Anyone who has graded a driveway using a blade on a tractor is used to the idea that you need to put a lot of weight on the blade to do any good. But that may not be the best approach.

Last year DR Power Equipment introduced the Power Grader, an ingenious invention that grooms and grades dirt and gravel surfaces using a lawn tractor or all-terrain vehicle. We took advantage of the company's risk-free, six-month trial offer and discovered that the grader works great!

The Power Grader is equipped with a line of carbide-steel 'scarifiers,' or teeth, like those on some tractor blades, positioned in front of the grader's blade. What makes the Power Grader different is an actuator that lets you adjust the height of the grader's wheels, raising or lowering the scarifiers.

I set the teeth a few millimeters below the roadbed for the first pass, then gradually lowered them until I had loosened two inches of rock and gravel. Then I pulled the grader up and down the driveway until it was beautifully smooth. Compared to the tractor-mounted blades I've used, the Power Grader was easier to use and less likely to wreck the driveway.

At less than $1,000 the Power Grader costs less than a tractor blade ? not to mention the tractor you would need to pull it. And if you get some of your neighbors to share the cost, it becomes a very affordable way to keep country driveways in perfect condition.