Box Blade for my SCUT?

[dragoneggs]

I have a SCUT (BX25D) which I love. Been using a back blade and a landscape rake for my grading and raking needs. Always wanted to try a box blade and still have the itch. We recently went in with neighbors and paved our joint access road so my need is less now, but I still have about 500ft of untamed dirt paths on my property.

Question: Will using a box blade to make 'roads' offer a big improvement over the two implements I have? The ground is glacial till meaning a lot of small to medium (cantaloupe) sized rocks in hard packed sandy loam soil. Not much clay at all. Opinions please.

 

[4570Man]

How heavy is the back blade? In my experience a box blade is much better than a back blade, but I only have a light duty back blade.

 

[dragoneggs]

How heavy is the back blade? In my experience a box blade is much better than a back blade, but I only have a light duty back blade.

Actually my Rankin back blade is 'heavy' and seems heavy duty, but I don't have any experience to be a good judge. I don't know the weight but I finally cut it down with my plasma cutter from 72in to 63in. Much more manageable now.

Obtained it used and I knew it was oversized for my tractor, but the deal was too good to refuse. Before I shortened it... it was like a tail wagging the dog... and also just stuck out too far. Would have like to take off a few more inches but I ran up against the cutting edge attachment bolts.

 

[GirlWhoWantsTractor]

I have a SCUT (BX25D) which I love. Been using a back blade and a landscape rake for my grading and raking needs. Always wanted to try a box blade and still have the itch. We recently went in with neighbors and paved our joint access road so my need is less now, but I still have about 500ft of untamed dirt paths on my property.

Question: Will using a box blade to make 'roads' offer a big improvement over the two implements I have? The ground is glacial till meaning a lot of small to medium (cantaloupe) sized rocks in hard packed sandy loam soil. Not much clay at all. Opinions please.

A back blade is good for digging, ditching, re-grading, and moving dirt around, i.e. from the edges to the center. A box blade is good for maintaining and smoothing driveways and paths. There is some overlap in what they can do but a box blade offers a 3-in-one effect--scarify, level, and smooth--in one pass. Note with glacial till, a box blade will tend to gather up the larger rocks, especially if you put the scarifiers down. This may be a plus or a minus for you.

The thing I don't like about a landscape rake on a driveway is it will "sort" the rocks.

 

[dragoneggs]

A back blade is good for digging, ditching, re-grading, and moving dirt around, i.e. from the edges to the center. A box blade is good for maintaining and smoothing driveways and paths. There is some overlap in what they can do but a box blade offers a 3-in-one effect--scarify, level, and smooth--in one pass. Note with glacial till, a box blade will tend to gather up the larger rocks, especially if you put the scarifiers down. This may be a plus or a minus for you.

The thing I don't like about a landscape rake on a driveway is it will "sort" the rocks.

Ideally, I would collect/sift the rocks and move them to make a dry creek bed or use as fill. I have carved some pretty decent paths on a steep side hill with a couple switch backs using my FEL with Piranha tooth bar and my back blade. My landscape rake seems to jump when I am trying to smooth out and remove rocks. This is why I am inquiring about the box blade. I think I would definitely need the scarifiers. Are these easily adjustable?

 

[Tractor Seabee]

Ideally, I would collect/sift the rocks and move them to make a dry creek bed or use as fill. I have carved some pretty decent paths on a steep side hill with a couple switch backs using my FEL with Piranha tooth bar and my back blade. My landscape rake seems to jump when I am trying to smooth out and remove rocks. This is why I am inquiring about the box blade. I think I would definitely need the scarifiers. Are these easily adjustable?

Mark, I have a box blade you are welcome to try out. If you like it you can probably make a deal to buy it. Plan to sell anyway as no longer have a need. I never used it enough to get the hang of it so virtually new.

Ron

 

[dragoneggs]

Mark, I have a box blade you are welcome to try out. If you like it you can probably make a deal to buy it. Plan to sell anyway as no longer have a need. I never used it enough to get the hang of it so virtually new.

Ron

Thanks Ron... sweet offer. What kind/size is it? Would love to try it out... this is how I acquired my back blade.

 

[GirlWhoWantsTractor]

Ideally, I would collect/sift the rocks and move them to make a dry creek bed or use as fill. I have carved some pretty decent paths on a steep side hill with a couple switch backs using my FEL with Piranha tooth bar and my back blade. My landscape rake seems to jump when I am trying to smooth out and remove rocks. This is why I am inquiring about the box blade. I think I would definitely need the scarifiers. Are these easily adjustable?

Most scarifiers have at least 3 holes so you can adjust to different depths. Put your scarifiers down, adjust the box blade to just above soil level, and the scarifiers will pop all the larger rocks out and the BB will gather them so you can drag them somewhere else. I dragged mine to my creek beds too.

Note, as with *all rear implements* if your ground is uneven you will have to constantly adjust the height of the rear implement. So definitely agree, if your ground is uneven, the FEL + PTB is really the only way to get a fairly level starting point. That has surprised me about the tractor. I thought the rear implements would have more float. But once you have your basic grade, or if you can do the different slopes individually, the BB is great.

 

[Tractor Seabee]

Thanks Ron... sweet offer. What kind/size is it? Would love to try it out... this is how I acquired my back blade.

It is a Land Pride 42".

 

[dragoneggs]

It is a Land Pride 42".

Might be the ticket, eh? We need to talk.