1. Pulled the right side of the blade up with the turnbuckle as far as it would go, so it would dig in on the left side
2. Angled the blade concave forward to dig, rotated to kick dirt to the right
3. Used the top link to set the blade down pretty far so it would really dig in.
Then I ran laps on Baer Hill Road from the north end of the power cut to the mailboxes and back, keeping to the left. The first two passes kicked a lot of dirt and gravel from the shoulder and berm onto the road. At first I thought it would not be enough dirt, but then I started easing the blade back towards horizontal and running a little closer to the road's center each lap.
When I felt like enough dirt was on top of the road I reversed he blade so concave was backwards, and started smoothing. On each lap I eased the blade a little more level on the side link, and a little higher on the top link.
At the end of each pass I was leaving a pile of junk where I raised my blade. Eventually I started leaving that pile in the center of the road, and picking up up to start the next lap.
This (above) is what I call the "side link." it controls the height of the right side of the blade. Make Sure the chain turnbuckles are tight, or else the left side will just follow it. To operate this link, push something through the holes in the turnbuckle body and rotate it. If your hand goes left to right, you will be shortening the buckle and raising the right side of the blade. Look at the threads if you get confused.
This (above) is what I call the "top link." The blade is raised and lowered hydraulically, but this adjustment controls how low the blade sits when the hydraulics are all the way down. This photo shows an old ratchet extension I keep with the tractor for the turnbuckles. If you rotate the long end as shown up and away from you, the buckle will shorten and your down position will be higher. That's good for smoothing. If you turn it the other way, the blade will ride lower and dig more.
This (above) shows the blade set for digging, with the concave curve forward. It is also rotated 2-8 o'clock, to kick dirt to the left. On today's job, I had it rotated 10-4 o'clock, to kick dirt to the right.
This (above) shows the blade reversed for smoothing, with the concave surface pointing backwards. Dirt would kick to the left.
