Wanting to "cut" a slot in the ground

   / Wanting to "cut" a slot in the ground #12  
I'm envisioning a disc that rotates, attached to the side of a bucket, so that when lowered and driven along, it makes a cut in the ground.

This would be to install edging, to keep a mulched area separate from the lawn, so I would want to go approximately 3-4" below grade.

Firstly, is there such a thing commercially available? I've done some searching but have no idea what it might be called. The closest I've found is a "pipe layer", but one key factor is that it needs to be at the side of the tractor. Between my son and I we could probably modify something if it was out there.

If not, any ideas/suggestions as to how one might be made? I have immediate use to install about 300LF of edging, and a lot more in the future, and don't look forward to doing this all by hand...
What you describe is used, a Pizza Cutter, to cut asphalt when attached to a loader bucket or grader mulboard. Smaller variations are used as a edger when doing mowing, at back of curb and sidewalk edges, attached to a tractor or veristraq. I dont know how big/deep you are wanting. If your thinking "trenching" you need more like a cable plow, preferably a vibratory, or rotary cable plow,
Screenshot_20250918_183410_Google.jpg
Screenshot_20250918_183421_Google.jpg
 
   / Wanting to "cut" a slot in the ground #13  
BTW, the 3 point I shared is expensive, due to weights and frame; there absolutely are commercially available ones that simply bolt onto the bucket.

I would call some commercial mower shops, as google/Amazon seem to be confused by the search... I see them routinely, and they arent "homemade"
 
   / Wanting to "cut" a slot in the ground #15  
This is pretty cool. I have a cordless edger that goes on a multiple-tool motor, but this would be faster.
 
   / Wanting to "cut" a slot in the ground #18  
Thank you for that. How big (HP) of a tractor do you use to push that thing?
My machine is a 1500# front end loader, in a nutshell. It has a 25hp gas motor and everything is hydraulic. So maybe 12-14 HP to the wheels. I am fortunate that we have maybe 3-4" of turf soil on top of sand, so pushing it is not a problem, especially after a rain. I can angle it forward or backward with the dump/curl function and it's kinda like a weighted knife. I usually push the slit from point A to point B, then go back and it a rope to the hole on the bottom rear of the blade and us that to pull poly pipe in.

I also use it to edge my driveway if I let it go too long of a time and it gets too thick for the electric edger.

Last fall, I made something similar to it, but with two blades about 6" apart and a blade across the bottom. I used that to remove a strip of sod outside of our flower beds to plant bulbs in the trench it left. I don't have any photos of that, but will probably get some if I plant more bulbs this year.

This photo is from 2001.

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   / Wanting to "cut" a slot in the ground #19  
You could easily make something similar for a 3PT hitch and pull it. The OP wants something offset to the side. I'd think that would be doable. Or maybe bolt something to the side of the bucket.
 
   / Wanting to "cut" a slot in the ground #20  
So, im still unsure, we want to cut a trench or edge? Those are different tasks. Edge, 24" smooth disc blade, some angle iron, a bearing (if we are fancy), and clamp to the side of the bucket.

If we want to trench; offset, we need to make a wide 3 point "tool bar" and attach something like a chisel plow to that. That's a lot of force of that tool bar though.
 

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