Land plane/ grading scraper

[crystallake]

Second day on project. Making progress.

 

[crystallake]

Update on project. Welding complete except for angle iron blade holders on bottom, thought it would be best to drill holes for attaching blades before welding. Question: How best to drill 5/8 bolt holes? Lots of them to do. Hole saw, twist drill, plasma cutter?? Gonna wish I had a friend with a mill I bet.

 

[coldsteelva]

Mill or press would be my choice

 

[CADplans]

Question: How best to drill 5/8 bolt holes? Lots of them to do. Hole saw, twist drill, plasma cutter?? Gonna wish I had a friend with a mill I bet.

Look at post #28 in my landplane thread,,,

http://www.tractorbynet.com/forums/build-yourself/369327-landplane-my-diy-3.html?highlight=landplane

I used my power feed drill press. I too had to drill a LOT of holes for the landplane construction.

You could always stop by,, we could drill them one afternoon,,, :thumbsup:

:laughing:

 

[crazyal]

If all you have is a plasma cutter and a hand drill then I would do the hand drill. Use a center punch to locate the holes and then start off with a small bit and progress up to 5/8". A drill press would help make the process easier but if you don't have one then it's an excuse to buy one or just do it by hand. I would buy a name brand 5/8" bit. With a hole saw i think it'll take longer and you'll need to make a pilot hole. Hole saws tend to be a little tricky with a hand drill. A trick I use is drill the pilot hole first with a regular bit. Then use a smooth steel rod in the hole saw for centering it. If the hole saw catches while drilling it a drill bit for the guide will almost always snap while the metal rod will be fine. My choice would be a drill bit over the hole saw and both over a plasma cutter (unless you have a CNC plasma cutter that can make nice holes).

 

[jenkinsph]

I have had success using a 5/8" hole saw in a hand drill. I clamp the blade where I want it to the angle iron and drill through the existing blade holes. An hours work or a little more for two eight foot blades.

 

[crystallake]

Finally had a day to finish up the welding on my new landplane. This was a great project and look forward to getting it painted and up to the farm. Total cost $480 in steel, $160 for blades plus about three days work for me. Used both Mig and Stick welding. Farmed out the holes on the threepoint hookup as I did not have a large bit but otherwise went very smooth. Used a drill press for holes in blades. 6'x6'.

 

[woodlandfarms]

Is one leg longer than the other?

 

[crystallake]

No,No. just an optical illusion. LOL

 

[crystallake]

Well I got the landplane to the farm this weekend and put it to the test. It is awesome. My roads are what I call chat and it did a wonderful job. Great project.