A 16-gal steel lawn roller that presses newly sown seed and fresh sod into firm contact with the soil and flattens ground lifted by winter frost. The drum fills through a drain plug with water for roughly 155 lb of compaction, or with sand for about 230 lb when the ground needs more force behind each pass. Rolled rounded edges on the cylinder let it swing through the turn at the end of a row without scarring the turf. A U-shaped handle gives both hands a comfortable hold for pushing and pulling in a straight line, and the empty 21-lb shell lifts into a trunk without help.