What's up everyone? Welcome back to The Durbin Compound! So today I wanted to do a short, quick video
on how to run a sod cutter. So, there are a lot of different models out there, but the concept
is still all the same. So, I recorded a little bit of audio just now outside. It was kind of crappy.
It's really hard to do videos in the wind and stuff like that.
But I need a bigger sock on my microphone. So, well we roll with the punches and I think the
content is still good. I think it's the concept is still clear. The machine is really, really
easy to operate. This is my first time actually operating a sod cutter. Once I figured out how
to set the depth, which I'll show in the video, it was a piece of cake. It'll run right through
whatever you need it to. If you get hung up on a rock or something, it might jar the machine,
but all you have to do is manhandle it, and basically follow it around the yard, wherever
you want to cut. I used it to go around my new landscaping. I did a totally new perimeter where
I was going to put retaining wall block and make a flowerbed. So I actually used the machine to draw
the line of exactly where I wanted it to go. So, it's very nice for that aspect of it. I also used
it to cut out a couple swaths where I had some crappy grass. And I put some of that good sod
back into that area there. So, currently I'm getting rained out on the project. So, that's just how it goes.
It's Ohio. So, I will roll in the footage and we'll talk about it after we're done here.
I think that I basically cover everything. Most of your sod cutting machines...I've seen two different versions,
and they pretty much all have the same concept. Set the depth. Rock the machine forward
so that the plow can come down. You rock the machine back, and then once you start it up, or engage the
main clutch, all you need to worry about is if your drive track is in position to go somewhere,
if it's in gear, and if your plow is in gear. So, I usually just start with the plow in gear,
so it's already vibrating. And then it sets it right down in the dirt for me. And I get up
underneath the sod. And then once I have it sitting level, that's when I'll kick the lever to let it go forward,
and then basically just manhandle it. And then once you're done, you click the clutch back.
And that's all that it is to run the sod cutter. You don't need to be an expert.
Don't be afraid of it. Just get after it. This is a real quick video. I'm going to show you exactly how to do it here.
So, the one thing to worry about on this is, this machine will rock forward and
sit on the engine part. So forgive the audio here, since it's outside. But one thing you need to do is
work this loose. There should be some kind of release, no matter what machine you have
there should be a release here on the side. You can set your depth here on the gauge. I set this to one,
which I think means two inches because I see one and then two. So I set mine to 2. I tightened
my stock down. You can tighten it to wherever. Tighten it down. And then, let that sit there. So as you see
from a side profile, that allows the blade to drop down in the ground. Do you see how the blade drops down
with that measurement? Once you've got it to the place where you want it, you can tighten
this back up. So every time you stop and start, or want to move this across the ground, you can see
as this drops down, the blade will drop into the sod. So one thing that you want to do is,
if you're moving it around the yard, you want to move it back up to a top position.
So every machine should have a clutch on it. This one has a clutch down here. So it has kind of a foot clutch.
So you need to kick it up. What this foot clutch does, is will start spinning the track on this thing.
So it will not start until you flip this arm on the clutch to move the track.
So when I start this up and engage it with my main clutch, my master clutch, what the plow will start
doing is vibrating. So it's a vibratory plow that goes underneath the sod. So, as it starts vibrating,
what I'm going to do is, I'm going to set it down into the ground. And then I'm going to rock the machine back,
so it's on its own, and it's vibrating in the ground. At that point, what I'll do is I'll kick my clutch up,
so that the tracks start going. And then literally you just have to manhandle
the machine after that. So nothing more to it than that. You just fire up your engine. Make sure that
your depth is set right. When you want to come to a stop, you just bring the clutch back and it stops vibrating.
That's where you stop. So pretty simple operation. Now we're going to get right into it.
I'm going to set it in the sod over here. And I'm going to take it for a path, so you can watch
exactly what I'm doing. So, I've already set the depth. What I'm going to do is move the machine.
And I'm going to get close to where I want to be. So, once again this is manhandling the machine,
trying to get it to where you need it to go. So, once you get it to where you want to go, we're going to
set it down, and then once I have it rocked back into position on the rear tire, that's when
I'm going to kick in the clutch. And there she goes. And then when I want to stop, I just pull back on
the clutch. So I have it disengaged. And I'm going to go ahead and start the machine up. And we'll get after it.
{sound of sod cutter running}
Just like that! Easy to use! Now I hit a rock at the end. So it set me ajar a little bit,
but I was about to hit the post anyways. So, that's about it.
All right, you can see how easy it is to rent one
and make it happen. So, don't be afraid of the project. I wasn't afraid. I was a little nervous.
I was like, "Ah, how does this work?" It took me about five minutes without an instruction manual
to figure out everything about it, to where I could run it effectively and get it going.
So real quick, short video. The number one thing is, as long as you operate stuff
safely and smartly, you really don't have anything to worry about. Don't be afraid to rent
a piece of equipment. If you have the means to get it to and from the house, it's easy.
I put the sod cutter in the back of the Land Rover. So it fit right up in there.
The guy at the rental place told me it would never fit. And I told him, "Yeah, it will fit.
I'll show you." So we put it in the back of the truck. And it's very manageable in a large SUV like that.
So, I hope you enjoyed the video. I hope you subscribe for more. I'm trying to keep it
down to more short videos. I don't know how many people are watching my longer videos. But I'm
trying to mix it up. So I hope you like the short video. I will see you next time around.