Rake Will a landscrap rake grade my driveway?

[mx125]

I use my rear blade for maintaining my gravel driveway.

I turn the blade around (so the cuttig edge is facing backwards - like you were going to push in reverse), set it on an angle and drive forwards (once up and once down the driveway) leaving a windrow down the center of the drive way. Once I have the windrow I set the blade, still facing backwards, straight across and drive forwards straddling the windrow. Or if you wanted you could leave the blade facing forwards and drive backwards, but it takes a little more attention to keep it even.

The driveway has to be semi-loose in order to use this method, but I find it alot easier to control as the blade does not want to dig in or lift up as you drive over small humps and holes (driveway is not perfectly level).

Thnaks for that. Also a helpful insight. So in your opinion, do you feel the rear blade is better than a box blade for your purpose? And how do you deal with hardpack . . . or is that not really an issue on your drive?

 

[mx125]

I would get the longest blade that I could afford and my tractor can pull, along with the ability to offset the blade.

Setting the blade at a sharp angle really helps cutting in and moving material from the edges in. The offset lets you reach past your wheel when the blade is angled. You can reach out into the grass and pull the stray gravel back into the drive.

Then you turn the blade backwards and decrease the angle, it does a real good job of spreading the loose rock and filling in dips. It will also counteract the dips you get with the cutting edge.

As far as cutting into hardpan, it is best not to try to do it all in one shot. Each pass will shave a little giving you more free material to move around for filling in the ruts and holes.

Driveway grading for me is a Zen experience, the tractor moves slow, the dirt rolls and the problems gradually go away. You don't hurry, you think but mostly about what you will do on your next pass, not necessarily about the pass you are making.

Sometimes, blading is my favorite thing to do on the tractor.

I got the rake last year. It's great for freshening the drive but a completely different experience. It works better the faster you go. A couple of passes and you are looking for something else to do.

Haha. . .i completey get you on the zenlike experience. I'm definitely looking fwd to it. Especially the satisfaction of a final product.

That's another solid vote for a rear blade. Although it sounds like you're recommending a 6 footer for my 20-ish HP tractor. The tractor is about 48" wide so with a 5 foot I could get to about 30 degrees before I would fail to cover may tracks . .but would not really have any overhang for getting into the ditch.

 

[Egon]

separate the rock from the fines and bring it back up to the surface.

This is what you do not want. The fines and coarser rock should be mixed for a maximum density which also alows for the best compaction.
Course rock on top looks good but is not the most viable situation for a travelled road!

 

[dangerdoc]

This is what you do not want. The fines and coarser rock should be mixed for a maximum density which also alows for the best compaction.
Course rock on top looks good but is not the most viable situation for a travelled road!

I have about a foot of base. The rock I am pulling to the surface is the 1/2 washed rock that I dress the road with now. Keeping the the small rock on surface keeps the the shoes cleanwhen walking when the road is wet.

 

[dangerdoc]

Haha. . .i completey get you on the zenlike experience. I'm definitely looking fwd to it. Especially the satisfaction of a final product.

That's another solid vote for a rear blade. Although it sounds like you're recommending a 6 footer for my 20-ish HP tractor. The tractor is about 48" wide so with a 5 foot I could get to about 30 degrees before I would fail to cover may tracks . .but would not really have any overhang for getting into the ditch.

For blading, HP means little. My best blading tractor ever was a 34 hp farmall. What is important is traction. I have never ran out of horsepower blading.

 

[Kernopelli]

I used to use my box blade exclusively when grading my driveway until I tried using a rake...it's much more effective for me.

I built a "rack" for my 6' rake that holds cinder blocks for down pressure. I welded angle iron to build a "ladder rack" that has 4 trays that each hold a cinder block. I welded a heavy nut on each end of the rake and welded a short piece of pipe to 2 corners of the rack and slide a bolt through it and screw it into the nuts to hold the rack in place but allows for easy removal. I usually use a ratchet tie down to keep the blocks from bouncing out of their trays. I will use either 2 or 4 blocks depending on how much pressure I need. 4 blocks will really allow it to penetrate hard materials without hurting the tines.

 

[easygo]

If you can get things delivered to Canada try to look at the products on the Northern Tool website. They have blades for a lot less then what your dealer quoted. I found a used King Kutter blade very close to me and it works just fine for my need. I payed $300 for my 72" that isn't a killer deal, but if I ordered one it would have set me back by $500 or so. Here is a link where you can look at their selection. rear blade from Northern Tool + Equipment
Consider getting one that can be tilted. It costs a bit more but it is worth it.

 

[mx125]

If you can get things delivered to Canada try to look at the products on the Northern Tool website. They have blades for a lot less then what your dealer quoted. I found a used King Kutter blade very close to me and it works just fine for my need. I payed $300 for my 72" that isn't a killer deal, but if I ordered one it would have set me back by $500 or so. Here is a link where you can look at their selection. rear blade from Northern Tool + Equipment
Consider getting one that can be tilted. It costs a bit more but it is worth it.

I will have a look. Northern tool is based here so that's a great idea. Thanks.

 

[FrogLick]

TR3 Rake For Gravel Driveway Maintenance >>> ABI Property Owner
Watch the Gravel/Dirt Driveway Maintenance:

Paul thanks for this link. This looks like a very interesting implement for keeping a gravel drive in really nice shape. It seems to be kind of a modified box blade & rake combination that won't redistribute quite as much material in one pass; probably really useful for leveling out new top dressing also. Mind sharing about how much it cost?

 

[Charlesaf3]

bear in mind that there is also specialized driveway maintenance stuff like Road Boss, Grade Master, Road Runner etc. People swear by them. I was thinking seriously about getting one - Grade Master seems to have the best prices - but then I saw how good a job the box blade and rake did, so its dropped down the list.

Even more important than the implement is a hydraulic toplink IMO - can't imagine doing it without, and they aren't expensive if you have a remote.