How to Ditch With a Scraper Blade

A scraper blade is versatile enough to both level the road and make the ditch.

A scraper blade is a tractor attachment that works similar to a grader. It is a wide, flat attachment for the three-point hitch of a tractor that is often used for leveling roads or fields. A scraper blade may not be as practical for use in creating a ditch as it generally attaches to the rear of the tractor so your ditch will be dug while driving in reverse. But if you plan to make a small ditch and do not want to change attachments, it can be done.

Instructions

1. Turn on the tractor and lift the scraper blade up as high as it will go, using the hydraulic lift arms.

2. Move the tractor to the area where you plan to create the ditch. Position the blade so it is facing the side of the ditch.

3. Angle the scraper blade downward and lower the blade all the way to the ground.

4. Put the tractor into reverse. Move toward the ditch slowly. As you advance, continue lowering the blade to remove the soil and form the ditch.

5. Raise the blade slightly once you get to the center of the ditch. Continue driving the tractor in reverse. Raise the scraper blade more and more so that the dirt is pushed out of the ditch and not allowed to fall back into it.

6. Stop advancing once you reach the opposite side of the ditch. Put the tractor in first gear and drive slowly forward away from the ditch, back toward your starting position.

7. Angle the blade back down and lower it into the ditch as you retreat. Keep the blade on the ground to pull out any loose dirt that remains.

8. Raise the blade when you return to the original edge of the ditch. Reposition the tractor so that the scraper will fall with one edge touching the portion of ditch that was just excavated.

9. Repeat Steps 3 through 8 until the ditch is finished.

References

• water.epa.gov: Ditches
• BuildingWithBrick.org: Road-Building Machinery
• Integrated Publishing: Ditch Cut