New Operator

[turkelton919]

Looks good for a newbie. Keep it up.

Thanks but I know there’s a lot of room for improvement. 20/80s road looks text book quality. With enough practice I hope I can get to that level of workmanship.

 

[20/80]

Here's a couple of pics of me on my 140H doing some road recovery and ditching, before and after.

 

[20/80]

Thanks but I know there’s a lot of room for improvement. 20/80s road looks text book quality. With enough practice I hope I can get to that level of workmanship.

Seat time buddy, don't be nervous to try new things, soon enough you will be a master at hiding your sins,

 

[FWD]

You did a nice job of grading. How do you get rid of the sod without losing the gravel attached to the sod especially when it's wet which we all know is best for grading. Thanks for all your posts, very interesting!
FWD

 

[materthegreater]

What town in VT do you work for? I don't know much about grading roads but my best friend runs the grader here and I could ask his advice. I can't imagine a one man road crew no matter how small the town. I hope they're hiring more help before snow comes??

 

[20/80]

You did a nice job of grading. How do you get rid of the sod without losing the gravel attached to the sod especially when it's wet which we all know is best for grading. Thanks for all your posts, very interesting!
FWD

With any amount of sod with gravel stuck to it, I shake it back and forth across the road using the mixing position of the blade, everything was done in the pics with stingers, they do a great job of breaking up the sod leaving the gravel laying on the road, what is left is put up into the backslope.

 

[20/80]

Turkelton919 are the roads your grading in a populated residential area or mostly back road?

 

[turkelton919]

What town in VT do you work for? I don't know much about grading roads but my best friend runs the grader here and I could ask his advice. I can't imagine a one man road crew no matter how small the town. I hope they're hiring more help before snow comes??

I work for the town of Bridgewater. We had a 3 man crew but the other two resigned. I hope they can get some more help too. It’s going to be a long winter if it’s just myself.

 

[turkelton919]

Turkelton919 are the roads your grading in a populated residential area or mostly back road?

They’re mostly back roads I usually only meet a handful of cars. Most people are pretty good about getting by I can usually just sideshift my blade and let them by. Thanks for the nudge I’ll have to try ditching again. Even a messed up ditch that lets the water flow is better than nothing. I’ve got to work harder on not leaving an edge of material on the side

 

[20/80]

They’re mostly back roads I usually only meet a handful of cars. Most people are pretty good about getting by I can usually just sideshift my blade and let them by. Thanks for the nudge I’ll have to try ditching again. Even a messed up ditch that lets the water flow is better than nothing. I’ve got to work harder on not leaving an edge of material on the side

Well here's what I suggest, you may try shifting your pin to shift your blade, this will put your material between your rear wheels also giving you a lot more angle for your blade so that your rear wheels won't run over your windrow when spreading also moves rocks easier in your material to the edge to get rid off, also great for reaching out keeping you off any soft shoulders when cutting, I would cut the right side of the edge of the road going with the flow of traffic then the left, push the windrows still cutting into one than move that windrow about three feet from the edge of the road, start spreading your material to center of the road, even if you half to make a extra pass to move it a foot to achieve center do it, than spread the rest over to the other edge leaving a rise in the center, think about the shape of a roof of a house the peak being the center, you can run over the rise with your tires to pack it down if you leave to much of a rise, you can also make a cut at the roads edges and just roll the material in the woods, makes a place for water and rocks to go, not the nicest finish but helps with the road and a place for rain water to go, remember if you have material coming out the discharge end of the blade even the smallest amount your blade is full all the way across, no material coming out means your blade is becoming empty and you will get a bald spot in the road, positioning your machine left and right over the windrow when spreading controls the amount of discharge of material also, hours of seat time you will get better. hope this helps

 

[turkelton919]

Thanks for the advice! I had never thought about moving the pin. After reading this I think part of my problem was trying to do too much in to little passes. I’ve been keeping my wheels about a foot in from the shoulder the entire time. I’ll try repositioning myself when spreading to control my discharge a little better.

 

[turkelton919]

Here’s some pictures from today

 

[turkelton919]

A few more

 

[20/80]

Great pics, in one of your pics moving your material with your blade, your angle is at its max before you start running over your windrow, lifting your blade on the discharge end to let the material flow under the blade to achieve center will only make a zig zag pattern in your crown, with the road that narrow it would be hard to center your windrow for building a little crown without moving the pin.

 

[turkelton919]

That’s exactly what’s been happening and my crown has been all over the place. So what I should be doing is moving the pin over and angling hard enough so I can discharge inside my tandems and keep the windrow dead center where I want my crown to be right?

 

[20/80]

That’s exactly what’s been happening and my crown has been all over the place. So what I should be doing is moving the pin over and angling hard enough so I can discharge inside my tandems and keep the windrow dead center where I want my crown to be right?

Yes, this will give you more movement on your blade, better advantage for moving material and placing it where you want it, take your time, takes a bit to get use to, graders are great tools when you figure out its capabilities, makes your job much easier.

 

[ovrszd]

This time of year I usually have a windrow of debris, sod. I leave it laying on the shoulder for a month to rot/dry. Then it busts up and goes away without losing any gravel.

I blade 50 miles of roads in a variety of soil conditions. I know my roads very well. I make subtle changes to the blade when changing roads without thought. I just know how each one works best.

So don't be afraid to make adjustments. A lot is learned with experimenting.

Also, none of us can tell you how to blade your roads. You will learn what works for you and what doesn't. I learned that several years ago on this website. Everyone is helpful and suggestions are always an attempt to help you. In the end, it's all on you.

My machine and roads allow me to blade at a faster speed than most on here prefer. I run 6.5-7.0 mph on the first two passes. 14-15mph on the final pass. I catch a lot of flack when I say that. But I know what works best on my roads.

If your machine lopes you are going the wrong speed. Not sure if you are going too fast. Not sure if you are going too slow. Damn sure you are going the wrong speed. Make adjustments until you find the right speed.

I'm 31 years in the seat. Still learning.

 

[20/80]

That is fast for spreading, my machine old and new would hop at those speeds leaving your road wash boarded, 4-5 mph max, I can feel it coming on so I slow down to avoid the print in the road, Yep, i'm still learning every day, 18 years in the seat now.

 

[cuttin edge]

An old fella, passed away now, asked me if I knew how to articulate the machine to avoid the bounce. I told him no, and he said he would show me some time. Never talked to him again. Not sure if it was a thing, or if he was trying to see if I was a know it all if I had said I already know how to do it.

 

[20/80]

Yes... it will bounce when your articulate, I have tried all the fixes, from different air pressures in your tires, then making sure all the tires are the same brand and a few more I can't remember, with my machine speed is the trigger and slowing down stops it, I use the articulate all the time with cutting a hard road to spreading, articulating will help with building your crown when spreading, as a example, put your blade on the ground straight across, then leaving it in that position articulate your machine, take note now your blade has risen at one end a lowered in the other, use this position to your advantage.