Molboard setting

[jbharmening]

new to snow blading. Tips on how molboard should be set on gravel and pavement when moving snow. Don’t want to scrape up gravel so should be a couple inches up I’d say. Any tips would be appreciated

 

[JaredV]

I only plow logging roads so this is only talking about rock, the snow is usually on the wetter side and usually melts before the next snowfall. I like to just skim the rock and plow with the crown. I don't sweat it if a little rock goes with if I can leave the snow on the shoulder where it can be recovered when the snow melts. I play with the moldboard pitch and circle angle to keep the snow moving as conditions change. I like to use at minimum a pitch that will keep the snow from hitting the underside of the circle as it rolls off the top of the blade. I also find that when trying to wipe off a few inches of wet snow, it works good to roll the blade all the way forward and carry the blade at less angle. Let the snow pile up a little more in front and the blade rolled forward will push it down and the pile will do the blading rather than the blade. Works real good on pit run roads so if you hit a rock sticking up, the blade will slide over it easier.

 

[cuttin edge]

Graderman 140 M has a lot of blading tips on his youtube channel. I think he is in North Dakota

 

[cuttin edge]

Here is his page. Just subscribe to his channel, it's free, then you can scroll through and probably find what you want to know. He's on here as well.

 

[Jonas302]

No you dont want to be up a couple inches thats a little to much snow left on the road except when its soft or muddy underneath Roads are pretty froze now and can get it down pretty close should be seeing a little brown every now and then maybe 1/2 to an inch of snow left on the road If you have a good pack or even car tracks you can sometimes float the crown and control the outside if you see gravel coming off pick up a bit its a constant control thing always watching dont blow gravel in the ditch for a mile before you pickup a little

Rolling the moldboard ahead will bite less more strait up and down is aggressive sometimes thats all you need to change to change how much snow your leaving or taking

On blacktop we like to keep pressure on the blade to peel it down to bare pavement or as close as possible saves on salting changing the moldboard angle as you work can bring a sharp edge to get under the pack better as needed

 

[jbharmening]

Thanks. Does float mode work well on pavement?

 

[Alusium]

In the late 90’s early 00’s I spent several seasons plowing snow at a local ski resort. The old boy that showed me how to run grader was dang good. I really enjoyed just watching him run that machine. A couple things he recommended was to keep the moldboard up/down cylinders as near vertical as possible. He ran in float 90% of the time. He would roll the moldboard forward to cut pack more aggressively. He would roll it back to move snow. This was a 140H, with icebits for the cutting edge and a 4 way dozing blade on the front. The ground we cleared was mostly paved, however if it wasn’t frozen hard it wasn’t much better than gravel. If the ground is frozen hard there shouldn’t be much difference between gravel and pavement, if not the gravel will take much more finesse. I work in the woods now and have run nearly all associated machines. Plowing snow with a grader is still my favorite. Just something about looking back at a nicely graded road/lot that is very satisfying. Enjoy.