Mostly scrap built (but still awesome) land plane

ovrszd · Mar 7, 2014

NS Gearhead said:
Alot of the mud truck guys around here use it to refer to parts that are store bought as opposed to home made.; "that truck's got a boughten lift".

None of my rigs run those.

murphy1244 · Mar 7, 2014

Here we would say" Store Bought" instead. Or "That's Factory".

NS Gearhead · Jun 11, 2014

Started on this again.

Tapered and boxed in the 2nd channel iron

Drilled the angle for the blade... 5 9/16" bolts aught to do

I set the blade to be 3/8" below the runners. I know it's ultra conservative, and the tip of the blade may wear off quickly further lessening the depth, but considering I plan to tow this with an atv... and it's just a matter of drilling five more holes to re-adjust.

Capped one end of each pipe

CNC Dan · Jun 12, 2014

If the blade isn't some kind of tough steel, get some hardfacing rods and pad the front edge of the blade to reisist wear. Watch out for distortion.

NS Gearhead · Jun 12, 2014

I've just got a mig and some grinders... that's beyond me. LOL

The blade is off a zamboni... not sure if it's hardened or not... it's meant to be re-sharpened many times... it did cut & drill pretty easy, so I would assume not.

CNC Dan · Jun 12, 2014

NS Gearhead said:
I've just got a mig and some grinders... that's beyond me. LOL

Ok. Hardfacing is when you add a layer of weld beads that are much harder than the base metal. Usualy done with stick welding, but now there are hardfacing wires for mig too. Next time you see an excavator look at the bucket for a bunch of beads. Sometimes in a criss cross pattern other times just next to each other.

ovrszd · Jun 12, 2014

Yep, I'm with Dan. And, MIG wire is harder than mild steel so even with your small MIG welder you can add life to the cutter. With that said, you'll probably not drag it enough to wear the cutter beyond use. Gotta also consider you'll wear the runners at the same time, just not the same speed.

jenkinsph · Jun 12, 2014

Hard surfacing is an option as others have mentioned but if you find you are using the land plane frequently then it is best to get real grader blades. Nothing wrong with trying it out first to see how you like it though.

NS Gearhead · Jun 13, 2014

jenkinsph said:
Nothing wrong with trying it out first to see how you like it though.

Yeah that's the plan. Try it... if it works great... if not change it. I can always cut the angle iron out and start that part over... that length was all of $15 so no big loss if I do have to replace it. I could always drill a 2nd set of holes and slot them to meet...making the blade adjustable as well.

jenkinsph · Jun 13, 2014

NS Gearhead said:
Yeah that's the plan. Try it... if it works great... if not change it. I can always cut the angle iron out and start that part over... that length was all of $15 so no big loss if I do have to replace it. I could always drill a 2nd set of holes and slot them to meet...making the blade adjustable as well.

I have a deal now where I am getting scrap steel for .15/lb with a decent assortment of sizes and shapes. I pick through the 2 acre pile whenever I can for useful stuff. That makes building a new implement a lot cheaper than it has been in the past. This also makes the grader blades the most expensive part of a land plane build. If you can swing the blades they will cut better and last you a long time.