Grader Blade use / advice

[RickS 70]

I tried to use my Grader Blade for the first time this past weekend. While it did work, it appears as if I need some training. It took me what I felt was a long time to fill in tire tracks left in the soft dirt along a private dirt road. I used the end of the blade to push the dirt into the tire track. It took several passes on each side of the tire rut to fill the rut it. (Plesase note there was only one 15 foot rut created by one ford Excursion.) Could someone (or many people) give me advice in how to improve by grader blade useage. I need to become better fast, I have several yards of stone dust on order for my driveway and don't want to spend the rest of the summer smoothing that out. thanks. Rick.........

[Brent_Baumer 5]

I assume you are talking belly blade. Angle it one way or the other and stand on it so it digs in. I know you said soft dirt, but tilling it first if you have a tiller will make it a breeze to move. Hope this helps. Brent

[hdrhdr 0]

As Brent and I are assuming a mid mount blade, adjust the blade so that is sitting lower than the bottom of the tires (about an inch) for moving alot of dirt. then adjust it up to be level with the bottom of the tires and take a couple of finish passes to smooth out the little humps. I took me a little while to learn how to use mine. once you get the hang of it, it will do an excelent job smoothing dirt and gravel. I just did my 250' drive. Randy

[Guest]

Depending on wether you have a hydrolift or a manual lift, can also effect your grading results. I find in either case, your feet on the grader blade can help with varying the pressure of the blade. I prefer the hydrolift because it can hold the blade in one position, though if I want to just scrape the surface of something (taking gravel/rocks out of grass) I like the manual lift. Also, you really need to plan what you need to move and where; when you angle the blade, it moves the material to the side and further forward. When you have the blade straight it moves material forward. Many passes over an area work for me. When I had gravel all on the right of my driveway, I angled it and move it both up the driveway and left into the parking areas. I keep my grader blade handy because it really does the jobs I need to perform. Good luck.

[antiquecowboy 0]

i find using my plow blade is so much easier then having to go under my tractor all the time to angle it if their was a ensy way to do things that would be great

[dhardin 0]

I have had some experience with a real road grader. It is never a fast process. Basically you do one of two process or both if the is a lot of ruts or hole in a gravel road in need of grading. 1 start form the outer edge angle it to a pile in the middle. Or 2 pull the middle to the outer edge. Brake up the hole road bed some, so you have a medium load on the tractor and a blade pushing something all the time. Once you have some material to work with, and the road bed is flat and not a bunch of humps. Then you can use the piles you have gathered from the hole road bed to fill in the ruts and holes. If your real good 2 passes can fix a big problem. But may times it takes 4 passes. Two passes gathering, two passes smoothing it all out again. It you just try to grade only where it needs it you will many time have a big mess where your ruts was. If you grade 1/2 to 1" over the hole road and learn to drive straight and even it out as you go. The ruts will be absorbed into the hole road. It looks great to, having the complete road or section graded. It just the way we did it when we maintained the county road around here. Note: gravel works best if its wet. Dirt shuld not be to dry (hard to get a even pile and no humps) cause the ground can be very hard when dry and you are trying to get just the top 1". Or to wet (balling up). Best time to grade is after a rain, you will be surprised how much easier it is to get a better looking job.

[antiquecowboy 0]

the driveway should measure out 1 inch high in the middle for every ft wide

[RickS 70]

The section of road I was working on was built up last fall, and was very hard. The road surface was built up with sand and then stone dust. It wears well, and is was not affected by the winter. The problem was the shoulders were very soft and the truck that damaged them was very heavy. In places the ruts were 6 inches deep. I was trying to maintain the crown in the road. I need that to prevent pottholes from forming. Based on the answers given, it sounds like I did alright, just need more time using the blade. thanks Rick..........

[john-holcomb 0]

If you are working with stone dust you may want to invest in a serrated blade. I grade my neighbors lime stone drive with my Dutch bade and it does a good job, the flat side works but take forever. I have an extra serrated bade that is brand new and will bolt right on your hitch if you have any intrest drop me an E-mail of PM. Good luck those center mount blades will do an excellent job it just takes a little time.