I suspect this drag scraper is home made. I haven't been able to find any others like it. I'm wondering if anyone else has?
Have you ever seen one of these?
- Thread starter BLKSTi
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That's a nice unit, I doubt it was home built unless someone can bend I-beam material at home easily back in the 40's - 60's.
It's a towable grader blade and has adjustable height (much like the old plows had) and angle controls.
The only weakness I can see in the design is that with the float wheels so close to the blade you lose a lot of it's ability to level grade ground with little effort. Ideally you want the blade halfway between the towing vehicles rear wheels and the float wheels. With the configuration it is in, it will bite hard into any large bumps, so you'd need a serious tow vehicle for this critter to work well at leveling. It may be made with that in mind though.
That's exactly what I'm looking for to level my land with. See the box blade thread on some other items similar to this.
It's a towable grader blade and has adjustable height (much like the old plows had) and angle controls.
The only weakness I can see in the design is that with the float wheels so close to the blade you lose a lot of it's ability to level grade ground with little effort. Ideally you want the blade halfway between the towing vehicles rear wheels and the float wheels. With the configuration it is in, it will bite hard into any large bumps, so you'd need a serious tow vehicle for this critter to work well at leveling. It may be made with that in mind though.
That's exactly what I'm looking for to level my land with. See the box blade thread on some other items similar to this.
I will check them out, thanks. To bad your so far away, we could have possibly made a deal. I wonder if it could be modified and made to work with my B7510 or if it's just to heavy.
Looks like something factory built,but customized. Interesting piece. Heavy might be a good thing when it comes to grading.
CaveCreekRay
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Equipment
L3800 HST, KingKutter box scraper, KingKutter 66" rake, County Pride Subsoiler
Smaller version of the type the used to level the desert around Phoenix. Some of those things were 60-80 feet long. Pulled 'em with Caterpillar dozers.
Looks like a smaller striped down version of what they used to use to grade the dirt rode that I lived on until we moved when I was 10. They pulled it with a farm tractor,( do not remember the make). Two man operation, one for the tractor and one standing on a platform operating the grader. 
I'm currently thinking of a few things I could do to it. Such as lengthen the rear to move the wheels further back and swap the disk out for some actual wheels. Also I like the idea of adding a hydraulics for the hight adjustment. I'm just not sure if it is worth it or if my 7510 would be able to pull it, even with wheels.
Well, you can always shorten the blade length to make it work on a smaller tractor or just take shallower cuts.
The hydraulics are likely not needed unless you plan on using it a lot. Those 'plowshare' style adjusters are easy to work (when properly lubed and maintained) and work well for long runs. If you are going to be doing a small area with a lot of changes needed, you'll make use of the hydraulics but that may not be worth the investment.
The steel wheels should be just fine for the tire supports. I'd only change them out if they are rotten or non-functional. You could swap them out with standard 12" trailer tires by the looks of it, if you had to.
I wouldn't cut it apart or change it unless it doesn't do the job you need it to. I've found that most times designs like that work better when kept as they were designed. You just may need to baby the first cuts into soil as you start to work it., like taking off high spots, etc. If you have access to a set of rippers for your unit, that might help doing that first as well.
The hydraulics are likely not needed unless you plan on using it a lot. Those 'plowshare' style adjusters are easy to work (when properly lubed and maintained) and work well for long runs. If you are going to be doing a small area with a lot of changes needed, you'll make use of the hydraulics but that may not be worth the investment.
The steel wheels should be just fine for the tire supports. I'd only change them out if they are rotten or non-functional. You could swap them out with standard 12" trailer tires by the looks of it, if you had to.
I wouldn't cut it apart or change it unless it doesn't do the job you need it to. I've found that most times designs like that work better when kept as they were designed. You just may need to baby the first cuts into soil as you start to work it., like taking off high spots, etc. If you have access to a set of rippers for your unit, that might help doing that first as well.
Thank you gentleman for your replies and information, it is appreciated. ShaunRH I am no longer planning the things I mentioned previously. I recently received the backstory on that piece of equipment, how old it is and where it came from. At this point I'm mostly intend to restore it with the exception of swapping the disks for some actual wheels. The discs are very wobbly and not very functional and I'm not sure my little tractor will pull that thing very well without some good rolling stock.
Originally it was used for road construction and maintenance by Vdot starting in the early 1900s. It was drawn by horse originally and operated by two men. At some point vdot retired and my wife's grandfather (he worked for Vdot most of his life) acquired it and continued to use it. It has been sitting for many years now and is in a state of disrepair.
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I moved the scraper over one stall yesterday morning, the process was interesting, slow, and muddy.
I suspect the wheel shape is intended to stop the grader from swinging sideways when the angled blade is full. A smooth or rubber tire may allow side swing. If pulled without a grader operator, it may be better to add 2-300 pounds of weight on the rear to replace his weight.
Bruce
Bruce