A box blade or an angle blade?

[OkieNCognito]

ok, I've gone over budget on my tractor so I've got to delay getting some of the implements I wanted, but in the mean time I've got to keep up 800 ft of gravel road. They've just started construction on our house and the road is new so it will be taking a lot of abuse over the next several months.

I'll be pulling it behind a 28 hp 4wd. The entire length of the road is flat with shallow ditches on either side. The ditches are also freshly cut so they will likely need some dressing.

For those of you who have used both, if you had to pick one, would you go with the box blade or an angle blade?

 

[fishman]

I'm sure others have much more experience with both than myself, but having used both, I much prefer the box blade. It is more effective and versitile. Here is why:

1) It results in a more finished surface, as you don't have gravel spilling out of each side.
2) It makes a more effective counterweight for a FEL
3) The rippers allow you to tear off humps in newly constructed gravel roads to even it out quickly.
4) The rippers can be used to till soil.
5) The box itself serves admirably as a carrying rack for tools and small equipment.
6) It looks real mean /w3tcompact/icons/laugh.gif

I am sure others can come up with additional things.

One positive of an angled blade is that you can pull gravel from the side of your drive to the center. In some cases that can be a big advantage, but I have not found that to be so in my situation. Another positive is that angled blades are often less expensive, but at under $300, my cheapie box blade works great. It has done everything I need it to do.

Also, I have not found that the expensive tip and tilt option so often advocated here on TBN is necessary when operating a box blade. I sure would love to have it, but I really haven't had to adjust my box blade often at all to achieve a good finish.

 

[JJT]

Without a doubt - box scraper!

 

[John_Mc]

I own a 6 ft box blade that I use wit my TC33D to maintain 1300 ft of gravel driveway/road. I've found that it works great for this. You can carry a lot of gravel, which I think makes it superior for dealing with leveling out potholes and "washboard" type defects. There are two situations where I wish I had a rear blade, since the angle feature might work better: one is pulling the mounds of gravel that build up along the length of the edge of the drive back into the middle of the drive. The other is in cleaning out ditches. I can do both of these with my box blade, but a rear blade would probably be quicker and easier.

John Mc

 

[OkieNCognito]

Since I'm on flat level land, keeping a "crown" on the road is one of my concerns. I can see that an angle blade would probably be best for this, but with a box blade, does raising / lowering one side of the 3-pt hitch work for letting more gravel flow under the high side to accomplish a crown?

 

[JJT]

Yes it does, and once the crown is set you can level your boxscraper and still maintian the crown, since the tractor will now be sitting at an angle.

 

[frank_f15]

both implements are made for certain uses, ideal would be to have both/w3tcompact/icons/smile.gif but i only have the blade, would i like a box blade? for sure! for my use the angle blade fits most of my needs.

 

[knucklehead]

What size box blade for what HP? Or is it just a case of "cover your rear" /w3tcompact/icons/blush.gif - tread, that is? I've already decided to make a box blade my first purchase, for the very same reasons listed above (tilling, road maint). Plus check out <A target="_blank" HREF=http://www.acknowledge.com/tractor/L2500DT/photos/DigRock2.jpg>Harv</A> yanking out a potato with the scraper, as shown on his very spiffy web site. I'd say that was one fine baker, Harv /w3tcompact/icons/grin.gif; better use the lower rack in the oven.

 

[Harv]

<font color=blue>check out Harv yanking out a potato with the scraper</font color=blue> ... <font color=blue>better use the lower rack in the oven.</font color=blue>

Baking was easy, Mark, but the sad part was that we didn't have near enough sour cream on hand.

 

[knucklehead]

Harv, how about some pics of you bush-hogging the chive patch?

 

[frank_f15]

mark: have you seen the pic. of HARV watering the SOUR CREAM, section of his garden?/w3tcompact/icons/eyes.gif sorry HARV. could not resist.

 

[roger_scotty]

I have both a box and several angle blades. Both have been hobbies of mine, and I've owned a 3 or 4 box blades and perhaps 6 or 8 angle types. If the choice is between an inexpensive box blade and an inexpensive angle blade then go with the box. If you can spring for a real good blade with big tractor features then the blade may be more versatile.

It depends on what you do. I never do any scarifier work, so that isn't a need for me.But like I said, its a hobby for me and there is a better way. Most of my work is grading and repairing my long dirt roads....I am mostly skimming on one side and moving the dirt into ruts and widening and crowning. Something to consider is that the dirt here is very rocky. What fills the bill for me is a very heavy angle blade with tilt, angle, offset, and most importantly: the end plates. I normally run it mildly angled with the forward end cutting (no end plate) and the trailing end covered with an end plate. For my ground, this gives me all of the best abilities of the box and the angle blade.

Angle blades with those features are expensive. I think my 6 footer cost close to $800 and weighs around 500#. It is well matched to a 33 hp tractor. I tried a lighter mid-priced (350#) 7 foot blade with similar features but it just floated on the ground instead of working for me.

 

[pieterv]

Well spoken !

Now can you tell us what a "Gilhickie" is, as listed in your bio.
Sounds like you live in a great place.

 

[Kodiak]

Hello Roger Scotty:

I to was also checking out your bio. Was wondering if you explain what Austringing is? At first I thought that maybe you had sneezed while typing.

 

[roger_scotty]

Hello pieterv and Kodiac..... Well, I'd best confess right out front that I tend to stretch the usefulness of words a bit. But the word "gilhickie" isn't an original - though my usage of it might be. As I use the word, a gilhickie is any clever device that is somewhat larger than a gadget and containing less moving parts than a gizmo.....

Kodiac, you'r right. "Austringing" sure doesn't sound like a word at all. And it does sound like a sneeze, doesn't it? Thanks for the mention; I'll change it.

 

[Kodiak]

Roger Scotty:

I see the gilhickie is one of those fabulous tool like devices from the same catagory as the jeester. As in hand me that jeester over thar.

 

[Harv]

<font color=blue>bush-hogging the chive patch</font color=blue>

<font color=blue>watering the SOUR CREAM section </font color=blue>

Okay, Mark, Frank -- not only am I having tractor withdrawal, but now I'm hungry!!! /w3tcompact/icons/tongue.gif