Steep Slope Mowing Questions/Thoughts?

[JWR]

Crashz: The pictures do not make it look terribly steep. I would not be worried about mowing it; if you can go up and down and find turnaround space above and below you should be fine. Also, to me you have already run the biggest test of all -- you have already done it at least once ! A problem is that photos can be very deceiving and there is nothing ever quite like being there. You really have to call the shots yourself. You will do no harm to your tractor mowing it and, so you need to use low range,,... that's of no concern.

 

[crazyal]

About 2 decades ago I found a jpeg image on a government website to make a grade measuring tool. It was nothing more than a sheet of paper on a board with a weight that was on a string. You simply put the board on the ground and where the string pointed was the grade. It was part of a document on making forest roads. It really took the guess work out of "how steep is that".

Here it is. The directions say to just glue it to a board and use a 15" piece of string. I used a shorter piece and put a long skinny board on the bottom. This allows me to just place it on the ground to get a quick reading. It's durable enough so I can carry it on my tractor and accurate enough, as we always said as kids, "for government work".

 

[ericm979]

Grades always look flatter in pictures. That's certainly steep enough to make me mow up and down only.

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[kenmbz]

About 2 decades ago I found a jpeg image on a government website to make a grade measuring tool. It was nothing more than a sheet of paper on a board with a weight that was on a string. You simply put the board on the ground and where the string pointed was the grade. It was part of a document on making forest roads. It really took the guess work out of "how steep is that".

Here it is. The directions say to just glue it to a board and use a 15" piece of string. I used a shorter piece and put a long skinny board on the bottom. This allows me to just place it on the ground to get a quick reading. It's durable enough so I can carry it on my tractor and accurate enough, as we always said as kids, "for government work".

Thanks for the measuring tool. I have a lot of short steep slopes. Sometimes I just go around them and go up.

 

[JWR]

About 2 decades ago I found a jpeg image on a government website to make a grade measuring tool. It was nothing more than a sheet of paper on a board with a weight that was on a string. You simply put the board on the ground and where the string pointed was the grade. It was part of a document on making forest roads. It really took the guess work out of "how steep is that".

Here it is. The directions say to just glue it to a board and use a 15" piece of string. I used a shorter piece and put a long skinny board on the bottom. This allows me to just place it on the ground to get a quick reading. It's durable enough so I can carry it on my tractor and accurate enough, as we always said as kids, "for government work".
View attachment 658977
View attachment 658978

GREAT device ! Elegant in its' simplicity. Neat find. Seems to me all of us dealing with steep slopes can use it every once in a while. Thanks for posting it.
[AND of course it originated with the WVa Dept of Agriculture! Right where it would be needed most.]

 

[dragoneggs]

About 2 decades ago I found a jpeg image on a government website to make a grade measuring tool. It was nothing more than a sheet of paper on a board with a weight that was on a string. You simply put the board on the ground and where the string pointed was the grade. It was part of a document on making forest roads. It really took the guess work out of "how steep is that".

Here it is. The directions say to just glue it to a board and use a 15" piece of string. I used a shorter piece and put a long skinny board on the bottom. This allows me to just place it on the ground to get a quick reading. It's durable enough so I can carry it on my tractor and accurate enough, as we always said as kids, "for government work".
View attachment 658977
View attachment 658978

I think I need to make one. I have a steep sloped property that I have been cutting tractor trails and this would be so handy to see what I am up against. Thanks for posting.

 

[JWR]

I'm definitely going to make one. I plan to use a LONG thin piece of wood that will serve better for aiming purposes than a short one the size of an 8 1/2 by 11 piece of paper. Maybe a good long scrap of plywood ? Sighting over the top at the same angle as the soil of the hillside is the key to even halfway decent accuracy.

One concern: the width of the paper between the dotted lines could be off quite a bit [proportion in width versus length] in the translation during posting the picture, printing the thing and then using it. Distortion and error might get pretty large. However, the rough accuracy is easy to spot check with a common drafting tool to measure degrees. A 30-60-90 triangle is really common among drafting tools and will provide a great check device. The 30 degree point is quite handy, being around 58% slope and essentially at my upper limit for operating a tractor on, even in the best of soil conditions and with great tires and equipment.

Also, you only need to check one angle with a drafting tool because if one is correct then they all will be.

 

[dragoneggs]

I'm definitely going to make one. I plan to use a LONG thin piece of wood that will serve better for aiming purposes than a short one the size of an 8 1/2 by 11 piece of paper. Maybe a good long scrap of plywood ? Sighting over the top at the same angle as the soil of the hillside is the key to even halfway decent accuracy.

One concern: the width of the paper between the dotted lines could be off quite a bit [proportion in width versus length] in the translation during posting the picture, printing the thing and then using it. Distortion and error might get pretty large. However, the rough accuracy is easy to spot check with a common drafting tool to measure degrees. A 30-60-90 triangle is really common among drafting tools and will provide a great check device. The 30 degree point is quite handy, being around 58% slope and essentially at my upper limit for operating a tractor on, even in the best of soil conditions and with great tires and equipment.

Also, you only need to check one angle with a drafting tool because if one is correct then they all will be.

If you make an improved version please post your design.

 

[JWR]

I haven't gotten out to the shed to make one yet but this comes to mind:


View attachment 659025

This old image provides degrees, % slope and ratio of slope all 3. I think % slope works best for us steep ground chasers.

Just print this out on your pc printer. Trim off the excess paper and mount it on anything stiffer than paper like a piece of thin plexiglas or just a sheet of heavy construction paper and screw or staple that to a yard stick -- the wooden kind you used to get free from the hardware stores. Put the screw for attaching the string in the apex of all the angles. The string will need a tiny weight (I'm thinking black sewing thread with a paperclip on one end...) Maybe a foot of thread. This rig will be a bit more universal than the WVa AG Dept. pictorial template. Same result. [An inclinometer...]

Not something you mount on your tractor but certainly something you walk out to your favorite "I call this one steep" slope and see what it really is.

I did check on my PC screen and (at least as shown on my screen) the earlier posted WVa AG Dept image from kenmbz is NOT distorted and agrees well with a drafting tool.

 

[dragoneggs]

I haven't gotten out to the shed to make one yet but this comes to mind:


View attachment 659025

This old image provides degrees, % slope and ratio of slope all 3. I think % slope works best for us steep ground chasers.

Just print this out on your pc printer. Trim off the excess paper and mount it on anything stiffer than paper like a piece of thin plexiglas or just a sheet of heavy construction paper and screw or staple that to a yard stick -- the wooden kind you used to get free from the hardware stores. Put the screw for attaching the string in the apex of all the angles. The string will need a tiny weight (I'm thinking black sewing thread with a paperclip on one end...) Maybe a foot of thread. This rig will be a bit more universal than the WVa AG Dept. pictorial template. Same result. [An inclinometer...]

Not something you mount on your tractor but certainly something you walk out to your favorite "I call this one steep" slope and see what it really is.

I did check on my PC screen and (at least as shown on my screen) the earlier posted WVa AG Dept image from kenmbz is NOT distorted and agrees well with a drafting tool.

Your posted link not working