How do you use a landplane

[Gordon Gould]

I run mine flat also. Flat while it is working. When you start to pull the front blade will want to dig in and it may cause the back end to lift slightly so lengthen the top link a little so that the runners are flat while cutting.

View attachment 4422194

gg

Mine are fixed at 3/4" below the runners. I don't want to just move the loose material on top into holes or depressions. I want to cut the surface and grade it.

gg

 

[Shawn T. W.]

My Bush Hog brand also has fixed blades, about 5/8" below the runners, until I bolted 1/4" thick angle iron to the bottom of the runners ... Not only did I feel like it was cutting/digging too much, as it was clogging up the top above the blades on the right side, but the increased length by 50% makes for a smoother/flatter driveway ...

As you can see from the video I posted earlier, my driveway doesn't have ruts, washouts, washboard ... I mostly use it to keep the weeds from growing in it ... I don't drive on it much either ...

 

[wendlingknives]

How well does a land plane work vs a grader blade for crowning a dirt road? Trying to decide which to get. And by dirt road, this is for east texas red clay type deer lease trails. Theyre pretty rutted from rain and all. Id like to find something better than my box blade to create a crown and let rain runoff down the edges (hopefully) to have less washout

 

[dieselscout80]

I am wanting to take the high spots off in our pastures and distribute the dirt to the low spots. I was thinking that a land plane with rippers would work.

I think adjusting the rippers to engage the ground say a 1/4” above the skids and the blades at about a 1/2” above the skids.

Would my TC45DA (hydrostatic transmission) pull a 8 foot land plane setup as I described above.

 

[Fallon]

A land plane does a very poor job of crowning. It will move a decent amount of material forward or backwards, but almost nothing side to side. Angled blades look like they should, but don't. If I'm crowning with my land plane I'm doing a herringbone path down the road 30' at a time diagonally down the road.

A back blade will crown loose material WAY faster than a plane. But a back blade doesn't have enough weight or stiffness to loosen up packed dirt or gravel. It will just skip over the top. Unless you have a big machine & super heavy back blade. You'll need a land plane or box blade, possibly with rippers to get things started.

It's possible to do the diagonal thing with the land plane & crown. It's often not possible to cut with a back blade.

Skimming off the tops of ruts does little long term. Loose material pops right out of the hard ruts. You need to rip the whole road & smooth it out together so it packs in properly. Loose material around hard material just moves back out.

I use my land plane a lot more than my back blade.

 

[workinonit]

If the blades are not below the runners a landplane won't do anything at all. When I built mine I fashioned it after one I had used with offset blades. I set the blades 1" deeper than the runners. It's the best leveling device I've ever used. I also have 2 box blades that just sit but they do have their purpose. Just not leveling.

 

[Tomtint]

It's best to have it flat and have the front blade about 3/8" lower than the rear blade....Lower if you really need to cut. The idea is to have the front blade do the planing, have the material flow over it and then have the rear blade feather out the material as it goes.

 

[dieselscout80]

I’m not wanting to disturb any GRASS except where there are high spots in our pastures.

This is the reason for wanting the blades slightly above the skids.

If there high spots across the width of the land plane I want them cut down/leveled.

 

[Gordon Gould]

How well does a land plane work vs a grader blade for crowning a dirt road? Trying to decide which to get. And by dirt road, this is for east texas red clay type deer lease trails. Theyre pretty rutted from rain and all. Id like to find something better than my box blade to create a crown and let rain runoff down the edges (hopefully) to have less washout

Like Fallon says - A land plane is a lousy tool for crowning. A rear blade is what you want. Your tractor is plenty big to do blade work. The heavier the better. I am not familiar with Texas red clay but I have no problem cutting into my packed gravel driveway using a LandPlane 1572 blade and 30 hp tractor. Setting the angle of attack to get the best cutting action will help. And you can always add weight to your blade. But too much is abusive. Plan to do your work around the weather. Work when the road is at it most workable consistency.

Fixing washout rut from our 2024 flood

Crowning

gg