Blades on a box blade

[ovrszd]

Yeah, that's been my point. I can move the cutting edges on my Grader 1/8" when installing just due to bolt slop.

I'm certainly not doubting his claims. Just saying, it's a ground engagement tool.

I'd enjoy seeing pics also.

Thanks for the explanation Travis.

 

[jenkinsph]

Travis,
I asked early in this thread if it was the blade or the box mounting that was bowed. Never got a straight answer yet.

Lots of comments so far but still don't know what the real issue is. From my limited experience I would believe ETA is good about follow through and that is worth something.:thumbsup:

 

[Catman8]

And when I ask if he has told anyone here, I mean anyone here at EA.

He did email me back in late December about a slight misalignment of his hitch in the top link area.
He said it wasn't a big deal and wouldn't affect the operation, so i apologized, told him to let me know if he needed anything and that was it.
I do not have any further email correspondence since then, nor has anyone else heard of the possible cutting edge issue.

What rang the bell is when he talked about bolting on the cutting edges. Don't all new box blades come with the edges installed?
We shipped his box blade unpainted because he wanted to get it painted himself.
We mailed the decals separately.

EA can, will, and has made mistakes. We try to keep those mistakes to a minimum, but we are human.
We pride ourselves in quality and customer service and always go above and beyond if there is an issue.

With all that being said.... can we see what it looks like? Is it visible to the naked eye? Was the 1/8" in the cutting edge or the box blade?
It is rare for a cutting edge to lie perfectly flat. Most mfgs use their attachment point to hold the cutting edge in line and 1/8" wouldn't really be out of tolerance for a box blade cutting edge.

Travis

Being a new person to owning a tractor with a three point I was asking questions to learn, and I was also trying to be respectful of your company by not telling anyone what brand it was. I wanted others opinions who have more experiance than me because I did not want to call you and complain about something that is normal. I recently read a post of a guy who reviewed your box blade and he complained that the paint was cheap because it came off, him being new to ground engaging equipment did not know that the paint will come off, and he got a real bad time from members for not knowing that.

Now that you have elected to make it public, I guess it's ok to talk about it on a public forum. Like Travis said I ordered the 60" heavy duty 30 to 70 hp box blade without paint because I wanted to have it powder coated JD green, I was very impressed with their friendly service and how quick they shipped me the box blade. I was very impressed with how clean the steel was and the welds were beautiful, after noticing the A-frame was not square with the box I notified Travis, but I told him that I believe, that it will have no affect on the operation because it's just where the top link hooks and I would live with it. He wanted to know what Mark was on the box so he could identify who welded it, and that told me that they cared enough to fix problems.

So I took the box blade to get it powder coated JD green and it came out really nice, then I went to bolt the blades onto the box and that's when I noticed the (V) is not flat along the length, and as I tighten the blades down the cutting edge is no longer flat on the bottom. When the blade is by itself not mounted the edge is flat. I did not even think to bolt the blades on and check it out before I had it powder coated, being inexperienced.

There was no signs that the implement was dropped in shipping, and I put a call into the guy who powdered coated the box blade to ask if his 400 deg. oven would of warped the steel, he has not returned my call yet because I left the message yesterday.

From this post I see that that people have different opinions on what is acceptable, or a industry standard.

I had no intention of ever revealing the manufacturer on this forum, and you can see that by my post. I was just asking opinions to see if I was making a big deal out of nothing.

 

[ovrszd]

Speaking for myself, I certainly never thought you were being deceptive. I understood your reluctance. I've been the wrath of the "brand loyalty" here on TBN as well. I took your original post as a simple inquiry as to what's normal. I respect your stand concerning not wanting to discuss the brand.

Although I might not always agree with EA's Travis, I respect him and know him to be an honorable man.

If you can, try to get a picture that would reflect the distortion. For example, the BB sitting on a flat surface and the picture showing the portion of the cutters that isn't touching the surface??

 

[oldballs]

Interesting thread. As for me, I started (tractoring & life) as a newbie, but doubt that most anyone could observe (eye) 1/16" bow over 5 feet; much less observe even a 1/4" difference in it's resulting use. But, "Hey", i'm still a newbie. BTW....nice paint job.

 

[Catman8]

The blade is straight, the box blade is bowed about 1/4". When the blade is mounted its bowed about an 1/8" on both sides.

 

[Catman8]

Are you sure your bucket is flat?


Edit for brain fart:ashamed:
Sorry I meant the heavy angle iron mounting on the box blade. Is it flat or bowed in the middle? A good straight edge should determine whether the grader blade or the box blade is the problem. If the box blade mounting is straight you should be able to pull the blade straight with the mounting plow bolts. If the box blade mounting is bowed slightly you may try shimming between the blade and mounting. Otherwise I would just use it as is.

Sorry I did not respond to your post I forgot to go back and reread it. Do you think it's ok to put washer on the bolt holes to shim it straight or do you think it needs shiming across the entire blade for support.

 

[Catman8]

Interesting thread. As for me, I started (tractoring & life) as a newbie, but doubt that most anyone could observe (eye) 1/16" bow over 5 feet; much less observe even a 1/4" difference in it's resulting use. But, "Hey", i'm still a newbie. BTW....nice paint job.

I was wondering, is a box blade considered a attachment for ruff grading and then is there another attachment you use for more precise finish grading.

 

[DieselBound]

I was wondering, is a box blade considered a attachment for ruff grading and then is there another attachment you use for more precise finish grading.

A box blade is mainly for very rough grading, more so for moving materials from one spot to another. Further, you're really not going to be getting any real "finish grading" by dragging something behind you: if it's not level ground then your tractor moving up and down that uneven terrain will cause the implement at the rear (unless it's somehow set to float) to also travel unevenly (front of tractor dips and the implement at the rear will raise; and for rises the opposite). UNLESS you run in REVERSE: I do this a lot, but it's a pain- doing a lot of grading like this take a lot of time. So... best one can readily expect to achieve is a ROUGH grading with a box blade: keep in mind that what appears rough to one person may appear smooth to another- it depends on what is expected of the grade!

 

[JRobyn]

Ah, I see; you bought the "road crowning" model model box blade!

 

[ovrszd]

Thanks for posting the additional pics catman8. So with the cutters bolted on solid, the edge of each is now arched?

I was at the Farm store today and they happened to have a BB laying on it's face so I snapped a couple pics.

 

[ovrszd]

Not trying to justify your situation or argue it in any manner. I understand your concerns.

With all that said, I still contend that no operator can cut a grade any closer than the curve of your cutters. I believe if your BB had been painted and assembled when you received it you would have never noticed this issue.

Very nice paint!!!!

 

[Catman8]

Not trying to justify your situation or argue it in any manner. I understand your concerns.

With all that said, I still contend that no operator can cut a grade any closer than the curve of your cutters. I believe if your BB had been painted and assembled when you received it you would have never noticed this issue.

Very nice paint!!!!

Thanks for the photos, I wish you would of laid a flat level on that edge so we could see. I am familiar with welding and know all to well the affects it has on steel, warping, bending. I notice all the extra bracing on the EA compared to the one in your pic, trying to control the part from warping with all those welding beads is probable very hard. If you ever welded you know what I mean.

Yes, they are both arched when bolted on tight.

 

[ovrszd]

Thanks for the photos, I am familiar with welding and know all to well the affects it has on steel, warping, bending. I notice all the extra bracing on the EA compared to the one in your pic, trying to control the part from warping with all those welding beads is probable very hard. If you ever welded you know what I mean.

Yep. I fabricate a lot. Extremely hard to control warping, especially with a MIG.

 

[RNeumann]

Based on the photos it looks like a miss to me. It doesn't look warped- it looks like it was welded in crooked.
I now have a greater understanding of your disappointment/frustration since it has been powder coated. You are stuck between fabing some type of shim that doesn't create point loads or wrecking the paint to fix it. Bummer either way.
I haven't found anything that is better for finish grading small to medium projects than a BB. Saying it's only good for rough grading and moving dirt is selling the tool significantly short.

 

[johnk]

If you used a perfectly straight box blade and put yours on and did a strip of dirt or gravel right next to it you wouldn't be able to tell the difference which BB did which one. It's not like you're floating concrete. JMHO

 

[Code54]

To me it looks like a mistake lining it up when welding, but a minor one at that. With the nice paint job I don't think I would worry about it at this point and use it. Can always adjust the side link a tiny bit to correct it....

 

[kthompson]

I have a 7 foot rear blade: 8 foot 3pth and a 10 foot pull type box blades and have never looked at the blades for being straight in any manner. I really wonder how many ever have looked at their blade to verify if the blade was straight or curve or what ever.

Not saying there is not equipment today that can be off if the cutting edge was off 1/8" over the length of your blade but I do not think the normal tractor's 3 pth is any where that precise nor do I think any of us are that accurate in adjusting the two lift arms to be level. Matter of fact many if not most or all of the adjustments for the lift arms for leveling are lockable only one place in the rotation for adjustment.

I think you will never notice it when you use it but I do not think the blade will wear level near as quickly as some have expressed. Who ever pointed that out I agree with them.

 

[jenkinsph]

Sorry I did not respond to your post I forgot to go back and reread it. Do you think it's ok to put washer on the bolt holes to shim it straight or do you think it needs shiming across the entire blade for support.

If I did anything to it I would use a couple of flat washers to shim it close enough. Then tighten it down and start using it. I would agree with others that this is a minor issue though and nothing to be concerned about.

If you are new to using box blades understand that it takes seat time to be proficient with them. Do not think for a minute that this warping will cause any problems with grading. With practice and patience a box blade can achieve good results +/- .25 inch.

Here is a picture from a few years ago where I graded a small field +/- .50 inch, specs called for +/- 1 1/4 inch.

 

[jenkinsph]

I have a 7 foot rear blade: 8 foot 3pth and a 10 foot pull type box blades and have never looked at the blades for being straight in any manner. I really wonder how many ever have looked at their blade to verify if the blade was straight or curve or what ever.

Not saying there is not equipment today that can be off if the cutting edge was off 1/8" over the length of your blade but I do not think the normal tractor's 3 pth is any where that precise nor do I think any of us are that accurate in adjusting the two lift arms to be level. Matter of fact many if not most or all of the adjustments for the lift arms for leveling are lockable only one place in the rotation for adjustment.

I think you will never notice it when you use it but I do not think the blade will wear level near as quickly as some have expressed. Who ever pointed that out I agree with them.

If the blade would wear in quickly it would also wear out quickly too. In my past life with tractors and box blades level was by eye and close enough. Now with laser and machine control accuracy tolerance is a bit tighter and there are adjustments you can make for blade wear. Nothing I would loose sleep over though.