Saw a grader operator in Nevada doing something with his blade I've never thought of

Watched a guy on a Cat 140M use the heel of his blade to knock big rocks loose instead of digging in with the cutting edge, and it cut his cycle time by about half from what I could tell anyone else ever try this trick?

4 comments

4 Comments

the_leo1mo ago

Poke the back edge into a rock and call it a day, works better than half the tricks I've seen.

wyatt1351mo ago

Nevada must be the place for creative grading, @the_leo called it right with poking the back edge - that old timer's name "mule's heel" is gold, I'm stealing that.

cooper.drew1mo ago

Heel of his blade" is actually called the heel, but most guys call it the back of the moldboard.

-1

kai_webb911mo ago

Funny thing about blade terminology... I was out with an old-timer last spring who kept calling it the "mule's heel" and I had no idea what he was talking about. Turns out he learned that name from his granddad who worked with mule-drawn plows back in the 30s. @cooper.drew you'd probably get a kick out of watching that guy try to explain it to the younger guys on the crew, he was pointing at the back edge and drawing lines in the dirt with a stick for ten minutes.