Land plane/ grading scraper

[94BULLITT]

Here is the grader that I built. The sta-mat gravel in the picture was put down five years ago. Grading it makes it look brand new. I use a rear blade and this grader to keep a mile of road.

That is a nice looking grader. Do you have a picture of the road before? What are sta-mat gravel?

 

[catdozer]

One thing I am going to do is add a drag or an old harrow in the back to knock out the large clumps that go over.

 

[Tomtint]

One thing I am going to do is add a drag or an old harrow in the back to knock out the large clumps that go over.

It looks nice. One question.....why the chain instead of a top link?

 

[Gordon Gould]

That is a nice looking grader. Do you have a picture of the road before? What are sta-mat gravel?

Thanks. Sta-mat is a local term I guess. It is a crushed ledge product. I use 3/4" which is a crushed ledge mixture from 3/4" down to dust with some clay added as a binder. Packs very hard and stays put, thus the name.

 

[Gordon Gould]

It looks nice. One question.....why the chain instead of a top link?

Those pictures are about 3 years old. I don't use the chain anymore because I now have a hydraulic top link which is a much better deal allowing adjustments on the fly and useful for so many things.
But what I used to do is grade the road using a normal fixed top link. You can see it sticking up in the picture. This keeps the grader in a stiff plane relative to the tractor and makes a good flat surface but both blades do not cut in sharp dips or sharp peaks because of the stiffness unless you readjust the top link for those little sections. Which I didn't. On the last pass I would put on the chain so that the grader would follow the road contour and smooth out those dips and peaks. You can't use the chain until the road surface is loose and free of snags. To cut the hard initial surface you need the top link to make an aggressive cut and to hold the back end down if you catch a snag.

 

[Gordon Gould]

Do you have a picture of the road before?

I always seem to take pictures at the end so I don't have many before pictures.
This is the same section of road in the fall. It is difficult to tell from the picture what it is like but it is hard pcked.
And before and after grading pictures on a primitive section of road made up of dirt and 3/4" crushed rock. You can see the wheel ruts have disappeared. This is not a typical drive way. It is just a dirt road I that I keep mixing rock into. The rock chinks up with the dirt and gets packed. Improving it little by little.

 

[RDrancher]

Here is the grader that I built. The sta-mat gravel in the picture was put down five years ago. Grading it makes it look brand new. I use a rear blade and this grader to keep a mile of road.

Nice design. Could you share the specs? Thickness, length, approximate weight, etc?

 

[Gordon Gould]

Nice design. Could you share the specs? Thickness, length, approximate weight, etc?

Sure. FWIW


Grader 4'-6" long, 5' wide ( inside) about 550 lbs

Notes
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Cat 1 hitch
Lift Arm Braces 28" center to center. Alter to fit Quick Hitch if necessary.
Upper Cross Braces 2' apart
Blade Mounts 2' apart, first blade mounted 10" back, front of Blade Mounts are 3/4" below runners
3" X 3" triangles cut from bottom corners of sides for runner angles
1/2" Grade 8 bolts and extra long nuts for tail gate stop pins
swinging tailgate up and forward to hang insde against stops is like box blade ( sort of )
swinging tailgate up and back to hang behind stops allows use like push blade in reverse

Steel
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Standard lengths - Bought and picked up at steel supply house, They make one cut at no charge

3/8" X 12" steel plate 20' (2/10') $210
2 sides, 6pcs 6" X 3" for hitch clevises, tail gate

3/8" X 2" steel bar 10' $25
2 runners

2 1/2" X 1/4" Square tube 24' (2/12') $115
2 upper cross members, top link verticle and angle braces, 2 lift arm braces

4" X 4" X 3/8" angle 10' $69
2 cutting blade mounts

1 1/2" schedule 80 blk iron pipe 10' $46
hinge pin for tail gate ( used 3 short pieces of 2" sched 40 I had for hinges )

Total Steel $465


* Scrap: (not really)
3/8" X 12" plate 5'
1 1/2" sched 80 blk pipe 5'
2 1/2" X 1/4" Sq Tube 6' 6"

note: would have saved $100 if I left the tail gate off.

I used 3/8" thick flat cutting edges. When I replace them I will go to 1/2" or 5/8" for more weight.

Here are my drawings.

 

[RDrancher]

Thank you, just what I needed! I have yet to pull the trigger on a landplane since I've not yet found one from a supplier that fits my needs. Yours is the closest I've seen. Looks like I'm going to have to build one yet.

 

[Gordon Gould]

Your welcome.
Well I stole alot of ideas from others here on TBN.
Keep in mind the ones made from scrap or material on hand like catdozers will work just as well as ones made from new steel and painted up.