scraper blade question...

StevenPaul · Dec 9, 2005

wife is planning a Christmas party this Sunday, driveway is 1000 feet long, wet, dirt/mud with very minimal gravel, and there are spots where people could get stuck, plus there's a circular area I started with a plow attachment (my bright idea, sheeesh, what an idiot) is rutty and a mess. Is there ANYBODY out there that has a quick idea for making a makeshift scraper blade of some sort. We have some miscellaneous scrap around the yard, yet nothing that I think would be sturdy or strong enough for a scraper blade. I know it's asking a lot and I think I might be gettin a scraper blade for Christmas but I need something real quick and temporary for this weekend. I know there's gotta be some creative "McGyver" ideas out there some where.

I have a 2010 JD that runs pretty darn good for its age, I also have a 3ph piece that we found on the property(see picture)

thanks any and all help!
Steve

StevenPaul · Dec 9, 2005

the driveway

StevenPaul · Dec 9, 2005

my bright idea for a circular drive

StevenPaul · Dec 9, 2005

oh yeah, it would help if the idea was easy and cheap. I'm not asking to much am I? /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif

Woodsman_Pete · Dec 9, 2005

If you think that Santa is bringing you a blade for Christmas, why not just make some kind of drag for now. A piece of old beam or c-channel, two equal lengths of 3/8" chain, a couple of bolts and a shackle. if its not heavy enough throw some cement blocks on it. I would think that this would level out your ruts and smooth things up until you get your blade and can do some grading to keep the water from laying.

Gumby6 · Dec 9, 2005

Cheap, Quick, and little to build it with??? You are looking for McGyver! /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif

If you need is to just get the drive a little flatter, perhaps one of the homemade "chain link drag" so many have made here on the TBN would work.

Here is a link to Making a chain link drag thread.

Mainly a piece of chain link fence streched rigid (flat) with sufficient weight so as to do some work. With little gravel to work with, and depending on weather conditions, all you can hope for is a flatter surface. Without some way to compact the soil, your still in for problems.

EddieWalker · Dec 9, 2005

So you got two days to fix the drive. /forums/images/graemlins/shocked.gif

When you say that people can get stuck, is it mud, or are the ruts really deap?

Putting dirt into mudholes usually results in just another mudhole. Those things take time to dry out, or an aweful lot of material.

My guess is you don't have enought time to do it right, and could just as likely make things worse before they get better.

The drag idea is a good one and will smooth things out quite a bit. The heavier the drag, the better it will do. I have an oak log that I use with some cyclone fence behind it that works well. And for the serious stuff I use a pair of very heavy fork lift forks. They cut right through the high spots something nice. Problem with them is they are so heavy that my 35 hp tractor has trouble pulling them when they get a hold of something solid.

Do what you can, but have your tractor handy with a tow strap to pull out your friends if they get stuck. Plan for the worse, and then you'll be ready for it.

Eddie

StevenPaul · Dec 9, 2005

the drag seems like my best bet, and I agree, I don't have enough time to do it right. Would a chain link fence wrapped around a pretty heavy log work. Does the fence "have" to be stretched out? At any rate, thanks for the ideas, it does give me something quick, cheap, and easy. I knew McGyver was lurking around in here somewhere.

The getting stuck problem will most likely be "city folk" comin in and swervin to miss the pot holes and hittin the muddy slick area. We call it "LaKathy's tar pits" for when we first got the property it was about the same conditions and my wife got stuck in our dually, hahaha! I still don't let her forget about that.

thanks again!
Steve

Gumby6 · Dec 9, 2005

Your in SC I'm in NC (mountains). I can get a large dump of road base gravel (has findings, rock dust) still in it as it is unwashed. This stuff packs great and it is only about 200 a load delivered. The driver will distribute it along the road while dumping, a pretty good system they have. You would need 2 trucks to do a decent job on a drive your length, but you can have them concentrate in your worst areas.

I have a good grade to my drive and if I didn't keep on top of things, it could get bad in a hurry. This stuff works wonders. Once you have a good bed, just regular maintenance like with the drag or a box blade is all that is needed.

RonMar · Dec 9, 2005

A drag will smooth it out, but the mudholes will still be mudholes without putting a load of gravel in them. Perhaps you can get a small load dropped off by tomorrow and just fill in the worst spots. Good luck.

CTyler · Dec 9, 2005

Do you have a loader on the tractor? If so drive backwards using the FEL to smooth it out. Changing the angle of the bucket will make it more or less agressive. You can also drag and dig slightly with the heel of the bucket.

bobodu · Dec 9, 2005

Get a wagon,6-8 bales of straw and charge them city people $9.50 for a "Hay Ride".....sure...it may be up the driveway to you,but it smells like money to me and they wouldn't know the difference /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif

PILOON · Dec 10, 2005

For years we maintained a mile and a half of dirt road using an old willis jeep and a home made 'scraper'.

The scraper consisted of 3 6x6 timbers laid out parallel to the rear bumper and 2 more lengthwise to hold and position the cross pieces.

The first cross piece was slightly angled to let the road material move sideways and the second would catch the spillover from the first and move it over to the other side.
Narurally the end of the # 2 would be wider than the first.
Again the third was positioned so as to catch spillover from the second.
Basically picture a big 'Z'.
The front and rear 'blades' would be angled about 20 deg or so and since that would pull the scraper off to the side, the middle blade would have a sharper angle, like about 30-40 deg. That tended to keep the whole rig going somewhat in a straight line.
Lag bolts would tie everything together and later refinements had steel cutting edges added.
For pulling we used 2 chains and added an old 14" tire as a shock absorber.
Pulling that thing along the road would skim off the humps and bumps, fill in the dips and holes and leave us with a dirt road smoothe as a baby's bottem.

An 'emergency scraper' could be rigged with any old lengths of 8 ft 4 x 4's and 2 by stock for cross bracing along with a bunch of nails and lag screws plus some heavy rope if you don't have chain available.
Wts can be added (nail on a plywood 'deck').
Mind you the life span od such a wooden scraper will be about one day.
I know,'been there done that' (that's how I prooved my design for the final product)
Final design consisted of 5 lengths of 6 x 6 oak with notched joints and 2 1/2 bolts at each joint.
3/8" x 3 'cutting edges' were lagged to each blade.
That old rig stood us about 10 years of grading about every 2-3 weeks from May to Oct.
One trick was that we stored it 'high and dry' to prevent rot.

One guy would stand on the scraper holding onto a rope and actually steer the scraper by applying his weight to the appropriate corner.

Now I'm not the genius behind this idea.
I just remembered back in the 50's at my grandfather's farm that the local township would have a horse team out pulling these things every spring.

Also 'back then' they did not plow the roads. They compacted the snow by rolling it with a 3" diam roller pulled by a team.
Great for cold winters, but total shut down in the spring for about 2 weeks.
But then that was only 2 wks out of 52.
Today we want 53!
Times sure have changed.

have_blue · Dec 10, 2005

The only quick solution I know of is sand. Spread an inch or 2 of sharp sand on your road, and it will be smooth and dry for months. Rain only makes it better, because it washes into the low places and packs.

Merry Christmas,

Slamfire · Dec 11, 2005

See if you can find a trailer hitch that's been removed from a mobile home. Wire some fencin' over the top and add your weight up there. If you drag it backwards, with the wide part of the VEE pointed toward your tractor it does a good job of fillin' the tire tracks. The other way just pushes stuff to the side of the road and then you have standin' water. That'll hold you until you can shop for either a used grader blade or box blade. /forums/images/graemlins/wink.gif