1948 Ford 8N Driveway Grading Demonstration - King Kutter 6' Back Blade Gets It Done!

[@trailrider0194]

Great video! This brings back memories. I learned to drive a tractor on my dad's 1948 8n at the age of 13. That was 55 years ago.

[@danielbutler578]

My father had a TO-20 Harris Ferguson that I first drove when I was 6. It was built very similar to the 8N. They are definitely little but impressive. We once had to pull start our M with a dead battery and the Ferguson was the designated puller. Dad didn't think it could be done but I put the M in fourth gear and eased the clutch up. About the time the oil pressure came up to work range, that old M fired up.

[@Dudleymiddleton]

They have such character to them, the old 8N's. Built to last more than a generation!

[@squatch253]

You’re right about that, I like to compare these N Series Fords to ants - small in size but capable of doing impressive amounts of work for what they are 👍

[@joecliffordson]

I love my families 48. I painted a v8 conversion for the neighbors. Ours is bone stock except the radiator. People foo foo them but I learned to drive on one and make all the 0:13 waterways on our farm with that blade set up. Bush hogging is interesting with no live pto. Road gear is plenty fast to get one to the site. I love these tough little machines.

[@KennyKizzleRustyNutzRanch]

Nicely done. Great explanation, too. I, personally, have never used a 3-point hitch... Understood the principles, but now understand adjustment. Thanks, Squatch!

[@codysp]

Beautiful 8N! I love my 1944 2N. Super reliable machine.

[@MyLifeThai371]

I see a 2N in my area with a loader for $1800. The loaders for them are so easy and cheap to find in my area. The going rate for a loader is only $300.

[@josephperkins4163]

Always nice to see the rock crusher in the background! Can’t wait for the restoration to take place on that piece of equipment. Cheers!

[@daohnstad]

Fun video!!! My 3 year old daughter say the thumbnail and she said we had to watch the tractor! We both enjoyed the video.

[@TonyBaroni]

Seeing the 8N reminded me of growing up during the 60's in north MIssissippi. I thought everyone owned an 8N tractor because there were so many of them. People who farmed a few acres or less, usually working and retired people, who would work their patch after work and on weekends were the normal 8N owners. My grandfather was a Case tractor mechanic so I saw a lot of farm equipment but didn't see many 8Ns on the bigger farms even though it would probably have come in handy. Great tractors and may I say you are quite the grader operator.

[@coles201]

What a lovely part of the world you live in.

[@petereldred1541]

Thank you just bought a Massey 35 and grader blade. Never used a blade before, now I have enough knowledge to be totally dangerous!! AWESOME video.

[@clydeschwartz]

Excellent video the 8n was purring nicely

[@Ihbinder14]

Really nice drone footage running up the driveway along with the tractor.

[@coltonbryan3726]

Most professional use of a back blade I’ve ever seen! So many old farmers don’t get that thorough with it! Great video

[@thomaspoeta6308]

Absolutely beautiful property! I had to laugh when you said which one do you think I'm gonna do she said pick them out. She loves watching you with me as much as I enjoy watching you. Great video.

[@jmailbell]

Looks fantastic, all you need is a building!

[@elmerfudpucker3204]

I have my grandfather's 1948 8N. I still use it to plow gardens and run the same king kutter blade with. 3rd gen hand with the same awesome tractor.

[@garymeador6750]

Looks like the "position control" was doing its job very well! Great video!

[@Pilotman28]

I enjoy your teaching style. I ask a lot of questions when I watch someone do a task I’ve had interest in learning. While I most likely won’t need to do this it’s really need to have a fundamental understanding of the process now.

[@johna7661]

Excellent results, you make it look so easy!

[@johnnymorrow63]

I love those old N series tractors!

[@claysmagicalland9097]

The incorporation of the drone shots with inserted sound is pretty slick. Video editing prodigy Toby Squatch!

[@jbj27406]

That's a fine job of road maintenance. Very nearly what you could do with the motor grader. On the other hand, that road was built right to start with, which does make it easier. Nice job.

[@40sVintageYT]

Very nice! I'm getting closer to getting my 2N up and running; just re-primed the oil pump, so now I have pressure, and got the points set right so now I have spark! Next step is to rebuild the carb and see if she fires!

[@michaelbaumgardner2530]

Anyone who's been a channel member for a while new you would pick up the weeds...Lol,Great Video

[@aserta]

Your 8N is such a beauty!

[@Thomasgarrick113]

Glad you got your ruad in good shape will need it when construction starts especially for concrete trucks

[@terrycannon570]

I love the way you have the sides of the road mowed. Looks better than my yard. We have had so much rain this spring it is hard to keep up with the mowing.

[@matkremzar5474]

Having the proper equipment helps with the chores of keeping g that place beautiful the way it is.

[@RodneyHayes-d3y]

I had to keep a shared driveway up years ago. not because no one else would have but I just enjoyed it. My process the same as you with one addition. I keep a piece of chain link fence dragging behind the blade to smooth out the spillover at the edges. Maid no difference to anyone else but me but I wanted a smooth even surface texture. Until the first neighbor came home from work and put tracks thru it

[@criswagemansbophadoung8081]

Beautiful farm you have.

[@noelstractors-firewood57]

We have a 7’ blade like yours on our 1951 TEA20 Ferguson, and do the same job as you do. Works great doing driveway work.

[@donwilson6617]

I leveled a many roads and driveways on a Ford 8N...Great tractor on a new building site....Perfect to level new foundation sites

[@blackhouseengineering5386]

Nice work. Your precise approach clearly applies to grading too😂. Looks like it's dried up pretty quick, ready for the big build!

[@nicholaspratt7934]

That Ford 8N reminds me so much of the grey Fergie I spent time on about 60 years ago with the starter on the gearstick 👍

[@FRRitter]

Ha, quite a few of us learned to drive on a Ford tractor...good memories! Super video Toby, roadway and fields look great.

[@robmatthews7972]

I used to have a 48 8N,,,, yours looks and runs better than mine did.

[@4051a]

I like to do that kind of grading when the gravel is damp. when 14:35 the gravel is damp the fines will roll with the stone better and will bind with the stone better. By the way nice job

[@marcelomateos3451]

I just got one of these 8n. Not sure what year was built. I love it!!

[@dangerrangerlstc]

I just had to work on my own driveway yesterday. Filling in wash-outs and filling in some settling along a retaining wall

[@neilshep50]

Good practice for when the builders have been and gone!

[@colm9419]

Levelling is the most human of actions Squatchtastic

[@biggseye]

Always love the 8N series.

[@hugobreese9684]

You are not being OCD with the weeds - just meticulous about a beautifully maintained property !

[@noamglassner]

Yep, that is how to do it. Thank you for the video! So great.

[@johngibson3837]

Hey up mate you've done a beautiful job on the driveway/entrance to you new shed I'm sure the concreaters will enjoy working there as you've shown willing

[@123starion1]

Always great content in your videos. Looking forward to see more about X231

[@jimamundsen7029]

Nice job. The road and property look great.

[@paulwomack5866]

Proof, if proof were needed, that Harry Ferguson really was a genius. There are crofters (small farmers) in Scotland who bought a TE20 back in the 1940s/1950s and are still using it today, not because they're vintage tractor fans, but because the machine just hasn't stopped working well for them.

[@johnashcraft2724]

Loved the “fly by”

[@M8Stealth]

Beautiful driveway and grading job.

[@raymondhorvatin1050]

My dad had one In 1955 it had a bucket on the three point hitch a two bottom plow and a two row cultivator we dug the basement under our house it bucket could be reversed facing either front or back it was a decent little tractor. I was eleven going on twelve fun summer.

[@danielbutler578]

Hey Toby, I'm watching the X231 playlist again and I have an idea for matching the round key hub to the square key axle. It involves your milling machine and a jig to allow you to round off one half of a square key.

[@larrydavidson3402]

Great job on the road.

[@pmaci56]

I've been using my 1953 tea20 for building a driveway using a heavy old 6" 3 way blade. On looking at the way yours is linked up i probably need to find the links that fit below the guards as i'm using the check chains to steady the blade. Thanks for a great video

[@antoniolepore6875]

great video and tutorial, what is the benefit of using the small Ford over the bigger Cat grader?

[@squatch253]

The bigger Cat grader is currently broken, plus I’ve got more experience running a back blade anyway so I’ll get a better job done with it 👍

[@dougjones9493]

Would be nice to see you and Sr on a pull behind grader.

[@rogerpavlis8184]

Now I see why a back blade may be better than a box scarper for grading my driveway. Problem I have is that my driveway is not as flat as yours is so I have problems adjusting the bite as I go up and over the humps. I bought my son that exact blade at Fleet Farm for his Farmall H with a three point hitch. He bent the end of it when he hit a big rock.

[@seniorelectrician6831]

Good Job! it is a art to doing it and skill!

[@geneguenther4325]

Thanks for the video Toby! Nice seeing the 8N out and working. I put a fast hitch blade behind my 460 utility for snow moving and grading my driveway. Works nice but need more gravel. Can’t wait for the next video

[@davidsmith-ee8cb]

When it comes to grading roads defiarely more fun to watch that do, especially in Kansas where a gentle breeze is anything under 20 mph.

[@CDNcatskinner]

My dad had a 8N Jubilee with a lot of attachments, disc, cultivator, 1 bottom and 2 bottom plows, and blade. I know he regretted selling it, settled on a grey market kubota with a loader later on.

[@randalldavis5063]

They use windshield washer fluid in tires here in Indiana

[@theskepticalnegativist1004]

That's a beautiful tractor

[@HyckoryStyckWorks]

That's good grader work for sure. Ever looked into a bionic blade grader? We use them all the time down south. One pass each direction does the same work as all those passes with a normal grader.

[@patzke]

I learned to drive at 8 years old on that tractor courtesy of my PaPa. He limited me to 1st gear.

[@shaneharrison4775]

My dad and I were asked to repair one of those back blades the rotation bar that leads down to the blade got snapped clean off the unit the person was pushing with it and literally bashing the blade into a stump to remove it. And it broke and it was hooked to a Ford Major when It broke. We had another one that was heavier and in excellent shape he bought so he didn't need to wait on repairs that would be fruitless. Later in highschool I turned it into an engine stand .

[@johnberndsen5614]

good time to start the 212!

[@andrewviersen7418]

I kind of feel like you need a grader😅 can’t wait till you get to that project ! Keep up the excellent content my friend

[@theda850two]

You are right Andrew,, Using this method there will eventually be humps in the road, just because of the nature of the "beast", when the front end the counter's any kind of a rise the blade dips,, There are tail wheel attachments for those 3 point blades to eliminate that (most are homemade).

[@donwilson6617]

your videos are always the best...you and Sr. are assets to You Tube...

[@charlesward8196]

That double row of pine trees by the highway sure are looking great! You know you have been following the channel for a while if you notice the trees are getting bigger! I noticed some lilac bushes when you were mowing near the parked grader. Was there a farmhouse there at one time? You can always tell the old homesteads here in Montana, there are frequently vigorous lilac bushes, even if the house is completely gone.

[@squatch253]

Yes actually, the old stone/concrete foundations from the prior house and barn are still just below the surface, along with tons of nails, hinges, and all sorts of other old building materials that were made of metal. That old farm disappeared around 50-60 years ago, with the last remnants of the house bulldozed into the old basement hole and covered over with dirt. Now, we don't even break the sod in that area because there is so much debris that comes to the surface.

[@lukestrasser]

That runs almost as sweet as Nathan’s 9N.

[@Ihbinder14]

Useful fact with the n series tractors, you can pull strait up on the shifter and it allows it to fold forward.

[@johnwythe1409]

Great video! All those early rains have made for some vivid greens! I notice on a couple passes you were carry a lot of gravel. Do you have to worry about moving a lot of material to the ends of the roads?

[@squatch253]

No, I start feathering the material out well in advance of each end of the road 👍

[@johnwythe1409]

@@squatch253 👌

[@jenniferwhitewolf3784]

The very first motor vehicle I ever drove was an 8N. I was just barely big enough to reach the pedals with tip of my toes.

[@larry648]

We had a 2N and a Jubilee. We still have the Jubilee, we wore out that 2N.

[@raincoast9010]

We had one of those tractors on the farm when i was a kid but my dad sold it.

[@PurpleCollarLife]

Great video! I made a video a few years ago about doing our driveway with our 1948 8N. These are great tractors. I noticed that your steering is nice and tight. Ours is getting pretty sloppy -and the 1948 doesn't have an adjustment at the steering box like the later 8Ns do. Did you rebuild yours? Thanks in advance for the advice and answer!

[@squatch253]

Thanks 👍 Fortunately I didn’t have to rebuild the steering on this 8N, it was already in good shape when I started.

[@SkiddingF350]

Nice work!!

[@halsnyder296]

How sturdy is a back blade? In my soily rocks I need to move 1/2 pound to 80 pound rocks to the side. I pull a couple hundred pounds of rock (basalt) off every time I brush hog. The rocks pump up from the tractors weight. It’s getting better, but I’m getting older and I need to reduce the “rock load” while I’m still able. Box blade maybe?

[@squatch253]

This King Kutter back blade isn't very heavy, so I wouldn't be rooting out rocks with it if I could avoid it. A box blade would be much better suited for that task, not only for its heavier construction but also because they've got ripper teeth that will fold down and pre-loosen everything before trying to move it.

[@rogerallen6644]

The process. See new Squatch253 video. Click. Click like immediately, share with a friend, then watch quality content👍 comment for the algorithm! The lane is immaculate! This coming from a guy who does the same thing with a lot newer tractor. Well done!!

[@dwaynekoblitz6032]

Just wondering if I could do anything with my begotten driveway with that beautiful tractor. Sure is pretty.

[@lordcaptainvonthrust3rd]

Thanks, Squatch 👍

[@bcbloc02]

Spread some more lime on that rock and you can get it to really lock in like concrete.

[@tautech8196]

Any reason why the Cat 12 wasn't used ? 😕

[@squatch253]

We have the smaller Cat 212, and the power control box is busted.

[@tautech8196]

@@squatch253 Copy. Darn, another repair project !

[@erik_dk842]

Don't you have any working Cat actual graders?

[@squatch253]

None that don't need repairs before further use - coupled with the fact that I've never actually graded anything with an actual motor grader. But I've been using tractor mounted back blades since I've been able to reach the pedals, so I know I can get the results that I want with one of those :-)

[@simonfraser6404]

Hi, very interesting video! When grading, do you try to control the height of the blade/ aggressiveness of the cut with the hydraulics or just lower it down and let it do it's own thing?

[@squatch253]

I turn the automatic draft control off, and I keep my hand on the hydraulic lever so that I can manually adjust the blade height as needed 👍

[@simonfraser6404]

@@squatch253 Thanks!!

[@ashm6997]

Please restore the Cat grader next!

[@RJGMWR]

Great video, just curious why you didn't use the 212 grader

[@squatch253]

The power control box is busted - future repair project for the channel :-)

[@guyapeterson]

That's a pretty tractor...

[@kevinschroeder3889]

What option will you take on the weeds. Why the one that won't make your eye twitch, of course. Lol

[@danielbrennan6150]

Is there any build info on this 8N? its in really nice shape

[@squatch253]

This "first start after rebuild" video is all there is, unfortunately I did the complete restoration on this tractor JUST before I started archiving everything on KZbin - kzbin.info/www/bejne/gJm6ppeKrtagmZI

[@danielbrennan6150]

@@squatch253 Nice Thank you

[@danielbrennan6150]

@@squatch253 Man, that thing started like it was just any old other day Ready to work Excellent job!!

[@Radiotexas]

Once again, great photography. Who is flying the drone?!?! I learned a lot from this video. Time to get out the grader blade!

[@karelvvv]

And now it is ready for some bitumen and very fine gravel....

[@Dagrond]

My son bought me an 8N - I love it, but it leaks out of the PTO shaft. Where do you get parts from?

[@squatch253]

Yesterday's Tractors has a great parts selection online, as well as Just8N's.

[@budl4656]

Nice job and video becarefull the county dont see the video U just might be grading for them 😂

[@billhayward955]

Nice job with the old ford. Can you use the 212 next time? lol

[@squatch253]

I’ve got to get into the knuckle buster box on the 212 before it gets ran much more, it’s getting very hard to control the position of the blade because of all the ratcheting and skipping going on inside there.

[@billhayward955]

I have heard those are a bit of a bear to do. I have serial 9T2733 and the circle turn for mine doesn't like to stay in either.

[@Jethrosgarage]

Very nice explanation and demonstration of how you get the crown in the middle. No I'm starting to understand what all those cranks and adjustments on my own inherited 8N are for 😎 once you finish the cat grader project are you going to then use that to do the job?

[@jerryfields6654]

Like to see the 8N videos as I have a 'project' '48 in my garage. Keeps me motivated! Curious, though, on front tire size...mine is running the 4x19 size and it looks like yours has the optional 5.5x16?

[@squatch253]

Yes, this one has the wider front tires. I kind of like them in softer ground, but they do rub on the front axle brace rods in tight turns with the wheels narrowed up - in that scenario I would prefer the standard skinnier wheels 👍

[@davidchenze1374]

Nice video

[@isaachobbs4206]

Could you get your pull type out again at some point?

[@squatch253]

I sold that one to Kyle Christ on KZbin here :-)

[@stanpatterson5033]

KZbin showed me a link to this video the other day, but it was for Members only at that time. Not sure if that was a glitch on KZbin's part, or what.

[@squatch253]

Quick breakdown of how the system works - every new upload that is slated to hit the public feed spends the first 24 hours running ad free on the Members' Page, which are a couple of the perks that come with being an optional financial supporter of the channel. The only videos that stay on the Members' Page are found in the "Team Squatch" playlist and are permanently subscription-only access, and are not promoted or suggested on any of the public feeds. So if you do see one that pops up in your suggested list but it says it's Members' Only, that just means that it's still spending the first day running on the other video feed :-)