I am running standard 1 inch thick ,2 x 7 foot cutting edges( or blades or whatever is the correct term ) on my 740 A grader. Wonder if one can rehab the edge to straight by trimming with a plasma cutter.two concerns come to mind: stress in the metal and loss of hardness. Not sure if either would apply.Proposing to cut them in place ie while mounted.The work I do goes a lot better when there's minimal curve to the edge
I’ve no idea what bolt pattern you have on your moldboard but surely someone somewhere makes flat edges for it rather than the more common curved ones.?
You must have a big plasma cutter. I've cut those for years with a torch and had no problems so cut away. Bob
There's discussion of this toward the end of the "early spring road maintenance" thread. Debate seems to be time, vs waste of metal. Not much issue with softening or cracking mentioned.
Guess I'll give it a whirl.plasma cutter is a hypotherm might be an 85 amp,biggest one they made 5 yrs ago anyhow .Cuts 1 inch just fine as long as you've got a pretty good tip on.
Thanks for replies!
Why do you run such thick edges
So, are you trimming to correct the crown wear in the centre in order to make them even again?
I prefer rotating the edges. But you may be beyond that point. If so, cutting is the only solution to get back to a straight edge.
the 1 inch seems to be the standard around here,and thats what grader came with. What are the pros of thinner edges?Id have thought they would just wear faster?What I wonder is a good time to rotate edges. Im at about 1 inch of crown right now.
We have switched mostly to carbide tipped blades. They are expensive to buy, but with the amount maintinence & the longevity of them makes it worth the cost. We put ours on nearly a year ago and they are still OK and have a straight edge. That includes a brutal winter of plowing snow in extremely cold weather. (Put over 1000 hrs on plowing this season) We used to run either 5/8 or 3/4 blades and in summer months were changing them about every 30 to 45 days. Usually needed to trim the blades twice to keep the cutting edge straight. The draw back is that they will tend to chatter on an extremely hard road if you need to use down pressure, as will 1 inch blades. We look after over 700KM of roads with two machines, so we do appreciate not having to take the extra time to either trim or change cutting edges.
You can roll the moldboard so the cutting edge is similar a straight cutting edge. No problem cutting with a torch or plasma. It would help if you had a magnetic straight edge or could clamp or tack a guide to run the plasma torch along. I don't understand why some think it takes too much time. Maybe for someone who's not very experienced with a torch. I snapped a chalk line and cut an 8ft. cutting edge on the machine in about 10 minutes. The other cutting edge was relatively straight so didn't need to be cut.
Been cuttin them for years. Never broken one, but I do find they wear quicker once heated. Nothing crazy, but it is noticeable. I just un lock the saddle lock, and bring the mb up to the side where you can stand up to cut it. Never been asked to rotate them, there is a steel rack at the shop full of them. The set of blades I have on now have been cut 3 times, and a grading job this weekend if it doesn't rain will finish them off. 12 or 13 hours non stop grading on rock hard sandstone will wear the center almost an inch for me. I would have to rotate them at least 3 times. alone would probably take me 40 min to an hour. That's 3 hour of grading I didn't get done for that customer. Now grading for a county like ovrszd, I could see taking the time to do it, but for a by the hour job, do your shift, get them cut, and hit it again next day.