Center Grader Blade pressure

[joelk]

While adding this hyrdo lift, I thought to myself that maybe the best way to apply down pressure is to keep the longer manual lift rocker shaft on, and add a second attachment lever to the LHS of the shaft. Then I could put equal pressure on both side of the blade. Disgarding the reduced traction part of the equation, is this worth pursuing vs just pushing down with the normal RHS lever alone? Has anyone tried it either way with the center blade? (I have a really long, really hard packed gravel road that I need lots of pressure to grade, hurts my back after a while of standing on the blade). As always, thanks for your help.

[SmilinSam]

I once set up one with a centered solid lift link to use with hydro down pressure on a Wheel Horse and didnt like it as everytime you came to a high spot the tractor would get lifted enough to lose traction. Other than the traction issue, yes, centering the pressure point on the blade does help. If its too hard packed you made need to rig up a scarifier of some sorts. Cutting directly across does not work as good as slicing into from an angle.

[thedaddycat]

You could design a linkage with a spring so that the down pressure is applied to the spring and then to the hitch. If you come to a high spot the spring compresses more and on a low spot it decompresses. In this way it would be semi-self correcting. Kind of like the front link on the newer tractors for the dozer blade, where you set the collars to get the desired operation.

[joelk]

Thanks for the input gentlemen. I like the spring tension idea, that make a lot of sense. I would really like to get one of the "Dutch" blades that have the teeth cut into them. I'll see what I can come up with. Thanks again.

[comet66]

quote:

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Originally posted by thedaddycat
You could design a linkage with a spring so that the down pressure is applied to the spring and then to the hitch. If you come to a high spot the spring compresses more and on a low spot it decompresses. In this way it would be semi-self correcting. Kind of like the front link on the newer tractors for the dozer blade, where you set the collars to get the desired operation.

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Would this make the blade tend to follow the rise and fall of the grade and cause more of a washboard effect than a leveling action?

[MPH]

Your local county highway camp may be a source of new grader blade pieces. You already bought them.

[perry]

pull a 5ft farm disc across the hard surface first, then use the grader. noisy has heck but works.