Old Road Graders Turned Into Low-Cost "Terrace Builders

Old Road Graders Turned Into Low-Cost "Terrace Builders TILLAGE EUIPMENT Terracers 26-3-36 Old road graders can be turned into low-cost "terrace builders. I converted a pull-type 1943 road grader into a 3-pt. quick hitch "terracebuilder". I pull the rig, which has a 12-ft. blade, with a Deere 8400 front wheel assist tractor. I've used it over the years to build miles of terraces and road beds. It takes only six to eight passes with the rig to make a terrace. I paid $1,000 for the road grader, which I bought from a local Deere dealer. My only other cost was for three sets of hydraulic hoses. The road grader originally had a set of wheels as well as a scarifier on front and was designed to be pulled by a bulldozer. All operations were controlled mechanically by an operator who stood on a platform at the back of the machine and used hand and foot-operated controls. I removed the front wheels and the scarifier and installed a trailer axle with dual wheels on back. Hydraulic cylinders were installed to raise and lower the blades and a hydraulic motor is used to change blade angle. An electric car window motor is used to operate locks that hold the blade in place. He also made a quick hitch to fit the tractor 3-pt. If I want I can still raise or lower the blade mechanically to change the starting point at which the hydraulic cylinders take over.. I bought another old road grader for $500 and converted it into a 3-pt. dirt scraper. It's equipped with a home-built pan that measures 10 ft. wide, 3 ft. high, and 5 ft. deep. He replaced the original axle on back with a trailer axle equipped with dual wheels. He removed the blade. The pan is operated by a pair of hydraulic cylinders and is supported by part of an old Deere 230 disk frame that he already had. He made a pintle hook and eye and mounted it on the rig's tongue to fit the quick hitch on his tractor's 3-pt. I've used it for 10 years to do different jobs, including digging ponds. My total cost was less than $1,500. A new commercial machine would sell for $30,000 or more. (Contact: FARM SHOW Followup, Robert Tapp, 1210 Old 59 Drive, Mason, Tenn. 38049 ph 901 465-2689)

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