Land Plane Scraper Question

[Wyoming BX]

I plan to build a land plane this year. I'll basically borrow from online pictures and I'm leaning towards the Land Pride GS15 style. I see some with the cutters angled to the rear and some not. What is the reasoning for the angles?. I have a quarter mile of hard pack gravel road to maintain. I plan to to use Land Pride box blade replacement 60"cutting edges and build from there. If I angle the blades it will narrow the plane a bit. If not it will be 5' wide. I'm hoping for 5-600 lbs of weight or more if the bx25d can pull it.

I want to cut to the bottom of the potholes and eliminate the washboards. Thanks for any input. It is appreciated.

I already have a 5' box blade with rippers and 6' rear blade. I just want to add to my tools.

 

[Burtonbr]

Not 100% sure but I'd think angled blades help with smoothing, cutting and spreading and probably just reducing the bite they take as you pull it along, I'd think straight blades would also work pretty good and I think I've seen some made that way too. I plan on building one soon sometime but haven't found the blades to use yet, just collected up some scrap 12" beams & steel so far.

I saved this picture to use for reference from EA site it looks like a good start.

Good luck with your build.

 

[Wyoming BX]

I found some new Land Pride box blade replacement cutting edges online for $45 or so each. They were 60" x 4"x3/8". I'm guessing that if they are stout enough for a box blade they would be ok for land plane. I'll use 3 or 4" angle to back up the cutting edges. I want it heavy so it doesn't bounce around. I'm thinking of building it similar to your picture, maybe a foot or two longer.

 

[eipo]

The cutting edges are angled for 2 reasons...

1 is to move material from the side to the middle. As drive surfaces age, the crown in the middle tends to shift to the edges. The angled blades assist in shifting the material back to the center.

2nd is to reduce chatter bumps or "hills and valleys" If the cutting edges were perpendicular to the sides they will have more tendency to create chatter bumps. This isn't as much of an issue with a land plane since it rides on skids as opposed to a box scraper that rides on its cutting edge.

I rebuilt my drive this past spring hauling in 200 tons of crushed asphalt. I used the rear blade to rough everything in, the box blade to move material where it needed to be and the land plane to give it the final touches. The only downside to me using the land plane on the crushed asphalt is it sifted all the fines from the larger aggregate and left a very nice, smooth layer of the larger aggregate on the surface. While this is the desired outcome for something like a limestone or granite material... It is not the desired outcome for asphalt.

 

[Wyoming BX]

Thanks EIPO for the help. Guess I'll go with angled blades.

 

[Wyoming BX]

Re: Land Plane Scraper Question - cutter depth

I have most of the material to make the land plane. Could anyone enlighten me on how much below the rails should I set the cutting edges. I see on a factory box blade the cutter is set 1 1/2" below the rails. I have two cutting edges to work with and the plane will be about 54" wide give or take. I'll make it as heavy as possible so it doesn't bounce around. If I can pull it, I'll add more weight until I can't.

Thanks in advance for any and all advice.

 

[Grouse Feathers]

The cutting depth is adjustable, and the depth you set probably depends on the material you are grading. On the dirt, sand, and rock roads around here I normally run about 1/2 inch below the rails on the front edge and about level on the rear edge.

I have a BX2370 and a Landpride GS1548. The GS1548 is a little over 400# and is all the grader scraper I want to pull around here with my tractor.

 

[Wyoming BX]

Thanks Grouse Feathers. I plan on welding the cutting edges in so no adjustments other than cutting the welds and re-positioning. Does the rear blade do any cutting if it is level with the rails?

 

[Corney]

Worked with heavy equipment, cutting edges and wear surfaces most of my working life. I believe cutting edges should be bolted on and usually flipped at least once.

I am not very good at gas wrenches or welding so that's probably why?

 

[Grouse Feathers]

Thanks Grouse Feathers. I plan on welding the cutting edges in so no adjustments other than cutting the welds and re-positioning. Does the rear blade do any cutting if it is level with the rails?

When you have it adjusted right the front blade cuts in and the material flows over the front blade and the rear blade levels it out. It usually takes some adjusting of both blades to get it right for your conditions. With a half mile of packed gravel you probably have better more consistent conditions then I have and you should be good once you get it adjusted. You can make some grading adjustments by adjusting the 3 point hitch (raising or lowering and tilting by adjusting the top link). Although a GS at or near 600# on a BX may limit the adjustment with the 3 point.