Spreading Stones Technique

[MikePA]

A shot of the same side, from the opposite end after I had filled in about half of the washed out area.

 

[MikePA]

The first side is almost done.

 

[MikePA]

This is the far end of the first side where the corner was almost all washed out.

 

[MikePA]

Part way through doing the same thing to the opposite side.

 

[MikePA]

Three and a half hours after I started, 22 tons of stone are gone. It was enough to fill in all the washed out areas and put a 1 inch layer on about 20% of the ring.

The method which seemed to work the best, which several of you recommended, was to dump the bucket while backing up. Then move forward to where I started, lower the bucket, put it in float and back drag. I had all the tractor lights on by the time I finished. If it doesn't rain tomorrow, I'll do some more smoothing with the FEL and also pull the drag harrow over it.

 

[frank_f15]

if what u are trying to fill is fairly even then go option #2 u can easily spread stone with this method. shake it out then use the back edge of the bucket to get it level, think u will be suprised what u can do with just a little pratcice.

 

[MossRoad]

You might be better off going by cubic yards than tons.

If my math is correct(and there is a good possibility that it ain't) find the square footage of your ring and divide it by 324. That should be how many cubic yards of material you will need to cover it one inch deep.

Formula:
1 cubic yard equals 27 cubic feet.
1 cubic foot will cover 12 square feet 1 inch deep.
27 x 12 = 324

Hope this helps /w3tcompact/icons/smile.gif
Thanks for the picks. They look great.

 

[dcollie]

I just recently put down 15 tons of river rock (about 1" in diameter) with by BX22 FEL. What really worked for me was to have the toothbar attached to the loader. Then I was able to 'rake' the rocks back to a smooth and even finish by using the teeth on the bar as a rake. Didn't take long at all.....in fact, I was done so fast that I was kinda looking around for more to do !

_Duane C.

 

[gerard]

Mike, other than your estimate being off (We did an 80x 200 outdoor with 2 inches of sand and that took well over 100 ton) save yourself some grief and try and finagle a backblade with skid shoes. Worked even better than the box blade (I have both). Set the skid shoes to the hieight you want and drive. Great for sand or stone dust. Looks like a pool table when your done. I don't care how good you are with a loader you're not going to get a perfectly uniform 1 inch layer without some type of guide/skid shoe set up (Of course you could rig up a temporary gauge to the loader if you want to but a back blade with shoes is the easiest)

 

[MikePA]

gerard, thanks for the tip. I have a Woods RB60 rear blade so all I'd need to buy are the skid shoes. I'll give my local Woods dealer a call tomorrow and order a set.