THE SPLIT-LOG DRAG.
ITS USE ON EARTH ROADS. (Bulletin by D. Ward King, United States Department of Agriculture).
The earth road is by far the mcst common type of highway in this country. Its cheapness in comparison with other types of construction and the absence in many sections of the country of rock, gravel, or other hard natural materials for road building will render its use necessary form any years to come. There are at present in this country about 2.000,000 miles of such roads, most of which must be maintained by some means more or less inexpensive. The split-log dragis uf great service on roads of this class, and an increasing mileage of the rural highways of this country is being kept in repair economically and well by the use of this simple implement. It is r.ow in use in many States of the Union and in foreign countries also, and its adoption in most localities where there are earth roads will doubtless increase. The aim in writing this bulletin has been to give a concise description of the contsruction of the split-log drag and the method of using it which will give the best results. The author has experimented with a great variety of devices for road dragging, but has found the twoslab log or plank for working both =ides of the roadway simultaneously have been tried with only limited success. The reason for this lies in the fact that both' sides of an earth road are never exactly alike. This causes the two parts of the drag to work unevenly and to interfere with each other. It is also impossible tor one man to operate both parts successfully, as will be shown later on. Two mistakes are commonly made in constructing a drag. The first lies in making it too heavy. It should be so light that one man can easily lilt it Besides, a light drag responds more readilv to various methods of hitching and to the shifting of the position and weight of the operator, both of which are essential considerations and are discussed more fully later on. A drag can be made heavier at any time by proper weighting. The other mistake is in the use ot squared timbers, instead of those with sharp edges, whereby the cutting effect of sharp edges is lost and the drag is permitted to glide over instead of to equalise the irregularities in the surface of the road. These mistakes are due partly to badly drawn illustrations and plans of drags which have occasionally appeared in newspapers and partlv to the erroneous idea that it is necessary that a large amount of earth shall be moved at one time. A dry red cedar log is the best material for a drag. Red elm and i walnut when thoroughly dried are ! excellent, and box, elder, soft maple, ior even willow are preterable to oak, hickory, or ash. The log should be 7 or 8 feet long and from 10 to 12 inches in diameter, snd carefully split down the middle. The heaviest and best slab should be selected for the front. At a point on this front i slab 4 inches from the end that is to j be at the middle of the road locate the i centre of the hole to receive a cross stake and 22 inches from the other the front slab locate the centre for another cross stake. The hole for the middle stake will lie on a line ! connecting and halfway between the I two The back slab should now oe ! placed in position behind the other, i From the end which is to be at the i middle of the road measure 20 inches I for the centre of the cross stake, and ■ 6 inches from the other end locate the centre of the outside stake. Find the centre of the middle bole as before. When these holes are brought opposite each other, one end of the back slab will He 16 inches nearer the centre of the roadway than the front one, giving what is known as "set back." The holes should be 2 inches in dia- ! meter. Care must be taken to hold the auger plumb in boring these holes in order that the stakes shall fit properly The hola to receive the forward' end of the chain should be bored at the same time. The two slabs should be held 30 inches apart by the stakes. Straight - grained timber ebould be selected for the stakes, so that each stake shall fit snugly into the 2 inch hole when the two slabs are in the proper position. The stakes
should taper gradually toward the ends. There should be no shoulder at the point where the stakes enter the slab. The stakes should be fastened in place by wedgen only. When the stakes have been placed in position and tightly wedged, a brace 2 inches thick and 4 inches wide should be placed diagonally to them at the ditch end. The brace should be dropped on the front slab, so that its lower end should best in the angle between the slab and the end sstake. A strip of iron about 31 feet long, 3 or 4 inches wide and h of an inch thi.'k may be used for the blade. This should be attached to the front slab, so'that it tfil! I^ e one-half inch below the lower edge of thy s]ab, at the ditch end, while the t nd of the iron toward the middle of the road should be flush with the edge of the slab. The bolts holding the blade in place should have fiat heads ant] the holes to receive them should be countersunk. If the face of the log stands plumb it is well to wedge out the Sower edge of the blade with a threei cornered strip of wood to givo it a i set like the bit of a plane. A plati form of inch boards held together by ! three cleats should be placed on the stakes between the slabs. These boards should be placed on the stakes between the slabs. These boards should be spaced at least an nich apart to allow any earth that may heap up and fall over the front 1 slab to sift through upon the road i agtrp The end cleats should be I placed e& j-bat they will not rest Hucn the bi;t drop inside ithem,'while the middle oloat can be i shifted to either side of the middle stake. These cleats should extend about an inch beyond the finished width of the platform. An ordinary trace chain is strong enough to draw
the implement, provided the clevis Js not fastened through a link. The chain should be wrapped around the rear stake, then passed over the_ front slab. Raising the chain at this end of the. slab allows the earth to drift past thrf face of the drag. The other end of the chain should be passed through the hole in the end of the slab and is held by a pin passed through a link. One and one-half trace chains are sufficient. In many logs the grain runs around the tree in such a way that when split the slabs will be in a "wind." It' tine wind is not more than 4 inches in b feet, the timber can be used to good advantage by setting it so that the blade end of the log shall slant forward when the other end is perpendicular. The contsruction of th? drag in this ca?e is the same as given above, but care must bs taken that the holes bored to receive the stakes are plumb. No wedging under the lower edge of the balde is nceessarv in using such a log. Drar-s" ar- often constructed of p!anks b instead of logs. There is nothing in the construction of a plank drag that calls for particular mention except the strengthening of the planks along their middle line by a 2 by 6 inch strip. A triangular atrip may be used under the lower edge of the blade to give it the proper cutting slope.
HOW TO USE A DRAG. The successful operation of a drag involves two principles, which when thoroughly understood and intelligently applied, make road working with this implement very simple. The first concerns the length and position of the hitch, while the second deals with the position of the driver on the drag. Each influences the other to a large extent, and successful manipulation of the drag is dependent upon an understanding of both of them. For ordinary purposes the snatch link or clevis should be fastened far enough toward the blade end of the chain to force the unloaded drag to follow the team at an angle of 4 degrees. This will cause the earth to move along the face of the drag smoothly and will give comparatively light draft to the team, provided the driver rides in the line of draft. Sometimes, however, conditions are met with which require special treatment, and in a rolling country such conditions are not infrequent. Often a flat place several rods in length or a seepy spot needs special attention. The distance from the drag at which the team is hitched affects the depth of the cutting. Shortening the chain tends to lift the front slab from the ground; a longer hitch causes the blade to cut more deeply. The length of hitch may be regulated by lengthening and shortening the chain at the end which runs through the hole in the blade end of the drag. I If small weeds are to be cut or a furrow of earth is to be moved, the doubletree should be attached rather close to the ditch end of the drag. The drag will now move nearly ditch end foremost, and the driver should stand with one foot on the extreme forward end of the. front slab. This will swing the darg back to the properangle and will cause the blade to plow. This hitch requires slow and careful driving in order to prevent the drag from tipping forward. If the blade should plow too deeply, as it may do in a wet spot, the driver should shift his weight toward the back slab. If straw and weeds clog the blade, they can usually be removed if the driver shifts his weight to a point as far as possible from the ditch or blade end. Similarly, if he steps quickly away from the ditch end, the load of earth may be dropped into a low place or mudhole. Some attention should be given to the edge of the blade. In the beginning, the average earth road requires no steel plate on the drag, though the drag will be better preserved if the steel is apnlied at first. At the end of a year's work, if the dragging has been faithfully done, a-steel plate will be needed. If the twist of the log is properly used, or the threecornered strip of wood is placed under the blade, a flat piece of steel will answer. In case the blade stands perpendicularly it should be slightly cupped when sharpened. Usually two horses are enough to pull a drag over an ordinary earth road. When four horses are used, they should be hitched to the drag by means of a four-horse eyener. The team sh.ou]d be driven With one horse on either side of the right-handwheel tj-ack or rut the full lentgh of the portion to be dragged, and the return made over the other half of the roadway. The object of such treatment is to move earth toward the centre of the roadway and to raise it gradually above the surrounding level. While this is being done all mudholes and ruts will be filled, into which traffic will pack the fresh earth.
WHEN TO USE A DRAG. The drag does the best work when the soil ia mont, but not aticky. The earth then moves freely along the faces of the slabs. If the roadway is very badly rutted and full of holes it may be well to use the drag oiice V/t|eri the ground is slushy. Th.ia treatment is particularly applicable before a cold spell in winter when it is possible to have a roadway freeze smooth. A smooth road surface is scoured, hy this method. Oiay, when mixed with watoj- and thoroughly worked, becomes romavkably tough and impervious to water. if compacted in fhii- conditio." it becomes extremely hard. Another valuable result of dragging is the reduction oi. dust, for the particles of clay cohere S3 tenaciously that there is but little wear when the surface is smooth. Dust on an earth road is due to the breaking up under traffic of the frayed and upturned edges of ruts and hoof prints. "If the surface is smoothed after each rain and the road dries hard and even, no edges are exposed to crushing and the only dust which forms is that due to actual wear of f.(ie j:oad surface. There avc an many influences at work and condition:.) i'.v" so varied m different localities that it i:- <|tiiU. impossible to lay down a generai rule for the number of treatments needed to
keep a road in good condition. A rough clay or a stiff sandy clay will resist the action of wheels and hoofs for a longer period than a loam, other tilings being equal. Certain sections of a roadway will require more attention than others because of steep grades, seepage, exposure to hillside wash, etc. The best guide in meeting these conditions is the knowledge and experience gained while dragging the roadway. There is one condition, however, in which special treatment should be given to a road. Clay hills under persistent dragging frequently become too high in the centre. To correct this' it is best to drag the earth toward the centre of the road twice and away from it once.
USE OP DRAG ON ROCKY OR GRAVELLY ROADS.
In soils full of loose stones or even small bowlders the drag has done good service. The loose stones are drawn into a windrow down the centre of the road while the earth is deposited around the bowlders in such a way that the surface is levelled. The loose stones in the centre of the road should of course be removed. Where there is a large proportion of small stones or gravel the drag will keep down the inequalities in the surface.
AS TO COST. : There is little available data on the j cost of maintenance of earth road 3 by ; dragging. However, there is no j doubt as to the economy of the j darg, either in first coat or in its j operation. The most elaborate form j will cost but a few dollars for mate- ' rial and labour, while one man and \ team can operate it successfully under : all conditions. As a consequence, the j statements given below are well with- i in reason and indicate what may be : accomplished with a very small outlay. | The following figures show the cast of manitaining ordinary country roads per mile per year without a drag, and may be taken as a basis of the cost of j such maintenance. They were obtained in Kansas by Trof. W. C. Hoad, of the University of Kansas, in 1906, and were taken from the official records of the counties:— Crawford County 52 dollars, Douglas County 38 dollarvs, Franklin County j 34 dollars, Johnson County 48 dollars, j Neosho County 40 dollars, Saline j County, 43 dollars. The average cost is 42.0 dollars per mile per year, and j it may safely be said that the cost of dragging would be trifling in comparison. Mr F. P. Sanborn, Highway Commissioner of Maine, states:— •'The least expense per mile (for dragging) was about 1.50 dollars; the greatest a little over G dollars; the average expense per mile for 5* miles a little less than 3 dollars." Commenting further, Mr Sanborn decalres: "The writer has lived by this picee of road all his life, and although we have had the extremes of weather this season, both wet and dry, not for forty years has the road in question been so free from mud and dust. Parties who have known the road all their lives are agreed that it never was in so good condition a season through." Mr R. H. Aishton, general manager of the Chicago and North-Western Railroad, investigated the work of the split-log drag at Sac City, lowa, preliminary to the campaign inaugurated by that company in 1905, he learned that one. township had experimented with the drag on 28 miles of highway, for a year. He found that the township paid for the making of the drags and hired men to use them, including the original cost of the drags when figuring the expense of the year's work. The total expense for the twelve months averaged 2.40 dollars Der mile, and the roads were reported to have been 'Mike a race track" the larger portion of the year. A neighbourhood of farmers in Ray County, Mo., employed one of their number to drag a 5-mile stretch. He received compensation at the rate of 3 dollars per day. When the end of the year came and a settlement was made, the cost for the year was found to be 1.66 dollars per mile. The road is a tough clay and my informant declares it was always mcuh better than the other roads in the neighbourhood. Professor William Robertson, of the Minnesota Agricultural Station, after a year's experience in, dragging a "main road rn,a.de cmUyoly of gumbo Without any !*ftnd or gravel, and which du.V'ng the past year lias shown no defects either by rutting or development of soft places." fixes the cost of the work at not less than to exceed 5 dollars per mile.
Permanent link to this item
Hononga pūmau ki tēnei tūemi
https://paperspast.natlib.govt.nz/newspapers/KCC19101207.2.11
Bibliographic details
Ngā taipitopito pukapuka
King Country Chronicle, Volume V, Issue 318, 7 December 1910, Page 3
Word count
Tapeke kupu
3,003THE SPLIT-LOG DRAG. King Country Chronicle, Volume V, Issue 318, 7 December 1910, Page 3
Using this item
Te whakamahi i tēnei tūemi
Waitomo Investments is the copyright owner for the King Country Chronicle. You can reproduce in-copyright material from this newspaper for non-commercial use under a Creative Commons BY-NC-SA 3.0 New Zealand licence. This newspaper is not available for commercial use without the consent of Waitomo Investments. For advice on reproduction of out-of-copyright material from this newspaper, please refer to the Copyright guide.