Guage wheels or guage wheel?

[mfrost]

THAT is very clever!!! I really like the rake ... I find a curved-tine rake to be too aggressive many times. Also, looks as though the float might function as a "hula" hoe for those sparse but prolific dry summer weeds!

Here is a picture of the rake in the operational position for pushing( it will flost back when going forward so you can use your blade to cover holes or level where brush was removed. If you desire not to get a sore neck then it can be taken off and installed on the inside of the box blade and it still folds up out of the way for normal blade use. It really keeps the dirt out of your brush or weeds.

I can just hear those brains cranking out ideas.

 

[patrick_g]

here is another idea. works great in sandy soil and it also keeps the back blade functional for pushing dirt. It also helps in compaction and no moving parts or flat tires.

I see the sand, where is the soil?

So are you in Eastern San Diego county, Imperial county, or where? Looks mighty arid!

Pat

 

[patrick_g]

...you would want the guage wheel as close as possible to the cutting edge to minimize the variation as the tractor goes in and out of the potholes.

If the distance from the rear axle to the blade is 1/2 the distance between the rear axle and the gauge wheel(s) then the blade will be raised and lowered 1/2 the distance the gauge wheels move up and down. Gauge wheels farther from the blade reduce the rapidity of the vertical movement of the blade and tend to average out the variations.

Of course the "hobby horsing (pitching up and down) of the short wheel base tractor introduces another source of relative motion that complicates analysis. I end up sometimes having to just go slow and make TNT adjustments to achieve a decent start toward level since my little tractor is so short coupled. (Kubota L4610)

Pat

 

[mfrost]

I see the sand, where is the soil?

So are you in Eastern San Diego county, Imperial county, or where? Looks mighty arid!

Pat

Close but wrong. In the high desert of San Bernardino County at 3000 feet.

 

[HomeBrew2]

Here is a picture of the rake in the operational position for pushing( it will flost back when going forward so you can use your blade to cover holes or level where brush was removed. If you desire not to get a sore neck then it can be taken off and installed on the inside of the box blade and it still folds up out of the way for normal blade use. It really keeps the dirt out of your brush or weeds.
I can just hear those brains cranking out ideas.

It seems you put some good thought into it all! An all-in-one deal. If I viewed your pix right ... a nice use of old concrete form stakes on the rake

 

[mfrost]

It seems you put some good thought into it all! An all-in-one deal. If I viewed your pix right ... a nice use of old concrete form stakes on the rake

Actually they were not that old and some were new. Now that I'm building a 40x40 shop I need to buy more

 

[HomeBrew2]

... I need to buy more

Yep, that's why I'm gaurding my last few dozen. Haven't found much use for a shop though, other than my small garage ... shop time is down time to me ... maybe if I ever retire

 

[Tig]

If the distance from the rear axle to the blade is 1/2 the distance between the rear axle and the gauge wheel(s) then the blade will be raised and lowered 1/2 the distance the gauge wheels move up and down. Gauge wheels farther from the blade reduce the rapidity of the vertical movement of the blade and tend to average out the variations.

Pat

I have no experience in running a box blade and guage wheel but it would seem to me that the guage wheel is riding on a flat, graded surface with the only irregularities being the ones caused by the uneven movement of the tractor as it crosses potholes. That being the case, having the guage wheel closer would mean less vertical movement of the blade as the tractor crosses potholes.

Example A; tractor to cutting edge is 4', cutting edge to guage wheel 1'. While crossing a 5" pothole the cutting edge will lower 1". The secondary effect would be the guage wheel crossing this 1" deep irregularity and lowering the cutting edge .8" As for climbing out of this irregularity there would be a 1' lag and 80% correction per foot traveled.

Example B; If the distance between the blade and and the gauge wheel was equidistant the blade would lower 2.5" when the tractor crosses a 5" deep pothole. The secondary effect would be the gauge wheel crossing this 2.5" deep irregularity and lowering the cutting edge 1.25" As for climbing out of this irregularity there would be a 4' lag and 50% correction per 4" feet traveled.

In this scenario on paper the short gauge wheel seems to be the way to go. More consistent and quicker correction. That being said, my experience working with the box blade is negligible and I have never used gauge wheels so once I get out in the dirt I may find that this logic is flawed.

 

[patrick_g]

Close but wrong. In the high desert of San Bernardino County at 3000 feet.

It could have easily been Arizona or Baja except for your bio claims California. My sister used to live just a block out of San Bernardino in the community of Highland and now lives in Wickenburg, AZ in a community with landscaping indistinguishable from yours.

Pat

 

[mars1952]

I have no experience in running a box blade and guage wheel but it would seem to me that the guage wheel is riding on a flat, graded surface with the only irregularities being the ones caused by the uneven movement of the tractor as it crosses potholes. That being the case, having the guage wheel closer would mean less vertical movement of the blade as the tractor crosses potholes.

Example A; tractor to cutting edge is 4', cutting edge to guage wheel 1'. While crossing a 5" pothole the cutting edge will lower 1". The secondary effect would be the guage wheel crossing this 1" deep irregularity and lowering the cutting edge .8" As for climbing out of this irregularity there would be a 1' lag and 80% correction per foot traveled.

Example B; If the distance between the blade and and the gauge wheel was equidistant the blade would lower 2.5" when the tractor crosses a 5" deep pothole. The secondary effect would be the gauge wheel crossing this 2.5" deep irregularity and lowering the cutting edge 1.25" As for climbing out of this irregularity there would be a 4' lag and 50% correction per 4" feet traveled.

In this scenario on paper the short gauge wheel seems to be the way to go. More consistent and quicker correction. That being said, my experience working with the box blade is negligible and I have never used gauge wheels so once I get out in the dirt I may find that this logic is flawed.

Hi Steve: I agree with your logic as long as the box blade has plenty of dirt to drop. If it runs out of dirt the box blade with a short coupled gauge wheel set will drop into the unfilled part of the hole and start cutting off the following bump too soon. Also if a short coupled box blade is angled to cut aggressively it can dig too deep too fast. If the distance between the tractor wheels and the blade and the gauge wheels and the box blade is even the box blade can't dig in excessively because it is held up equally on each end. Mounting the gauge wheels close works but A long setup with the blade in the middle will work better (except for maneuverability).
Marshall

 

[HomeBrew2]

It could have easily been Arizona or Baja except for your bio claims California. My sister used to live just a block out of San Bernardino in the community of Highland and now lives in Wickenburg, AZ in a community with landscaping indistinguishable from yours. Pat

Had I cared, I could have also easily considered, California City, Barstow, Boron, Olancha ... maybe even Big Pine or Independence ... though it's been a long time since I've made a trek "looking for shade" and may not remember the specific topography and flora

 

[mfrost]

Had I cared, I could have also easily considered, California City, Barstow, Boron, Olancha ... maybe even Big Pine or Independence ... though it's been a long time since I've made a trek "looking for shade" and may not remember the specific topography and flora

And sometimes the trek may take a long time and them you may have to share it some undesirable varmits.

 

[Tig]

I got a couple hours of grading with a BB this weekend. One guage wheel worked great with the T&T. But... The 8" wheel is a bit narrow and small. I only saw it skid once in the gravel but it did sink in the newly filled holes. 10" x 4" would probably work much better. The laneway I was working is about ten years overdue for some attention and it also got severely abuse two winters ago by a new neighbour. A tandem load of gravel only went so far. I found it easier to work with the guage wheel set longer due to the size of some of the problem areas.
Now I need to build a grader.
Overall I'm happy with the result. Thank you all for the advice given.

 

[StrangeRanger]

Tig,
I too am knew to the adventures of a BB w/ gauge wheels. Actually, I don't have gauge wheels yet, but I'm looking for inspirations. Can you please tell us what tractor you're running and what you ended up w/ for a set up? Pictures or drawings would be awesome

I've got an L3400 w/ a Woods GB65 BB. My driveway is an 1,800' rutted, muddy, gravel mix nightmare. I can do OK by going very slowly and constantly adjusting the BB height, but it's obvious that gauge wheels are required. So I'm going to enlist my welding buddy's help and build some gauge wheels. Any advice or ideas ya'll can provide would be GREATLY appreciated. Thank you,
j

I got a couple hours of grading with a BB this weekend. One guage wheel worked great with the T&T. But... The 8" wheel is a bit narrow and small. I only saw it skid once in the gravel but it did sink in the newly filled holes. 10" x 4" would probably work much better. The laneway I was working is about ten years overdue for some attention and it also got severely abuse two winters ago by a new neighbour. A tandem load of gravel only went so far. I found it easier to work with the guage wheel set longer due to the size of some of the problem areas.
Now I need to build a grader.
Overall I'm happy with the result. Thank you all for the advice given.

 

[Tig]

I'd be happy to share. My tractor is a B7100-HSD 4wd. I'll post pics of the setup later tonight.
My laneway is about the same length as yours. Box blade worked fine but I think some sort of grader would be better. Based on a collection of ideas and pics in the forums I came up with an idea for a grader. I started building the grader last Friday but ran out of time. Which is a good thing since based on what I learned last weekend I'd like to change the design of the blades among other things. So I'll have to back track a bit. Later this week I'll have time to get at it again. I'll start a new thread in the build it section. It's pretty simple in design and materials required, you may find it interesting.

 

[Tig]

Here is my single guage wheel. The design is based on what I saw in Homebrew's avatar. I only made one because his avatar only shows one. It's made from scrap I had. A bracket hooks on to the back lip of the BB. The bracket can be moved left or right. The arm slides in and can be lengthened as required. Towards the front of the BB is a bar that drop onto the BB to brace the end of the guage wheel arm. I just bungeed the arm down for now. The single guage wheel worked quite well allowing me to adjust the angle of the blade to suit the slope I wanted for any particular section of laneway. Because of the geometry of the setup the toplink has to be adjusted whenever the tilt is changed. I imagine two guage wheels would work in similar fashion. As I mentioned before a bigger wider wheel would be an improvement.

 

[patrick_g]

The tail wheel on most brush hogs is made of recycled tires and is wider and greater diameter. Unfortunatley the whole assy is aboiut $300. They work well and last a long time in rough situations but seem pricey to me.

Pat