If you're grading, the bucket is flat on the ground or very close to flat. If you're pushing brush, or large rocks off the surface, or spreading a layer of loose material, you can angle the blade down, but an angled blade will make grading impossible.
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Grading advice for an amatuer.
- Thread starter Desertmule
- Start date
HarleyHappy
Senior Member
Not sure how others do it but I put a half load in bucket, run it up to get it settled in bucket then put down and level perfectly and put in low gear and run parallel to ground just kissing it.
aighead
Senior Member
So sweet!
NH575E
Senior Member
"The surface is very fine dirt/sand(flour), and some baseball sized rocks mixed in."
I don't have any experience with rocks but even sticks and wood debris have prevented me from getting a smooth surface at times. I assume baseball size rocks will roll the bucket up and gouge trenches when you hit them. That is why I suggested he find a way to deal with the rocks first. Then attempt to grade.
I don't have any experience with rocks but even sticks and wood debris have prevented me from getting a smooth surface at times. I assume baseball size rocks will roll the bucket up and gouge trenches when you hit them. That is why I suggested he find a way to deal with the rocks first. Then attempt to grade.
Spud_Monkey
Senior Member
I run a laser grade level, when the light says blue green or red on my receiver, I move the bucket as such to each light while running it flat parallel to the ground kissing it. We aren't talking just high school kissing we are talking French kissing it, and little bit fondling of the controls, feels all so good.
Oh we were talking about grading, my bad well um when you put the pad down the grade laser will help there and I know eventually you will want to build some object on that land and it will come useful there too.
Oh we were talking about grading, my bad well um when you put the pad down the grade laser will help there and I know eventually you will want to build some object on that land and it will come useful there too.
Desertmule
New Member
So OP still hasn't returned that backhoe to the rental house and got a proper grading machine like a CTL?
Still reading all the posts.
I'm 200 miles from the rental yard, and my employer(G.C.) is covering the cost. I'd rather keep it around for a bit then send it back.
The past 2 weekends I've been digging to put in my UG utilities. Power conduits are in, and I have 2 yard hydrants that flow water. The sewer was going to be an 60' run, until I dug to it and found it almost 6' down where it enters the main. Now I'm going to run it another 100' to pick up an outbuilding I have plans for. Ran out of pipe and sand last weekend because I wasn't expecting to make that change.
Between digging and backfilling I keep playing with this dirt. Managing the rocks has been a PITA. The loader has a clamshell, and I discovered opening that up and running the blade vertical did the best job of moving the rocks without taking a bunch of material with it. After that I could actually make passes that looked somewhat decent. Once these trenches are done I'll spend more time smoothing this out.
I'm trying everything you guys have suggested, and will keep doing so.
aighead
Senior Member
Wait, there's a 4 in 1 loader bucket involved? What about opening it just a bit and putting a screen in there of some variety (chicken wire, chain link fence, etc.) with holes just smaller than the rocks you've got and just running around? I'd think you should be able to screen those rocks out pretty quickly.