Land plane/ grading scraper

[crystallake]

Second day on project. Making progress.

 

[crystallake]

Update on project. Welding complete except for angle iron blade holders on bottom, thought it would be best to drill holes for attaching blades before welding. Question: How best to drill 5/8 bolt holes? Lots of them to do. Hole saw, twist drill, plasma cutter?? Gonna wish I had a friend with a mill I bet.

 

[coldsteelva]

Mill or press would be my choice

 

[CADplans]

Question: How best to drill 5/8 bolt holes? Lots of them to do. Hole saw, twist drill, plasma cutter?? Gonna wish I had a friend with a mill I bet.

Look at post #28 in my landplane thread,,,

http://www.tractorbynet.com/forums/build-yourself/369327-landplane-my-diy-3.html?highlight=landplane

I used my power feed drill press. I too had to drill a LOT of holes for the landplane construction.

You could always stop by,, we could drill them one afternoon,,, :thumbsup:

:laughing:

 

[crazyal]

If all you have is a plasma cutter and a hand drill then I would do the hand drill. Use a center punch to locate the holes and then start off with a small bit and progress up to 5/8". A drill press would help make the process easier but if you don't have one then it's an excuse to buy one or just do it by hand. I would buy a name brand 5/8" bit. With a hole saw i think it'll take longer and you'll need to make a pilot hole. Hole saws tend to be a little tricky with a hand drill. A trick I use is drill the pilot hole first with a regular bit. Then use a smooth steel rod in the hole saw for centering it. If the hole saw catches while drilling it a drill bit for the guide will almost always snap while the metal rod will be fine. My choice would be a drill bit over the hole saw and both over a plasma cutter (unless you have a CNC plasma cutter that can make nice holes).

 

[jenkinsph]

I have had success using a 5/8" hole saw in a hand drill. I clamp the blade where I want it to the angle iron and drill through the existing blade holes. An hours work or a little more for two eight foot blades.

 

[crystallake]

Finally had a day to finish up the welding on my new landplane. This was a great project and look forward to getting it painted and up to the farm. Total cost $480 in steel, $160 for blades plus about three days work for me. Used both Mig and Stick welding. Farmed out the holes on the threepoint hookup as I did not have a large bit but otherwise went very smooth. Used a drill press for holes in blades. 6'x6'.

 

[woodlandfarms]

Is one leg longer than the other?

 

[crystallake]

No,No. just an optical illusion. LOL

 

[crystallake]

Well I got the landplane to the farm this weekend and put it to the test. It is awesome. My roads are what I call chat and it did a wonderful job. Great project.

 

[Garrett2006]

Do you have any detailed plans of this build as far as dimensions and angle placement? Would like to build one just like the one you have fabricated. Thanks

 

[crystallake]

Garrett2006- see post #18 in this thread. I pretty much followed his plan.

 

[oosik]

I have a mile long - mostly gravel - driveway. Unfortunately, there are spots with exposed bedrock and rocks the size of a house. I have a LPGS, ROBB and a big heavy Rhino 950 rear blade. The Rhino @ 96" and weighing 1100 pounds is my go to implement for driveway maintenance.

I can offset and safely clean my driveway ditches, grub out and repair my potholes, do crowning and clear snow in the winter. It's even fair at moving dirt from here to there. If I need to move quantities - it's the ROBB.

An interesting side note - I had a contractor build my driveway when we moved here in '82. It's straight as an arrow and was smooth as a babies butt. Folks visiting would brag on how very fast they were able to come down the driveway. Dust and volcanic ash( Mt St Helens - 1980 ) would rise up like the Devil himself. The solution - after several pleadings to SLOW DOWN fell on deaf ears - I have left just enough pot holes down its length that hyper speeds are no longer a problem

Folks will now say - "you have the equipment - why don't you repair those potholes" - - I just smile. Almost as effective as those speed bumps in big parking lots.