new small one this week too. The wind has been blowing to hard for me to weld outside.

When I built this larger 8' landplane in 2009 I built it with the blades flush with the wear strips. Seems to work very well and you can easily load it up with dirt or gravel. Something to consider is setting the blades lower maybe a full inch and having a wear strip with wood shims between them and the frame for spacing the blade off the ground. This would allow you to dig deeper when remixing the gravel and fines on a driveway. When you wan't to finish grade as in the last two pics you could add the shims to make the blades flush with the skids.

Hey Steve, since our projects seem to run along the same lines I'm curious as to how long your 8-footer is. And would you change the length for any reason?

 

[jenkinsph]

Hey Steve, since our projects seem to run along the same lines I'm curious as to how long your 8-footer is. And would you change the length for any reason?

The skids are 5' long on mine and work well enough for most things. I could see building one with longer skids for dedicated driveway and gravel road work with up to 8' skids. When I was looking at pics of some of the factory made models most had skids about 4' long. I found a deal on some beam drops that were a little over 5' and made them as long as possible which is what is in the pic. You have to think about the limitations of longer skids though, the extended skids can limit your use when backing up to objects and take up more room on a trailer.

Once I have the new 4' compact landplane built I am going to consider some other variations of the skid type implement, such as a screed for spreading top dressing on lawns.

 

[RDrancher]

Yes, I can see longer versions getting in the way of doing a lot of tasks. I found a heavy 10' long I-beam. I think I'll cut it in half and go from there. I'm interested in your skid spacer idea but not sure that I understand it.

 

[jenkinsph]

Yes, I can see longer versions getting in the way of doing a lot of tasks. I found a heavy 10' long I-beam. I think I'll cut it in half and go from there. I'm interested in your skid spacer idea but not sure that I understand it.

The skid spacer thing is simple really, instead of welding the lower wear strips in place weld studs on them and drill holes thru the beam flanges and bolt them down. You can use wooden spacers to space the wear strips away from the main beams/skids thus lowering the skids running surface.

 

[Vern2]

Great thread,

A tool I don't have, cool. Live on paved road, acre lots, started out as dirt streets in 1969. I left my 15' right away, dirt. It gives me another reason to own a tractor. A landplane would be a great addition. My tractor, compac utility tractor 5' wide.

Gould,
You did good! I really like the rear flap, it works much like a box scrapper, when needed.

Jenkinsph,
Your idea about spreading top dressing on lawns is really good.

How about this approach? (One leaver to change landplane, to spreading top dressing on lawns.)

Somehow... rotate first solid cut blade, that's 1/2" below runners, to position above runners(with 6" high teethed drag, behind raised cutting blade) made from 1/2", 5/8" or 3/4" steel. The second solid blade 1/2" higher then runners, allowing a small amount of top dressing to pass through and keeping landplane fuction working. I know what you want, would you please draw your idea. Wait, I just did the heavy lifting.

Edit: next day. The handle to change front cutter:

Pull it forward to lock down cutting blade. Push handle back, will rotate cutting bar to raise position and actvate serrated spreader bar. Can use 6" of 1" plus - round bar stock welded in corners of 4" angle iron, on either side to rotate front cutting bar to lawn spreader position. tooth drag

Right now I'm doing a couple mods to convert two tractor tools to quick hitch compatible in garden link, below (12" one bottom plow and a middle buster.)

Garden stuff

 

[RDrancher]

The skid spacer thing is simple really, instead of welding the lower wear strips in place weld studs on them and drill holes thru the beam flanges and bolt them down. You can use wooden spacers to space the wear strips away from the main beams/skids thus lowering the skids running surface.

Ah, now I get it. Thanks!

 

[jenkinsph]

Vern,
Thanks for the input.:thumbsup:
I will likely build a separate screed that is built for this purpose, With tall sides and an 80" width. Will have steel runners and frame but will have 3/4" plywood to form the sloped sided bin. This being taller I need it to fit between the rails of my trailer. The rear board will be adjustable height from 0 to 4 inches, good for spreading mulch or just adding a uniform layer of topsoil.

 

[senecak19]

Time to revive an old thread.

Gordon - nice work!

In looking at my needs I realized Gordon's land scraper would fit my needs more so than a box blade. I'm building one of these with a combination of scrap steel and new steel. I had a 48"x30"x1/2" steel plate laying around. I had a local shop cut it in half (the long way). I purchased most of the materials listed on Gordon's bill of material. My total investment right now is $353 some of which is surplus material for other projects I'm guessing the weight upon completion will be somewhere between 500 and 550lbs. Overall dimensions are 48" long and 60" wide. Yes, I'd like a longer one, but... that's the plate I had. Right now all of my material is cut. Grade 8 bolts and 7/8" hitch pins were purchased. Tomorrow I start welding. Pictures to follow.

 

[94BULLITT]

Time to revive an old thread.

Gordon - nice work!

In looking at my needs I realized Gordon's land scraper would fit my needs more so than a box blade. I'm building one of these with a combination of scrap steel and new steel. I had a 48"x30"x1/2" steel plate laying around. I had a local shop cut it in half (the long way). I purchased most of the materials listed on Gordon's bill of material. My total investment right now is $353 some of which is surplus material for other projects I'm guessing the weight upon completion will be somewhere between 500 and 550lbs. Overall dimensions are 48" long and 60" wide. Yes, I'd like a longer one, but... that's the plate I had. Right now all of my material is cut. Grade 8 bolts and 7/8" hitch pins were purchased. Tomorrow I start welding. Pictures to follow.

Cool, I'm looking forward to seeing some pictures.

 

[senecak19]

Here's the progress. Welding never took place as my brother needed some help that involved some seat time on the tractor. Naturally that took precedence over this. I'm out of plate material at the moment so there's no rear gate going on just yet.