Show EARTH ROADS WORK Necessary Tools and Machinery Needed for Building USE OF ELEVATING GRADERS Machine May Be Operated Successfully Successfully Successfully Success Success- fully With Horsepower 25 Tractor or Twelve Well Trained Horses Scrapers and Wagons Prepared Specially by the United States Department of or Agriculture The use of elevating graders Is sometimes desirable in the construction construction tion of oC earth roads The essential features features features fea fea- tures of this machine are fire a plow with witha a heavy moldboard nn fin elevating belt a suitable frame for supporting the plow and belt and driving and adjusting adjusting adjusting adjust adjust- ing mechanisms for operating the belt and controlling the work The plow loosens the material and throws it onto the belt which couve conveys s 's and deposits deposits deposits de de- posits it either cither in the roadbed or wagons Elevating graders are arc adapted especially especially es es- es to building up embankments with material excavated from shallow borrow ditches along each side of the road They also may be used to advantage advantage advantage ad ad- vantage in excavating long shallow through cuts and loading the material thus excavated into wagons for or use usein itt in building up embankments at other points The latter use however Is If restricted to situations where there is sufficient space to operate the time grader gradel and at the time afford same passageway passageway passage passage- wa way for the teams and wa wagons ons to o fol- fol large volume of material bo ho moved from excavation to 0 embankment embank embank- embankment ment within a distance of only a few hundred feet Figure 1 shows a typical typical tYlI- tYlI cal cross section for an earth road rond where the grading machine hardly could be used advantageously except for finishing the road surface To accomplish accomplish ac ac- work of this kind economIcally economically econom econom- the devices for loosening loadIng loadIng loading load load- I ing and hauling the material must allbe allbe all all' be adapted to turning around quickly in a small space and not infrequently must be such as to be han handled led readily over o very rough ground Such Implements Implements implements ments as wagons wheeled scrapers drag scrapers and plows therefore should form a part of the equipment on practically all road-grading road proF The choice choice- of proper Implements to employ in moving material from excavation excavation excavation ex ex- to embankment depends first on the nature and quantity of the material to be moved and second on on the length of haul In general where the material consists of earth it Is Is loosened with plows and the economIcal economical economical econom econom- ical method of hauling is fixed by the haul length about as follows For lengths of haul not exceeding feet drag scrapers for lengths of haul between 1 O feet and GOO feet wheeled scrapers for lengths of haul above GOO COO feet wagons Where the material consists of solid rock It must be loosened by br drilling and blasting and practically alwa always s 's is hauled in wagons or carts regardless of the haul length Types of Plows Used Two types of plows commonly are used In road grading One Is the t type pe generally used for loosening ordinary soils solis while the other is used for breakIng breakIng breaking break- break Ing up hardpan lode road surfaces and other earth unusually difficult to loosen Either t type pe is drawn by four w V 0 o oS i r. r S TYPICAL CROSS SECTION FOR EARTH ROAD r W V width of road between ditches not less than 20 feet fed 0 0 varies vanes from 2 feet to to 6 feet depending on the rainfall and grade 1 hl crown varies vanes from inch lOch to the foot for or IA leVel el grade to I inch to Y F. Tig 1 the foot for a grade of 5 S 57 low under the end of the time belt to receive receive receive re re- the successive loads as the grader is dra drawn draYn Yn forward Operating Elevating Grader It is customary to employ a traction traction traction trac trac- tion engine for operating the elevating grader though teams are used some some- times Ordinarily the machine may maybe maybe be operated successfully either with witha a horse 25 power tractor or 01 with 12 well-trained well horses The rate at which earth can be excavated excavated excavated ex ex- with an elevating grader Is relatively very high when conditions are favorable and the grader can be kept moving But there are a number of rather complicated parts about such sucha a machine which sometimes get out of order and the work also Is usually hampered by many unforeseen contingencies contingencies contingencies contin contin- such as bog bogging of the time wheels choking of the plow or the elevator belt occurrence e of burled stumps or stones In the excavation etc For these reasons the time actual capacity capacity capacity ca ca- ca- ca I of elevating graders grades considered over a long period seldom seldom Is more than about third one-third or one half the rated capacity and where the material Is loaded Into wagons as ns It Is excavated ed the actual capacity of the machine may be reduced still further Elevating ElevatIng ing lag graders of the size used ordinarily In road work have a rated capacity of about cubic yards per hour Use of Scrapers Wagons Etc To grade a u road of any considerable length no matter where It is located usually will require a considerable amount of work with devices other than the grading machine and elevatIng elevating elevating ing grader The latter machine as previously explained may be very economical eco eco- for special conditions to which the they are adapted But these special conditions seldom prevail for more than thun comparatively short stretches of road without sections Intervening Intervening intervening In In- which require that a reI rela- rela a- a horses or in some cases cases by a traction engine and Is operated by three e men men including the driver Such plows average average aver aver- age about HiO pounds in weight and sell at an average price of from 12 to 18 but heavier plows of this t type pe range runge in cost up t to about 30 With average soil conditions they ma may be made to turn a furrow about 7 or 8 S inches deep and from 8 S to 10 Inches wide The hardpan plows vary considerably considerably con con- in weight and selling price but cost more than the turn plows One reason for the time higher cost Is that the points must be made of a very high grade of steel in order to be durable Drag scrapers arc alC made in horse 1 horse 1 and horse 2 sizes which have respective rated capacities of 3 5 and 7 cubic feet Drag scrapers have an average weight when empty of from 75 to pounds and an actual actual ac ac- ac- ac capacity of about three-fourths three the rated capacity The price f f. f o. o b. b factory averages from 4 to 6 0 G per scraper In operating drag scrapers the drivers ers ars rs also may load and empty the scraper but frequently it Is economIcal economical economical econom econom- ical to provide additional laborers for this purpose With a haul length of feet and the teams moving steadily steadily stead stead- ily fly one laborer should be able to load or empty and spread the material for about three scrapers For scraper work to be effective the material to tobe tobe tobe be excavated must be thoroughly loosened loosened loos loos- ened by the plows and should be free from large roots or stones Where such obstructions occur time is saved b by having them removed by hand haud durIng during during dur dur- ing the time process of plowing |