Rehab Softball Diamond

[3rd Coast]

Greetings folks,

I have a PT422 and have been voluntold I'm going to repair a softball diamond for my daughter's travel team practice field. There is zero budget, and anything I buy is coming out of pocket. I'm not sure I have the tools to do this but a quick review of attachments I do have that may be of use:

1. Rototiller
2. Various buckets, some with teeth
3. plow blade

I have not personally seen the field yet, I'm told it is overgrown with lots of weeds. I plan to get down there this week to view the project area. Really, with the tools I have, I'm not sure what I could do except rototill the top few inches and back drag with a plow or bucket to smooth the surface. Seems like a drag would be a good tool to have. There are a few spring drags for sale locally under $100 I could probably rig up to work, not sure if that's the right kind of drag for a softball diamond. I have read some other accounts of doing this here on TBN, pretty old threads. Wondering if anyone had any ideas on drags or if I can build one that'll get the job done. This is also just a practice field so I'm not really looking for a game day finish and play surface, just want to remove tripping hazards and bad ball hops. Any tips?

 

[ponytug]

@MossRoad any tips?

 

[airbiscuit]

Pics would help.

• Are you just making baselines, or an entire dirt infield?
• Do you have to rehab any of the grass?

Any project worth doing is worth buying a tool for

Your tiller should do the lions share of your work.

A chain drag or a pine straw rake would be handy tools.

When I coached my daughter's softball team, I bought some old catwalk to drag over the field and made a shorter one connected to a lawnmower handlebar that the girls could drag after each practice.

You can make a tire drag by bolting some old tires together.

 

[Quaffer]

You can make a tire drag by bolting some old tires together.

Do you use any kind of plate on the inside of the tire? Seems like a bolt would pull through.

 

[airbiscuit]

A washer should do. I suppose you could use a hunk of 2x4. Some people have just wired them together.

 

[Complete Turf Care]

My business is building and maintaining baseball fields.
Are you reworking the 'skinned' area? Or the entire field?
Does your field even have a skinned area?

Your tiller will be a good tool either way.

If you are reworking the skinned area, you will need to remove the grass somehow. If it has lots of grass on it, I would suggest you spray it with Roundup to kill it asap. After it begins to die, take your mower and mow it at it's lowest setting. Cut it down to the dirt if possible. Then you can lightly till it, and then drag it with something to separate the remaining roots from the grass. First, get a tape measure and a can of spray paint and paint the boundaries of the skinned area. You can do a search of softball dimensions to find what measurements you need.

If you are reworking the entire field, keep in mind you will need some time for the grass to grow back after you till it. Down here along the Gulf Coast, that takes at least 90 days.

I can go on and on, but it may be easier for you to ask specific questions that you need answered. I'd be happy to share my experience with you.

 

[MossRoad]

Greetings folks,

I have a PT422 and have been voluntold ...

 

[MossRoad]

Here's a link to a thread I did many years ago about renovating/building a T-ball diamond. I also bumped it up in the projects forum for reference.

Go take a look at the diamond and see what the infield is made of. Ours was moon dust (granulated limestone). It was hard as a rock! Had to pry a few damaged areas around 1st and 3rd base up like broken concrete. Used my forks to do that.

Anyhow, hope some of these pictures gives you some reference.

And it's a very satisfying feeling to watch the kids out there on opening day!

TBall Diamond Renovation

This is the TBall diamond at my kids' little league. It hasn't been touched four about 4 years. Pretty pathetic. This is supposed to be the introduction to our ball park and it turns parents off right away. One of the other fathers and I have kids that are going to start TBall next spring, so...

www.tractorbynet.com

 

[3rd Coast]

Thanks for the replies. There was no infield left, it's a city park that had gone unused for many years. Clover took the place of any old moon dust that was left. Put in about 6 hours yesterday tilling the infield up. I guess another parent has a power rake he offered to bring in so I'll let him hit that next to get the grass/clover clumps out. The team has a mat drag that works pretty well after I set a couple PT buckets on it.

My biggest annoyance is I can't seem to drive the PT in a perfectly straight line. After painting up the arc I took my time to carefully cut it with the tiller. Once that was done I just set 'er down and let 'er eat. PT took it in stride, I'm sure this machine wasn't built for continuous all day use. I've got some new creaks and groans in the hydraulics that i'll see if a full service will address. I did grease prior to starting, and shot a little extra into the tiller about half way through.

Anyone have comments on the hydraulic duty cycle? Should we be letting these machines cool every hour or two?

 

[ponytug]

I use the well researched scientific method of temperature monitoring the hydraulic tank- with my hand. I have put an IR thermometer on it, but the hand is quick. If it gets too hot, I stop for a bit and let the fans cool things down. For me, it has to be something like tilling, or mowing, or chipping with WOT on a day when the temperatures go over 90F.

All the best,

Peter