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grader men

snapfruzen

Active Member
Joined
Jan 7, 2010
Messages
29
Location
Brisbane Australia
Occupation
Grader since 1976,working at a coal mine with scra
One day my boss was driving by in his ute (pickup) and says jokingly on the two-way "you know I think you've got the best job in the mine site" and I said "you know, I think you're right". There is always, always something to learn. When I left the oilfield and started doing civil residential stuff I'll say the learning curve was very, very steep. Took about eight years to start to be comfortable with it. Now I've given that away, but I refuse to accept "that's good enough for a mine standards". Right now we're building a dam (yeah I know it's the rainy season) and I'm looking forward to doing those batters (slopes).
 

Bigstevex4

Well-Known Member
Joined
Apr 10, 2009
Messages
70
Location
Denver Colorado
Ime a mechanic some times when nothing going on i would try blading the yard way harder than it looks i would get it on a concrete pad raise the blade just enough so it wouldnt touch. then just drive all over not touching the controls.it actully worked ok.
Worked for a paving co in the 70s there best grader hand was the one that did the dirt surface for tennis courts.
 

Arabhacks

Banned
Joined
Nov 9, 2009
Messages
146
Location
Texas
Occupation
Underemplyed Operator
Only thing i could add to that , is that you need to love the job if you dont, leave it for somebody who does.

Hello.

I totally agree.
I have a few years of education behind me, so I get asked "Why are you here?".
Well, first off, I really do like the work, sitting on iron and moving it within an inch here and there, under speed, that is something that makes me happy.
The other reason is that I am so screwed up in the head to where I can no longer work in an office, I need to be alone with my machine. :D
But, to be with a good crew that is doing everything right, working as a team, that is what life is all about for me.
 

Danial Doherty

Well-Known Member
Joined
Oct 3, 2008
Messages
94
Location
Halifax, Nova Scotia
Arabhacks you hit the nail on the head when you talk about being with the right crew. Im still very new to the grader game but i spent the past year and a half going around to job sites by myself doing small grade jobs. The only help i had was with the crew that was already working on the job. It was very hard at times cause most of the time everyone was not on the same page... and some guys had no clue how to do grade work. And me being new i wasent the best person to give direction, i could only explain what i learned through my experance. At the end of this year, an older grader man retired and i got to fill his spot on a grade crew. These guys worked together for years and knew exactly what needed to be done and when. I remember making a pass thinking that i would have to go back and do a clean up pass cause i left a few little windrows behind, when i finished my pass and looked behind me to back up, all the windrows were raked off and any mess was all cleaned up. At that point i realized how much easier life is when you have a good crew. Not having to chase people around to get things done! I hope that next year when we start back up i get with the same crew. Great guys and sooooo much less headaches...
 

hiballer627

Active Member
Joined
Apr 19, 2008
Messages
28
Location
Alberta
I have to say that a good blade man is a scraperhand's best friend for sure. I've learned alot from the grader operators over my few years on a scraper. The scraper guys teach tricks for running a scraper, whereas a graderman teaches how to work with the material, and also how to work with the dozers, graders, and other support equipment so that everyone's jobs are just a little bit easier. If I hadn't had the old grader guys willing to share their experience, I probably wouldn't be where I'm at after only 3 yrs. So a big "Thank You" to all you old blade operators who share your wisdom with the young guys who are willing to learn fom it. Just the humble opinion of a young scraperhand who isn't that smart to begin with!:notworthy
 

bigrus

Senior Member
Joined
Dec 13, 2009
Messages
323
Location
Southern Queensland Australia
Occupation
Joystick attendant
I have to say that a good blade man is a scraperhand's best friend for sure. I've learned alot from the grader operators over my few years on a scraper. The scraper guys teach tricks for running a scraper, whereas a graderman teaches how to work with the material, and also how to work with the dozers, graders, and other support equipment so that everyone's jobs are just a little bit easier. If I hadn't had the old grader guys willing to share their experience, I probably wouldn't be where I'm at after only 3 yrs. So a big "Thank You" to all you old blade operators who share your wisdom with the young guys who are willing to learn fom it. Just the humble opinion of a young scraperhand who isn't that smart to begin with!:notworthy

Nice to hear that not all old grader & dozer operators get too cantankerous with age ;)
 

ovrszd

Senior Member
Joined
Apr 1, 2008
Messages
1,523
Location
Missouri
Occupation
Retired Army
I don't consider myself an old operator or a good operator, but I fondly remember my first day on a grader. It was an early 70s model CAT 12. I had to be shown how to crank it (Pony motor). I drove it about six miles to my house. Greased the machine just to bond with it. Drove it down the paved road to my first gravel road, set the blade where I thought it should be, put it in first gear and let out the clutch. That was 1989. It's the darnedest thing. I'm still trying to learn how to operate a blade..... :notworthy
 

goodearth13

Active Member
Joined
Jan 23, 2010
Messages
38
Location
WyoBraska
Occupation
Patrol Man for Sioux County
I ran my first blade in 1954. I was 8 years old and the neighbor farmer had me ride the old horse drawn grader pulled by a "B" John Deere. All he had me do was turn the wheels back & forth to raise & lower the blade to grade the lane to his house. Now 56 years later I'm operating a '08 Cat 140H. My Dad was an old Cat skinner from back in the 40's & 50's & always told me the top guy on the job was the "patrol" man. Anybody else heard the term Patrol operator for blade man? Well anyway after reading several of the threads in the road grader section & really enjoying the M over the bridge discussion I am glad to have found this forum.
 

grandpa

Senior Member
Joined
Oct 15, 2009
Messages
1,979
Location
northern minnesota
Motor Grader, Maintainer, Patrol, whatever its called,the man that has truely master the machine is a man that is in peace with himself. Principles of grader operation can be taught from a book, but never applied without seattime(no ,,offense Grader4me). Far and above the hardest of all dirt machines man has assembled to master. The production possibilties of the grader are only limited by the intellectual limitations of the operator. Some people look at a grader and see a road grader, some people look at a grader and see ditching machine, leveling, contouring, scraping, stripping machine, and others look at it as a level, tape measure, towing,beadbreaking, branch trimming, tree leaning,rock picker and on and on and on........ a grader operator sleeps good a night :)
 

bigrus

Senior Member
Joined
Dec 13, 2009
Messages
323
Location
Southern Queensland Australia
Occupation
Joystick attendant
Good blade men

Motor Grader, Maintainer, Patrol, whatever its called,the man that has truely master the machine is a man that is in peace with himself. Principles of grader operation can be taught from a book, but never applied without seattime(no ,,offense Grader4me). Far and above the hardest of all dirt machines man has assembled to master. The production possibilties of the grader are only limited by the intellectual limitations of the operator. Some people look at a grader and see a road grader, some people look at a grader and see ditching machine, leveling, contouring, scraping, stripping machine, and others look at it as a level, tape measure, towing,beadbreaking, branch trimming, tree leaning,rock picker and on and on and on........ a grader operator sleeps good a night :)

Very true.
An old foreman told me when I first started out in 1979, "good grader operators are hard to find. They're (graders) the easiest machine to start on but the most difficult to master ALL operations"
Never a truer word spoken :)
 

JDOFMEMI

Senior Member
Joined
Jan 3, 2007
Messages
3,074
Location
SoCal
The best education anyone can get in this business is the one learned from a good blade man. I have been fortunate to have learned from a few of the best around. We are futunate here on HEF to have some good blade operators that are willing to share their knowledge with the rest of us that are willing to learn.

I think the easiest way to run most jobs is from a blade. You are mobile, with a view of everything on the site, and can go where help is needed to make things run smoother.
 

goodearth13

Active Member
Joined
Jan 23, 2010
Messages
38
Location
WyoBraska
Occupation
Patrol Man for Sioux County
in 1974 I was running a J621 scraper for a overlot grading contractor & they turned me out as a foremen (grade setter/checker). I had 4 J621's, a D8 & sheepfoot, water truck, and a cat 14 blade to keep organized. All of the operators were at least 10 years older than me, so you know how steep my learning curve was. The first day at lunch I ask the blade operator Charlie Martin (probably in his 60's) what he thought we should do to work together the best & hes said we all just needed to move the dirt the same direction. Every day when we ate lunch setting in the dirt we all had what I suppose was the first "Heavy Equipment Forum". Old Charlie guided & led us to be the best finish crew out of 5 crews with the company. I'll never forget all the tricks & secrects he shared with all of us younger dirt stiffs. We were really a little family. Even when the oil shortage happened later inthe 70's we car pooled, which wasn't heard of then. Of course on payday (friday) we normally had a check pool & the winner bought the beer. Great memories & what a good teacher the "old blade man" was.
 

Grader4me

Senior Member
Joined
Jan 11, 2006
Messages
1,792
Location
New Brunswick, Canada
Principles of grader operation can be taught from a book, but never applied without seattime(no ,,offense Grader4me).

Okayyyy...what gave you the idea that I only go by the book?? When I train someone on a grader its usually one on one in the seat. In our grader courses the class usually consists of 12 students. One day classroom and four days of practical in the field. This consists of grading, shaping, leveling gravel and ditching. We use six graders.
Grandpa if you keep this up I ain't taking you ice fishing..lol

On edit..no offense taken...lol
 
Last edited:

Adrian Nettlefold

Active Member
Joined
Oct 15, 2019
Messages
35
Location
Australia
Occupation
Train Driver (& Part time Machinery Operator)
P1000619.JPG P1000621.JPG P1000622.JPG P1000625.JPG I'm not sure if I'm doing this right. I just thought I'd try post some photos to this thread to show some of my earlier attempts at grading. Hoping to get back into it in a serious way in the not too distant future.
 

Mother Deuce

Senior Member
Joined
Jul 17, 2016
Messages
1,603
Location
New England
View attachment 204760 View attachment 204761 View attachment 204762 View attachment 204763 I'm not sure if I'm doing this right. I just thought I'd try post some photos to this thread to show some of my earlier attempts at grading. Hoping to get back into it in a serious way in the not too distant future.
Been in that seat and have the knuckle buster T shirt! Is a good looking blade. The one I ran had that same number of no windows. Blade is a great skill to own!
 

Adrian Nettlefold

Active Member
Joined
Oct 15, 2019
Messages
35
Location
Australia
Occupation
Train Driver (& Part time Machinery Operator)
Pretty tity looking old cat too
Thanks Jonas, yeah she was looked after this one. It belonged to a Irrigation Property called "Parker" near Emerald in Queensland Australia. I would go out to give my mate who was managing the place a hand every now and again, to brush up the drains and road ways.
 

Adrian Nettlefold

Active Member
Joined
Oct 15, 2019
Messages
35
Location
Australia
Occupation
Train Driver (& Part time Machinery Operator)
Been in that seat and have the knuckle buster T shirt! Is a good looking blade. The one I ran had that same number of no windows. Blade is a great skill to own!
How many times did you have levers fly out over your shoulder Mother Deuce? I learnt the hard way and busted a brand new wrist watch from all the jarring from those levers, once the dogs got a hold of the lever and it wouldn't stop osillating back and forth, I had to put my boot up on it. Another time the pin come out and the lever flew out at me.
 
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