treemuncher
Senior Member
I rarely ever do any dirt work any more. I used to dig basements, foundations, do driveways, ponds, etc, etc. At the time I got out of general dirt work, I could usually set grade by eye within 4"-6" or better. That was about 20 years ago and most of it was done with the PC200 or the 550G back when I had that. When I did drop the dirt work, I had purchased a Bullseye receiver and a 2 axis rotary laser which I still keep to this day for my own rare projects.
I set out a pad for a 5th wheel we plan to move onto the property for a family member. I cleared out a few more trees and roughed in my pad shoulders with the A91F Menzi Muck and GP bucket. I'm still learning/teaching myself the nuances of the spider excavator and rototilt quick attach with all of their capabilities. This thing is incredible for setting grades and tapers in a single pass. I roughed in my pad area and prepped the shoulders to contain the gravel. I trucked in about 6 loads of bank gravel with the Yanmar C60R-2. I rough spread that gravel with the Menzi A91F and the grade bucket, learning quickly to use the angle capabilities to flow my materials into the edges where I wanted it. It was my first time to really use a flat edge grade bucket and I really liked it. I can't see setting grade without one. It is so much better than a GP toothed bucket. I was able to clamp my laser receiver direct to the side of the bucket for the finish grade because I was within 2"-3" of level via eyeballing it. The Bullseye also shows plumb front to rear and side to side so that I can get the bucket trued up for an accurate measurement.
Ok, now the best part of the Menzi is that it is on rubber tires(and can creep infinitely slow) and that I can set the angle of the house turntable by adjusting the 4 legs. With light cuts, I was able to adjust and hold the depth of the cut with the boom and back up at the same time to cut my grade fast and efficiently. A couple quick passes like that and I had the center section trued up to level. If the house is level, when you swing side to side you are level throughout the swing. With the Rototilt, you can rotate the bucket 360 degrees plus pitch +- 45 degrees so you can set almost any conceivable angle you want. Flip the "Fine Mode" switch and you have the fastest grade cutting machine that I've ever tried. I really liked it for this job.
My method was to cut a flat grade a bucket width wide to "see" grade and then rotate the bucket nearly 90 degrees to scrape excess material to the shoulders and carry enough in the pass to fill in any low areas. With the Bullseye receiver clamped directly to the bucket, I always knew where finish grade was and when I was plumb to be accurate. Being on rubber tires kept the rig more smooth than tracks ever did, and the legs were adjustable any time I felt a minor displacement to being set firm. The Menzi also has a speed adjust rheostat to limit top speed and keep things under control. The more I run this machine, the more I understand its capabilities and the more I like it.
I'm no dirt pro any more but if I was to get back into it, I would certainly be looking closely at the Mecalac machines with a Rototilt system for smaller jobs or the Kobelco Bladerunners. I rented a Bladerunner for a project years ago and I found that to be a superb do-all machine for a one man operation. The Mecalac would be smaller but have a faster ground speed to make up for any missing brute force.
I won't be getting back into the dirt business but I thought that those that are still in it might like to see an alternative method discussed for achieving grade. I thought that this was the fastest and most precise method that I have ever tried. Someone may have even better ideas but that is what forums are for: discussing ideas, methods, etc to share the knowledge.
I set out a pad for a 5th wheel we plan to move onto the property for a family member. I cleared out a few more trees and roughed in my pad shoulders with the A91F Menzi Muck and GP bucket. I'm still learning/teaching myself the nuances of the spider excavator and rototilt quick attach with all of their capabilities. This thing is incredible for setting grades and tapers in a single pass. I roughed in my pad area and prepped the shoulders to contain the gravel. I trucked in about 6 loads of bank gravel with the Yanmar C60R-2. I rough spread that gravel with the Menzi A91F and the grade bucket, learning quickly to use the angle capabilities to flow my materials into the edges where I wanted it. It was my first time to really use a flat edge grade bucket and I really liked it. I can't see setting grade without one. It is so much better than a GP toothed bucket. I was able to clamp my laser receiver direct to the side of the bucket for the finish grade because I was within 2"-3" of level via eyeballing it. The Bullseye also shows plumb front to rear and side to side so that I can get the bucket trued up for an accurate measurement.
Ok, now the best part of the Menzi is that it is on rubber tires(and can creep infinitely slow) and that I can set the angle of the house turntable by adjusting the 4 legs. With light cuts, I was able to adjust and hold the depth of the cut with the boom and back up at the same time to cut my grade fast and efficiently. A couple quick passes like that and I had the center section trued up to level. If the house is level, when you swing side to side you are level throughout the swing. With the Rototilt, you can rotate the bucket 360 degrees plus pitch +- 45 degrees so you can set almost any conceivable angle you want. Flip the "Fine Mode" switch and you have the fastest grade cutting machine that I've ever tried. I really liked it for this job.
My method was to cut a flat grade a bucket width wide to "see" grade and then rotate the bucket nearly 90 degrees to scrape excess material to the shoulders and carry enough in the pass to fill in any low areas. With the Bullseye receiver clamped directly to the bucket, I always knew where finish grade was and when I was plumb to be accurate. Being on rubber tires kept the rig more smooth than tracks ever did, and the legs were adjustable any time I felt a minor displacement to being set firm. The Menzi also has a speed adjust rheostat to limit top speed and keep things under control. The more I run this machine, the more I understand its capabilities and the more I like it.
I'm no dirt pro any more but if I was to get back into it, I would certainly be looking closely at the Mecalac machines with a Rototilt system for smaller jobs or the Kobelco Bladerunners. I rented a Bladerunner for a project years ago and I found that to be a superb do-all machine for a one man operation. The Mecalac would be smaller but have a faster ground speed to make up for any missing brute force.
I won't be getting back into the dirt business but I thought that those that are still in it might like to see an alternative method discussed for achieving grade. I thought that this was the fastest and most precise method that I have ever tried. Someone may have even better ideas but that is what forums are for: discussing ideas, methods, etc to share the knowledge.
