Land plane/ grading scraper

[94BULLITT]

Currently I use a rake to spruce up the driveway. I have been wondering how well a land plane would work. How well do they work in comparison to a box blade or a rake for maintaining a driveway? Will it to some degree pull gravel out of the ground to make the driveway look like it was regraveled? Will one with them with the cutting edges straight work as well as one with them on an angle?

 

[jenkinsph]

There are some current threads on landplane graders discussing their use, you should read them.

For the most part these landplane graders are excellent tools for driveway maintenance. As the name implies these tools are best used to make the driveway planar or flat. The long skids on each side make it much easier to flatten the surface than using a boxblade or rake.

You can pull up the gravel and remix the surface as long as you have enough material to start with. In most cases if the rock is buried it is because the basecourse is or was not firm enough. I would likely add more gravel on top in a thin layer, as one of my buddies says "about one rock high".

Potholes in a driveway need to be cut down to the bottom, and this is easily done with a boxblade and rippers. You can get a landplane with the rippers for an added cost, but if you have a good boxblade to use I would save the money. If you have alot of potholes it is an indication that your base is not firm enough or doesn't have proper drainage.

For recovering materials from the edges, crowning the driveway and ditching the rearblade is king. The landplane is best for making the surface flat and smooth. The boxblade is best for moving large amounts of materials and ripping out potholes. A landscape rake would be best for moving large rocks to the side if they are present. All of these tools can work to smooth your driveway but the landplane by design will work the best. I have a small and larger version of all of these tools mentioned and they all have their attributes.

One of the tools on my "want to have list" is a good vibratory roller to pack the surfaces. Packing the base tightly as you build up a driveway makes a huge difference in how long it will hold up. Running a landplane behind a roller with the blades set at zero depth allows you to produce a very smooth finish. I am not suggesting that everyone run out and buy a vibratory roller but when building a new driveway renting one can make alot of sense.

About the angled vs. straight blades on a landplane, I use straight blades on mine because my primary use is for landscape smoothing. I don't need or want to have any material drift to one side by design. Some posters here seem to think a plane with angled blades is better at removing washboard in driveways. I question that as the skids accomplish the smoothing on a landplane. If all you do is use a landplane on a driveway the angled blades might be a better choice since these do have a slight tendancy to move the material to one side. With repeated trips and top link adjustment the angled blades will work better to maintain the crown on your driveway.

 

[DKCDKC]

I have maintained my mile-long, hilly and twisty gravel drive for 12 years with a box blade. I now have a rear blade that is useful for pulling in rock from the side, but snags and is easily damaged in the forest areas. I have had to recoat my drive - an obviously expensive undertaking - only twice in those 12 years, that those were thin recoats. The box blade is great for pot holes, although I only have a few, and spreads gravel from area to area to maintain a uniform appearance.

All that said, my friends who have land planes have about convinced me to blow the money to buy one. They do appear to be even better than a box blade, and, with the angled blades, would help maintain a crown. I don't have a lot of areas with crowns because of the hilly nature of the terrain, and you can crown with a box blade with careful use.

 

[catdozer]

I currently made my own landplane and I used straight blades. It works very well. I did my own driveway which has stone, it was really packed in and it did a very good job of making it looked re-graveled. Now the pictures below are smoothing and filling in rutted up lanes. After grading it once I redid it again the next day as we had about a dozen trips over it with 80,000 pound semis, doing it a second time finished smoothing the ruts and potholes in. I built this with a total of about $40 as I had all the steel.

 

[94BULLITT]

My driveway does not have any potholes or wash boarding. In my driveway the cutting edges being angled would be more of a pain cause it is so wide. My main question is will this do better than a rake at keeping the driveway looking good? So you guys are saying a straight cutting edge more versatile? I think I have enough steel to make one. Catdozer how did you make yours for $40, where did you get the cutting edges? I wish a rental company had one I could try out.

 

[catdozer]

My driveway does not have any potholes or wash boarding. In my driveway the cutting edges being angled would be more of a pain cause it is so wide. My main question is will this do better than a rake at keeping the driveway looking good? So you guys are saying a straight cutting edge more versatile? I think I have enough steel to make one. Catdozer how did you make yours for $40, where did you get the cutting edges? I wish a rental company had one I could try out.

I used 1/4 hardened flat steel for my cuttings edges and I had about $40 for pins and welding wire. So far the edges are just barely showing wear.

 

[MtnViewRanch]

I used 1/4 hardened flat steel for my cuttings edges and I had about $40 for pins and welding wire. So far the edges are just barely showing wear.

If your edges are showing any wear at this early stage, (less than 2 weeks) you are going to need some good cutting edges IMO.

Just my :2cents:

 

[catdozer]

If your edges are showing any wear at this early stage, (less than 2 weeks) you are going to need some good cutting edges IMO.

Just my :2cents:

I did put a quite a bit of hours on it. But I will get regular cutting edges at sometime. For now it does a great job!

 

[94BULLITT]

Where is the cheapest place to buy a quality 6' cutting edge?

 

[Gordon Gould]

Here is the grader that I built. The sta-mat gravel in the picture was put down five years ago. Grading it makes it look brand new. I use a rear blade and this grader to keep a mile of road.

 

[94BULLITT]

Here is the grader that I built. The sta-mat gravel in the picture was put down five years ago. Grading it makes it look brand new. I use a rear blade and this grader to keep a mile of road.

That is a nice looking grader. Do you have a picture of the road before? What are sta-mat gravel?

 

[catdozer]

One thing I am going to do is add a drag or an old harrow in the back to knock out the large clumps that go over.

 

[Tomtint]

One thing I am going to do is add a drag or an old harrow in the back to knock out the large clumps that go over.

It looks nice. One question.....why the chain instead of a top link?

 

[Gordon Gould]

That is a nice looking grader. Do you have a picture of the road before? What are sta-mat gravel?

Thanks. Sta-mat is a local term I guess. It is a crushed ledge product. I use 3/4" which is a crushed ledge mixture from 3/4" down to dust with some clay added as a binder. Packs very hard and stays put, thus the name.

 

[Gordon Gould]

It looks nice. One question.....why the chain instead of a top link?

Those pictures are about 3 years old. I don't use the chain anymore because I now have a hydraulic top link which is a much better deal allowing adjustments on the fly and useful for so many things.
But what I used to do is grade the road using a normal fixed top link. You can see it sticking up in the picture. This keeps the grader in a stiff plane relative to the tractor and makes a good flat surface but both blades do not cut in sharp dips or sharp peaks because of the stiffness unless you readjust the top link for those little sections. Which I didn't. On the last pass I would put on the chain so that the grader would follow the road contour and smooth out those dips and peaks. You can't use the chain until the road surface is loose and free of snags. To cut the hard initial surface you need the top link to make an aggressive cut and to hold the back end down if you catch a snag.

 

[Gordon Gould]

Do you have a picture of the road before?

I always seem to take pictures at the end so I don't have many before pictures.
This is the same section of road in the fall. It is difficult to tell from the picture what it is like but it is hard pcked.
And before and after grading pictures on a primitive section of road made up of dirt and 3/4" crushed rock. You can see the wheel ruts have disappeared. This is not a typical drive way. It is just a dirt road I that I keep mixing rock into. The rock chinks up with the dirt and gets packed. Improving it little by little.

 

[RDrancher]

Here is the grader that I built. The sta-mat gravel in the picture was put down five years ago. Grading it makes it look brand new. I use a rear blade and this grader to keep a mile of road.

Nice design. Could you share the specs? Thickness, length, approximate weight, etc?

 

[Gordon Gould]

Nice design. Could you share the specs? Thickness, length, approximate weight, etc?

Sure. FWIW


Grader 4'-6" long, 5' wide ( inside) about 550 lbs

Notes
------
Cat 1 hitch
Lift Arm Braces 28" center to center. Alter to fit Quick Hitch if necessary.
Upper Cross Braces 2' apart
Blade Mounts 2' apart, first blade mounted 10" back, front of Blade Mounts are 3/4" below runners
3" X 3" triangles cut from bottom corners of sides for runner angles
1/2" Grade 8 bolts and extra long nuts for tail gate stop pins
swinging tailgate up and forward to hang insde against stops is like box blade ( sort of )
swinging tailgate up and back to hang behind stops allows use like push blade in reverse

Steel
-----
Standard lengths - Bought and picked up at steel supply house, They make one cut at no charge

3/8" X 12" steel plate 20' (2/10') $210
2 sides, 6pcs 6" X 3" for hitch clevises, tail gate

3/8" X 2" steel bar 10' $25
2 runners

2 1/2" X 1/4" Square tube 24' (2/12') $115
2 upper cross members, top link verticle and angle braces, 2 lift arm braces

4" X 4" X 3/8" angle 10' $69
2 cutting blade mounts

1 1/2" schedule 80 blk iron pipe 10' $46
hinge pin for tail gate ( used 3 short pieces of 2" sched 40 I had for hinges )

Total Steel $465


* Scrap: (not really)
3/8" X 12" plate 5'
1 1/2" sched 80 blk pipe 5'
2 1/2" X 1/4" Sq Tube 6' 6"

note: would have saved $100 if I left the tail gate off.

I used 3/8" thick flat cutting edges. When I replace them I will go to 1/2" or 5/8" for more weight.

Here are my drawings.

 

[RDrancher]

Thank you, just what I needed! I have yet to pull the trigger on a landplane since I've not yet found one from a supplier that fits my needs. Yours is the closest I've seen. Looks like I'm going to have to build one yet.

 

[Gordon Gould]

Your welcome.
Well I stole alot of ideas from others here on TBN.
Keep in mind the ones made from scrap or material on hand like catdozers will work just as well as ones made from new steel and painted up.