# Skid Shoe Adjustment & The Shave Plate



## Chuck2 (Feb 7, 2014)

Is it ok to have the skid shoes adjusted so that the shave plate is in contact with the surface for use on a tar driveway?


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## Spectrum (Jan 6, 2013)

If the driveway is pristine so the bar is not snagging and bucking the machine is may be OK. It adds some friction above just the skids being in ground contact and there will be some trade-offs in how it gets under stiff frozen snow. 

How well it performs and holds up will depend on the machine design and your conditions.

Pete


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## Big Ed (Feb 10, 2013)

I was wondering the same thing.
My book just says to maintain proper ground clearance for your particular area to be cleared. 
They don't say what the "proper" clearance is.
I do know about adjusting the skids, but at what height do most set the scraper bar at for normal concrete or blacktop surfaces?

Adjust so it is sitting on the surface? 
Or 1/16", 1/8", 1/4"...1/2" high?


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## mkd (Dec 31, 2013)

ariens recommends for my 921030 to have 1/8" clearance on smooth surfaces and 7/8" on rough or gravel surfaces.


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## MnJim (Jan 26, 2014)

mkd said:


> ariens recommends for my 921030 to have 1/8" clearance on smooth surfaces and 7/8" on rough or gravel surfaces.


Deluxe 28 same here.

Them free wood paint stir sticks work great for 1/8".


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## Big Ed (Feb 10, 2013)

OK, thanks I have to readjust mine. mine was almost touching the ground on one side.
I never really looked at the scraper bar it till yesterday, one side was up 1/4" higher then the other side.


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## Chuck2 (Feb 7, 2014)

Thanks for the advice. 

But when I set out to do something I want to do it as good as possible. With that said, I've been running with the shave plate on the ground. Otherwise, I'd be leaving snow, ice, slush, whatever on the surface & the reason I bought the machine was to remove all that. I just hope I don't end up regretting it for some reason some day. Which is what I was inquiring about.


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## mkd (Dec 31, 2013)

chuck2! the reason for the gap is so the skids take the wear and not the center scraper blade. take a good look at the mounting bolts for the blade and see how much wear on the blade you can use before you start removing material from the bottom of the bucket or the bolts themselves. it is possable to wear the bottom of the bucket off enough your holes for mounting the blade could be compromised. i often wondered why the center blade couldn't be made out of heavy rubber like a semi mud flap instead of the steel?


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## uberT (Dec 29, 2013)

MnJim said:


> The free wood paint stir sticks work great for 1/8".


This is what I've been doing and also add a dime for slightly more clearance. I think it's still too close after using the machine yesterday. Cars had driven over the snow before I could get out and those packed tracks cause the machine to jump around in a bad way. It does a great job where the cars haven't been, pavement is almost clean.

I think I'm going to reset it today: paint sticks + a quarter (coin)


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## MnJim (Jan 26, 2014)

mkd said:


> chuck2! the reason for the gap is so the skids take the wear and not the center scraper blade. take a good look at the mounting bolts for the blade and see how much wear on the blade you can use before you start removing material from the bottom of the bucket or the bolts themselves. it is possable to wear the bottom of the bucket off enough your holes for mounting the blade could be compromised.


 Guess that's the answer. 
So you can adjust it 1/8" or regret wearing thru the shave bar and into your bucket.


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## Chuck2 (Feb 7, 2014)

The bolts were getting worn down so I cut off the excess length with my Dremel. The shave plate has a nice sharp edge on it. I don't foresee it wearing down to a point of concern anytime soon. I'll be keeping a eye on it.


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