# Gauge Wheels for Scraper Blade



## silverslim

I'm sure someone has the same prob as me. My driveway (200 ft) is gravel and when it's not frozen, I knock the heck out of it with my FEL/scraper when removing snow. So I decided to make some gauge wheels for my scraper. A couple of HF 10" pneumatic wheel swivel casters (about $15 ea) and three layers of 3/4" plywood laminated together and sawn to shape on the bandsaw. I attached it to my scraper with a lag bolt thru one of the attachment holes for the cutting edge. I can get a nice fine adjustment using the top link. Will only use it when the ground gets soft...but the test run today was encouraging!


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## jhngardner367

Love it ! let us know how it works out,as I'm sure others might like this .


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## HarveyW

Very NICE!!


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## silverslim

Gauge wheel update. We got several inches of snow about a week ago and my driveway was unfrozen and quite soft. After a couple of adjustments using the top link, I was able to remove most of the snow while leaving the gravel largely intact. The 1/2" or so that I left was melted by afternoon. I'm pretty happy with the results. Hoping I don't get to do any more testing this year!


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## Thomas

Neat and clean...I like.


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## Hoodoo Valley

As a carpenter and welder by profession...... Nice fitting!


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## jhngardner367

That kinda gives me an idea for a rear blade for the Bolens !


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## oldmanfarmer

I know this post was 5 years ago but I would like to know how your wheels are holding up and if there are any changes you would make? any improvements?


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## silverslim

*Gauge Wheels update*

Thanks for asking about the gauge wheels. Other than a minor tweak, they are working fine. When I originally made the wheel mounts, I didn't leave enough clearance for them to rotate 360 degrees....so when I backed up..they hit the frame and just skidded. So I took them off and trimmed out the frames...now they work fine. One annoyance is when you change the angle of the blade, you have to re-adjust the level of the blade..a couple of turns on the 3-pt hitch adj arm. No big deal. I guess there is no perfect solution to plowing a soft gravel driveway but this does work better than anything else I've come across.


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## DanielWilson

Awesome! I have the same problem on my 450 feet of gravel. I think I have a new project on the list!


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## Dr. Willie

Nice work, silverslim! 

I know it's a few years later...I just wanted to post to let you know your idea reached another person  Thanks for posting it for people like me to find later down the road!

And I had a question...did you try pulling the tilt pin so the blade/wheels could better track left/right grade changes? I guess when you lift the blade it might wanna lean one way or the other, which could be a pain.


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## westport109

I know this is some time since the original post. We live on a small road in Eastern Ontario. We encounter the same issue with snow pre-freeze. I have used a piece of 1 1/2” pvc pipe split lengthwise on my table saw and pressed onto the bottom of the blade. The pipe lasts about 3 plowings, but saves the surface of the road. I use an old Massey 35 and the 3ph doesn’t hold a position very well. 


Sent from my iPad using Tractor Forum


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## Groo

I'll add my $0.02 to this zombie;

You could also just flip the blade around.

I will occasionally plow the yard to allow access to the upper yard (that is where the wood storage was). We just back drag it the first pass. Flipping the blade does the same thing.


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## Rolex

I have never had to deal with snow but when I wanted to set the height on my slasher (bush hog) I used a pair of trailer jockey wheels and some scaffold clamps to keep them in place and stiff.

Very easy to adjust the height.


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