How To Make A Lawn Leveling Rake?
Let’s face it. There is no better satisfaction than building your own gardening tools from scratch instead of buying them from the store. Personally, it always overwhelms me with joy and a sense of achievement. If you are a DIY enthusiast, you love learning new things every day.
And learning how to make a lawn leveling rake is the first step of your journey. It’s a fairly simple tool that allows you to level uneven surfaces. You just need a handful of equipment to connect different sizes of wooden bars to create a solid structure.
Installing the fence bracket clamp on accurately placed holes might sound like the trickiest part. However, the process becomes much simpler if you take it one step at a time. Hence, I tried to make a leveling rake by myself as I guide you through the process.
Making a DIY Lawn Leveling Rake
Building a lawn leveling rake on your own becomes easy when you have the necessary tools at your disposal. You just need to follow a few simple steps, and you will have a functional rake in no time. I’ll start with the tools you need for this process and continue explaining the instructions in detail.
- Drill and bits
- Gloves
- Safety goggles
- Wrench and screwdriver
- 6 feet slotted flat bar
- Number 10 finishing cup washers
- Number 10 lock washers
- Number 10-24 X 3/4 inch machine screws
- Number 10-24 nuts
- 4 inch bolt and nut
- 2 inch bolt and nut
- Angle grinder
- Fence bracket clamp
Now that you know exactly what you need for making a leveling rake, it’s time to delve into the instructions.
Step 1
The first thing you need to make sure to do is wear all the protective gear you can before you start building. Take two pieces of 3-foot bars and one piece 4-foot bar. Now you just need to cut the 4-foot length bar into 4 equal pieces with the angle grinder. Each of these pieces must be exactly 10 inches in length.
Step 2
You need the flat angle bars to create the rake’s base. A couple of 3-foot bars are perfect for this purpose. If you already have flat angled 3-foot lengths, you just need to place them diagonally at the base.
Step 3
The next step is to make sure the base is bolted. For this step, you need to make a rectangle with the two 10-inch bars and the 3 foot bars. Make sure that one flat bar is facing downwards while the other one is facing the opposite direction. Attach the finishing cup washer to a machine screw and go through each corner of the frame.
You can use washer screws to keep them in a fixed position. Always ensure that the washers and screws are at the bottom of the frame.
Step 4
Now comes the hard part. You must be careful when measuring the center of each of the 3-foot bars. Mark the center according to your measurements. The two 10-inch pieces will go on either side of this mark – about 1 inch away on either side. When the 10-inch bars are in place try to bolt them as smoothly as possible.
This will create two cross members in the middle which will come in handy for attaching the handle. The next step is to reinforce the structure, and make it as stable as possible.
Step 5
This is where the flat angle pieces will go on either side of the center mark. Make sure you make accurate holes on each end of the flat angle bars. They will allow the corner bolts to go in. Once you place the flat angle bars you must trim the edges to make sure they fit tightly on the inside.
After positioning the flat angle bars on the bolts, it’s time to fasten the nuts tightly. This will allow you to create a W shaped diagonal support at the base.
Step 6
When the base is set, you must prepare the handle to attach to the bracket clamp. Make sure you measure the points where the 4-inch bolts will go in, and drill accordingly. Place the handle on top of the hole and drill again. Make sure the holes are at corresponding points.
The hole at the bottom of the clamp should line up with the bolt in the middle of the frame. Place it on top of each other and use a 4-inch bolt to secure it. Now, place the handle and use the hole on top of it to fasten the 2-inch bolt. When you’re done with this step, you’ll have a fully functional DIY leveling rake.
Frequently Asked Questions
1. Do I need a lawn leveling rake?
The lawn leveling rake is an important tool to have at your disposal. This efficient tool can help you even out the potholes in your yard. Potholes and uneven patches can make mowing your lawn very time consuming. You can make a lawn leveling rake on your own by implementing the methods I explained above.
2. What tools do I need to level the ground?
Leveling the ground is an integral part of yard maintenance. Thus, it’s ideal to know the tools necessary for this process. Apart from a leveling rake, rototillers are suitable for leveling uneven ground.
3. What soil should I use to level the lawn?
You can’t level your lawn with any specific type of soil. Instead, you the perfect combination of different types of soil. The ideal soil mixture includes 40% topsoil, 40% sand and 20% compost. This will not only provide enough nutrients to your plants but also enhance the soil drainage.
Final Words
I’m glad you found the easiest way to learn how to make a lawn leveling rake at home. This information will help enlighten you on how most of these garden tools work. You can’t do without garden tools such as the leveling rake if you want to keep your lawn in top notch condition.
