Rons Grader

[SkunkWerX]

Ron,

So, if I can paraphrase your words:

-A Box Scraper is more of a Cut N Fill tool, for doing COARSE work.
-A Grader is more of a levelling device, for doing more Precision work.

A Box Scraper can do some precision levelling of the Grader, but may take more input and time.
A Grader can do some of the coarser work of the Box Scraper, but may take more time and passes.

Is that a reasonable way to loosley describe it?

 

[RonMar]

Ron,

So, if I can paraphrase your words:

-A Box Scraper is more of a Cut N Fill tool, for doing COARSE work.
-A Grader is more of a levelling device, for doing more Precision work.

A Box Scraper can do some precision levelling of the Grader, but may take more input and time.
A Grader can do some of the coarser work of the Box Scraper, but may take more time and passes.

Is that a reasonable way to loosley describe it?

Yes I would agree with that.
I attached a pic from above, at least of the front blade. The rear blade is a little hard to see under the crossmember and fold up gate and the back end is pushed into a berry bush behind my barn right now The very first pic I posted back in April 06 is a side view that shows the blades pretty well also. they are perpendicular to the line of travel, front edge of front blade is 3/4" lower than the side rails.

Thank you. I think I understand now.

My impression then is that an adjustable rear blade would be suited for cleaning up a badly rutted road and ditches, the standard box blade would be suited for general leveling and moving more material on a flat surface but not ditches, and then a grader like yours would be used for fine grading of a flat surface.

I think a grader like mine would do pretty good on a rutted road, it did on the ruts in my lower drive... A rear blade might not, due to it's lack of weight which sometimes limits it's digging ability. I think blades are more suited for material that is already loose. Also controlling the amount of cut on a rear blade can be a problem since it has no sidewalls to ride on/lever against with the toplink. IMO, a rear blade as well as a landscape rake would be more controllable when fitted with gauge wheels to control the bite, just like a commercial road grader has the blade suspended between the front and rear wheels.

A box would do pretty good on shallow swale type ditches. The regular blade again would be limited by it's weight, but being able to angle the material up and out of the ditch could be an advantage for removing the material elsewhere. The tractor also has to run in the ditch, so tilt angle limits the depth. A grader like mine would also cut a ditch, it would just be slower at it than a box, particularly if you could lower the scarifier teeth on just the ditch side of the box. I have seen some pretty functional swales cut with a box scraper by tilting the 3PH arms/box. The spoils most likley would need to be scooped out with a loader though each time the box got full. In cleaning out an existing ditch, a rear blade that could offset to one side AND angle to draw the material up on to the roadway would be excellent.

 

[SkunkWerX]

Ron, thanks.

I see some people build theirs with blades perpendicular, others, like the commercial ones have the angle.

Ron, here is a hypothetical question, if you built another one.....
Would you stick with your basic design, or make the blades angled?
Anything else you would do, based on your current one's performance?

I have an asphalt driveway, so I would be doing more landscaping, yard and dirt levelling.

 

[RonMar]

I would add more weight in the form of taller sidewalls. I also think it might work better with slightly narrower side skids(less than 1"). These 1 1/2" sides sometimes ride up on the rocks that get broke free. A narrower skid might work it's way down in amongst the rocks better. I used the box tube because it was cheap and available. I might also move the front blade back a few inches. I would occasionally, while ripping out the grass, fill the front area with the lighter grass clumps and dirt'rootwads and spill a little out the sides and under the skids. This dosn't happen with just dirt or rocks.

I don't see any reason to angle the blades.

 

[SkunkWerX]

I would add more weight in the form of taller sidewalls. I also think it might work better with slightly narrower side skids(less than 1"). These 1 1/2" sides sometimes ride up on the rocks that get broke free. A narrower skid might work it's way down in amongst the rocks better. I used the box tube because it was cheap and available. I might also move the front blade back a few inches. I would occasionally, while ripping out the grass, fill the front area with the lighter grass clumps and dirt'rootwads and spill a little out the sides and under the skids. This dosn't happen with just dirt or rocks.

I don't see any reason to angle the blades.

Sounds like wise words of wisdom, especially the part about angling the blades, it will be much easier to build them perpendicular to the sides, that is for sure.

I was thinking about adding a weight tray for stacking weights , centered over the center support cross bar, for mine, which will be overall a smaller unit, to match my 23HP tractor.

Thanks again!

 

[2manyrocks]

Since I already have a box blade, now you've got me thinking about adding gauge wheels instead of building a whole new grader. But before going there, I've got this question I'll toss out.

I'm wondering if anybody pulls a grader like yours someway off the drawbar and uses the 3 pt lift to adjust the cutting angle instead of using a separate cylinder? I guess one could attach the grader to the tractor in a two point fashion someway and put gauge wheels on the back of the grader so the 3 pt lift could be used to adjust the cutting angle.

 

[3RRL]

Since I already have a box blade, now you've got me thinking about adding gauge wheels instead of building a whole new grader. But before going there, I've got this question I'll toss out.

I'm wondering if anybody pulls a grader like yours someway off the drawbar and uses the 3 pt lift to adjust the cutting angle instead of using a separate cylinder? I guess one could attach the grader to the tractor in a two point fashion someway and put gauge wheels on the back of the grader so the 3 pt lift could be used to adjust the cutting angle.

I'm sure that is very possible to do in both scenarios. However, depending on the attachment, using the gage wheels to adjust might not give as much angular difference as using the toplink, IMHO.

 

[SkunkWerX]

I think it could be towed with the 2 lower points if it also has adjustable gauge wheels.

Angle adjustment could be made, but would require adjusting the wheels each time, because as you lift/lower the 2 lower Links, you are also raising/lower the grader. In other words, as you change the angle, you would also be affecting th cutting height, which would then need counter-adjustment using the wheels to keep the grader "on plane".

However, with that said, these two-bladed graders wouldn't have a very wide angle-adjustment range, as you would begin defeating it's design.
-Angle it for Nose Down would begin lifting rear blade from surface.
-Angle it for Nose Up would be lifting the front blade.

From what I have been reading, the graders are mostly designed to run flat and level to the surface, so that both grading edges are in contact.

 

[2manyrocks]

Yes, that makes sense.

I read elsewhere that the curvature of a road grader blade helps remix the larger material with the fines.http://www.dirtandgravelroads.org/

Is the two flat blade design of graders like Ronmar's intended to accomplish the same thing as a curved blade on a road grader?

Looks like hydraulic adjustments for tilt, depth and angle would be what we'd all want if we could afford them.

 

[Renze]

I'm wondering if anybody pulls a grader like yours someway off the drawbar and uses the 3 pt lift to adjust the cutting angle instead of using a separate cylinder? I guess one could attach the grader to the tractor in a two point fashion someway and put gauge wheels on the back of the grader so the 3 pt lift could be used to adjust the cutting angle.

This setup will be a pain in the arse to keep level. as soon as the tractor wheel hits a pothole, the blade will agressively duck and make a transversed rut in your road.