Road graders and the end of winter

kadonte · Mar 7, 2001

Well, finished the grader. And attached is a pic. Used same idea as one available commercially and added some elongated shoes on the rear to even out the terrain. Another couple months when the snow goes away we'll giv her a try.

TraderMark · Mar 7, 2001

Good looking job there!!!
/w3tcompact/icons/smile.gif

JerryG · Mar 7, 2001

Kadonte,
That’s a fine looking blade. I like to design and build equipment when I won’t pay the going price or the item that I want is not commercially available.
You have done a really professional job there. I enjoy seeing a well designed and made piece of equipment or anything else as far as that goes.
Let use all know how it works when you get to try it out.

kadonte · Mar 8, 2001

Thanks for the comments. It's a lot of fun doing something different for a change like stickin steel together rather than wood. Winters are long here and anything that gets ones mind off snow and cold is a good thing. If I ever get to see my driveway again underneath the ice I'll let you know how it works.

Harv · Mar 8, 2001

<font color=blue>It's a lot of fun doing something different for a change like stickin steel together rather than wood.</font color=blue>

I know where you're coming from, Kadonte. My dad was quite the wood crafter, so I grew up making everything out of wood, even though some things should have been metal. /w3tcompact/icons/crazy.gif

I now keep my tractor in the wood shop, and I'm slowly turning that end of the building into a poor man's metal shop. Hopefully I will learn to weld a little this summer so's I can do projects such as the one you've done here (and done nicely, I might add).

I'm sure it varies amongst different localities, but what's your source for the steel? Do you buy scrap or new? I'm still pretty unfamiliar with the different grades -- what's good for welding or machining, what to use for strength, what for hardness, etc.

I very much look forward to your first field trials with the grader. /w3tcompact/icons/smile.gif

RobS · Mar 8, 2001

Wow, you've got some real craftsmanship in that project! I'm impressed. Also anxious to hear how it works and see some pictures of it in action. Nice job Kadonte /w3tcompact/icons/smile.gif

kadonte · Mar 8, 2001

Regarding steel sources. I looked for a surplus source. If I can find one stuck up here in the middle of nowhere it should be easy to find a source in most areas. The place I buy from sells leftover steel from large condtruction projects like bridges and such. For my use its perfect since I don't need 10 or 20' lengths. I buy cutoffs that range from 3-5 foot or so and choose shape and thickness to suit the application. On the grader I used 5" channel that was 5/16" thick, some 4" channel for ties, 1/2" x 3 for 3pt uprights and 2" channel for gusset supports. The place I buy from sells the steel for .20 to .25 a pound. So for close to 300 lbs of steel for the grader the bill was @ 80 bucks give or take. Hope this answers some of your questions. Have fun. How else could you spend so little money and get so many hours of joy getting steel slivers stuck in your hands and hot metal down your shirt welding it.

RobertN · Mar 8, 2001

What about a midmount blade? Since I have gointo old Farmalls, I have seen them for grading and also moving snow.

It seems it would be less senstive to bumps and dips than a scraper hanging off the front or rear.If you hit a bump 2" tall with the front tire, the scraper should only move 1" vertically, right?

If the scraper is hanging 2-3' off the back of the tractor, and the fron tire lifts 2", then the scraper on the rear has potential to drop or cut 2" deep.

I'm guessing this is right, or else all the big road graders wouldn't have the blade in the middle.

RobertN in Shingle Springs Calif

gordon · Mar 8, 2001

I must say I'm very impressed with the finished product!!! Looks like it should work great. Please post in the spring how it does. The design looks great the skid shoes are what really got me thinking. On soft gravel the skid shoes might leave drag marks. If so a couple of gauge wheels would fix that. Pretty work. /w3tcompact/icons/smile.gif

I'm also impressed with the cost of the steel. Sure is nice to get steel for pennies on the dollar.
Gordon

gordon · Mar 8, 2001

Robert you are correct on the grader, also the grader blade is there so the operator can keep a close eye on what he is doing.

But for a compact tractor there are a couple of things that come into play. If the blade, rake, grader or whatever has gauge wheels or skid shoes. Another thing is the toplink adjustment verses the gaugewheel adjustment. This makes it act much more like a grader than you would ever believe. By putting something behind the blade to keep it from dipping to much, that way you don't have to rely only on the 3pt adjustment to keep it level.
Gordon