back blade edge question......opinion needed

[tfringo]

I have a 2 point back blade for my super C that I am fixing up. I am going to make a new blade edge for it. Is that blade edge simply mild steel or is is something special as used on blow blades, etc? Thanks, Terry

 

[Janicholson]

If you are doing a gravel drive that is 150' long twice a year, I would use mild steel stock 3/8"X3" if I was going to use it professionally, or quite often I would find a discarded county grader blade to use. They are made from high manganese steel and resist abrasion and are just for that purpose. Why used, is that when they get done with them they are just about the perfect dimensions for a back blade. Do not sharpen it like a mower blade, it should be beveled so that when it is on flat concrete attached to the tractor the front edge is touching and the back edge is about 1/8" in the air. this allows maximum support for the edge while allowing it to "hook" into the soil/gravel you are moving. JimN

 

[tfringo]

I went to my steel supplier and they said it would be no problem to cut a piece with a CNC plasma cutter. They have an automatated set-up that grabs the steel, places it on the table and then cuts it to dimension. I believe they called the steel A-14. Said the farmers use it to rebuild plows, etc. I am not sure how or if I could drill it. I suppose a cobalt drill bit, some cooling oil and a drill press would work??
Thanks, Terry

 

[old]

If it where me I would check with the local road dept. Most of them will give you there old grader blade edges for free or vary small amount of $$. I do that any time I need a new edge for one of my blades and so far I have less then $10 in any one of them as far as fixing the cutting edge
Hobby farm

 

[Bob Kerr]

You may have to get it hot and punch out the holes.

 

[Janicholson]

Assuming they cut very correctly placed holes for mounting this is a very good material (not as good as manganese steel, but way better than mild or structural. From ASTM= A13 is obsolete (1950) but the current extension of the category is as follows: This specification covers hot-wrought steel bars to be used for the manufacture of general-purpose springs such as coil, torsion, and leaf. Do it JimN