Old WD Allis Makes Super Road Grader

2001 - Volume #25, Issue #6, Page #23

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Heavy truck traffic on his quarter-mile long gravel driveway means commercial logger Mark Lofgren needs to do quite a bit of road maintenance.
  After years of using a rear-mounted tractor blade to grade the road, Lofgren decided he needed something better.
  Specifically, he really wanted to find an Allis Chalmers D grader. Since none were readily available, Lofgren decided to build his own.
  He had a lot of help and guidance from Chester Lewis Sr., Big Fork, Minnesota, a retired Allis Chalmers dealer. Lewis had an old WD Allis that he'd bought and rebuilt enough to get it running. Lofgren bought it from him, and also a set of WD or WC frame rails from Lewis's collection of old Allis parts.
  He removed the front end from the WD and welded the extended frame rails to the existing frame. He then attached the front end to the extended rails. The tractor now has a 14-ft. wheelbase, just like the Allis D grader he wanted.
  Underneath the extended frame, he mounted a pivoting blade he built himself. "I cut the 24-in. circle the blade pivots on from a sheet of 1/2-in. plate steel. I couldn't find a piece of steel with the right curve that was thick enough and big enough to make the moldboard for the grader blade, so I welded three 10-ft. lengths of 1/2-in. by 4-in. strap iron together to make one. I bought a new cutting edge for it and bolted that on," he says.
  He built the mounting frame for the blade from 2-in. square steel tubing.
  Lofgren says the existing low-volume hydraulic pump and reservoir were sufficient to control the blade. He used two 2 1/2 by 16-in. stroke hydraulic cylinders to raise and lower the blade. "I can raise the blade 14 in. off the ground, or grade 2 in. deeper than the surface."
  He can control either side or both at once using spool valves mounted on the frame, with levers he positioned on the WD's left fender, within easy reach from the seat.
  "The hydraulic pump works only when the main clutch is engaged, but since the WD has a hand clutch, too, I can stop and shift gears while raising or lowering the blade," he says.
  Blade angle must be adjusted manually. He says this could be done hydraulically, too, but the manual adjustment is easy enough and doesn't take that much time.
  "It was a fun project to work on and didn't take that much time or money," he says. He notes that his WD grader looks a lot like a factory built D grader, with the exception of the arch over the blade on the D. "It's much easier to use than a 3-point blade and does a much better job on my driveway," he says.
  Contact: FARM SHOW Followup, Mark Lofgren, 41366 Scenic Highway, Bovey, Minn. 55709 (ph 218 245-2706).

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Old WD Allis Makes Super Road Grader MISCELLANEOUS EQUIPMENT Earth Movers 25-6-23 Heavy truck traffic on his quarter-mile long gravel driveway means commercial logger Mark Lofgren needs to do quite a bit of road maintenance. After years of using a rear-mounted tractor blade to grade the road, Lofgren decided he needed something better. Specifically, he really wanted to find an Allis Chalmers D grader. Since none were readily available, Lofgren decided to build his own. He had a lot of help and guidance from Chester Lewis Sr., Big Fork, Minnesota, a retired Allis Chalmers dealer. Lewis had an old WD Allis that he'd bought and rebuilt enough to get it running. Lofgren bought it from him, and also a set of WD or WC frame rails from Lewis's collection of old Allis parts. He removed the front end from the WD and welded the extended frame rails to the existing frame. He then attached the front end to the extended rails. The tractor now has a 14-ft. wheelbase, just like the Allis D grader he wanted. Underneath the extended frame, he mounted a pivoting blade he built himself. "I cut the 24-in. circle the blade pivots on from a sheet of 1/2-in. plate steel. I couldn't find a piece of steel with the right curve that was thick enough and big enough to make the moldboard for the grader blade, so I welded three 10-ft. lengths of 1/2-in. by 4-in. strap iron together to make one. I bought a new cutting edge for it and bolted that on," he says. He built the mounting frame for the blade from 2-in. square steel tubing. Lofgren says the existing low-volume hydraulic pump and reservoir were sufficient to control the blade. He used two 2 1/2 by 16-in. stroke hydraulic cylinders to raise and lower the blade. "I can raise the blade 14 in. off the ground, or grade 2 in. deeper than the surface." He can control either side or both at once using spool valves mounted on the frame, with levers he positioned on the WD's left fender, within easy reach from the seat. "The hydraulic pump works only when the main clutch is engaged, but since the WD has a hand clutch, too, I can stop and shift gears while raising or lowering the blade," he says. Blade angle must be adjusted manually. He says this could be done hydraulically, too, but the manual adjustment is easy enough and doesn't take that much time. "It was a fun project to work on and didn't take that much time or money," he says. He notes that his WD grader looks a lot like a factory built D grader, with the exception of the arch over the blade on the D. "It's much easier to use than a 3-point blade and does a much better job on my driveway," he says. Contact: FARM SHOW Followup, Mark Lofgren, 41366 Scenic Highway, Bovey, Minn. 55709 (ph 218 245-2706).

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