Completed a long overdue project yesterday.
A while back, I purchased a surplus five foot pulverizer roller. Rather than waiting til I could build the "proper" pulverizer, I added the roller to the rear of my box blade.
Since I usually have the BB attached as ballast for FEL dirt work, having the roller there seemed to me to make sense.
Yesterday, I moved 15 tons of dirt around a pool for a customer. The roller worked GREAT in several respects-- It helped pack down the loose topsoil and smooth it. An added benefit is it became an instant gage wheel--I have it set so the blade remains about 4" off the ground when the roller is down, so on high spots, the blade engages and helps to level the soil. (By drilling more holes, I could adjust the blade height).
Since this roller is HEAVY, I need to add a winch or actuator or something so I can lift it. I am able to pivot the roller up so it is out of the way when I don't need it.
Our soil is hard packed clay, but you can see from the ground pic that it easily penetrates it. It made very nice work of the fresh topsoil at the jobsite. The pic was after two passes in my clay.
For those that want to know:
The arms are 1x2" box, the plate where the bearings mount are 1/4". I don't have a plasma torch, and frankly, worried most about cutting the bearing big hole. I bought a metal cutting 2.25" hole saw, and using lots of oil, was able to cut it fairly easily in my drill press.
I added the 1x2" cross piece for strength and a place to mount a lifting point. I started to make this piece removeable, but alas, grew tired, and just welded it in.
A while back, I purchased a surplus five foot pulverizer roller. Rather than waiting til I could build the "proper" pulverizer, I added the roller to the rear of my box blade.
Since I usually have the BB attached as ballast for FEL dirt work, having the roller there seemed to me to make sense.
Yesterday, I moved 15 tons of dirt around a pool for a customer. The roller worked GREAT in several respects-- It helped pack down the loose topsoil and smooth it. An added benefit is it became an instant gage wheel--I have it set so the blade remains about 4" off the ground when the roller is down, so on high spots, the blade engages and helps to level the soil. (By drilling more holes, I could adjust the blade height).
Since this roller is HEAVY, I need to add a winch or actuator or something so I can lift it. I am able to pivot the roller up so it is out of the way when I don't need it.
Our soil is hard packed clay, but you can see from the ground pic that it easily penetrates it. It made very nice work of the fresh topsoil at the jobsite. The pic was after two passes in my clay.
For those that want to know:
The arms are 1x2" box, the plate where the bearings mount are 1/4". I don't have a plasma torch, and frankly, worried most about cutting the bearing big hole. I bought a metal cutting 2.25" hole saw, and using lots of oil, was able to cut it fairly easily in my drill press.
I added the 1x2" cross piece for strength and a place to mount a lifting point. I started to make this piece removeable, but alas, grew tired, and just welded it in.
