Grading Box Blade How-To?

shu · Mar 17, 2003

Looking for guidance on how to use box blade.

Have large yard generally graded as desired, draining from north and south toward center, thence from east to west. However dogs, decayed tree stumps, and trenching for sewer line replacement have left undesired local high and lows, +/- 3 inches.

Tools at hand are TC30 with FEL and box blade/rippers, roto-tiller and hand tools for the edges.

Getting things leveled out with the box blade ain't as easy as one would first imagine. Guidance anywhere on how to use that thing?

Bob85355 · Mar 17, 2003

The short wheel base of these compacts makes it very difficult to achieve a smooth graded effect. About the most I've ever been able to do is to knock down the high spots then reverse the blade and try to smooth them out. I've had better results using a chain pulled drag.

Bob

grandad · Mar 17, 2003

If you are trying to level out those + or - 3 inch divots, the box blade with rippers can get you started by opening up the surface. It also helps a lot with bigger ruts and holes, and can also help you relocate soil to change the slope and grade.

I find taking it very slowly lets me adjust the box depth with the 3pt lift as the tractor moves over uneven ground.

This is one tool where results improve with practice.

For perfect smoothness, the chain drag does great as a final touch.

soarkrebel · Mar 18, 2003

The more you use a box blade the better you get.
Drop the scarif's low and shorten your top link and it will rip the ground up.
lengthen your top link move dirt . to smooth i set it and try not move the the lift. if it digs i stop and raise it a little. sometimes it take multiple passes.

Ive never used the chain . but i will try it. /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif

WVBill · Mar 18, 2003

If your box blade has a fixed rear blade, you can adjust your top link so that the rear blade rides on the ground and the front blade is an inch or so off the ground. Then when you drag it across those 2 - 3" high spots it will shave them off and deposit them into the low spots.

shu · Mar 18, 2003

thanks -
had about come to the same conclusion. short wheelbase is good for tight turns, but makes a poor road grader. rip it up and drag sounds like a good idea.

buzst · Mar 18, 2003

This is where you really see the benifit of position control. Start cutting with the box high enough that it only cuts the tops of the high spots and move the dirt to the lowest spot. then go back to the high spot move the blade down a little and do it again. After all the high spots are removed go back and drag the box (setting as the other posters have suggested) to smooth.

BB_TX · Mar 18, 2003

I have found that dirt is best moved going forward and best leveled going backward (assuming your box has both forward and reverse blades). Going forward, the wheels are riding on uneven ground and the box moves up and down accordingly. I drag up a box of dirt going forward and begin to slowly raise the box until the dirt begins to gradually drop out over several feet. Then I lower the box slightly and back over that area to level it. Going backward the wheels are moving over freshly leveled ground and the box does not move up and down as much. Note that I do this after I have ripped up the soil if necessary and have raised the scarifiers. Practice, practice, practice. /forums/images/graemlins/smile.gif

Anonymous Poster · Mar 18, 2003

If using a rear blade (not box) this is where angling it - more is better - can really help. With a square blade (or box) once the wash board effect starts, it will only get worse, as the tractor rises & falls over the ripples, the blade in back will continue the pattern behind you.

Angling a blade stops that pattern, and will eventually get a very level surface. It does take many trips & lots of practice. With just a box blade, you might want to tackle it at many different directions, n & s, E & w, NW & SE, etc. When you are close, backing up will help a lot, you can then be on the smooth surface you create & it's easier to keep it all level.

--->Paul

Gil · Mar 18, 2003

Box blade would be my tool of choice. The box blade does require a little getting use to. Start out real slow and watch the cutting or empting of the blade. As you approach a high area the front wheels will rise, causing the blade to dig in. As the rear wheels go over the high area, the box will rise up and you should carefully lower the box to remove the amount of dirt you want.

As you approach the low area, front wheels go down causing the box to rise, carefully lower the box to maintain the load. As rear wheels move into low area, box will tend to dig in, you should carefully raise box to maintain flat surface. Then feather lift to maintain the grade you wish.

With time you will get the hang of it.

Good luck.
Gil

Bird · Mar 18, 2003

All good advice, and as others have said, you get better with practice. If you want to cut into the ground and pull dirt along, then tilt the blade forward (shorten the top link) and with it tilted very slightly forward, you can smooth it better running in reverse. If you're just trying to cut down high spots, try it with the blade level or tilted very slightly back. And of course, it's much, much easier if you have a hydraulic top link so you can change the front to rear tilt on the fly. I eventually got to where I could really work pretty fast with the hydraulic top link and the box blade by tilting it back, run forward, tilt it forward and run backwards, and by going back and forth that way, it's amazing how quickly you can get it smooth.

normde2001 · Mar 18, 2003

You got to kind of look at it as icing a cake with a really big knife,.......you are the artist, the tractor/blade is the brush, the dirt is the paint/canvas,.... results are more important than speed,....Michelangelo didn't.....etc, etc. /forums/images/graemlins/cool.gif

Anonymous Poster · Mar 18, 2003

Hi,

I might be wrong here, but if you have a lighter weight box blade it might actually be easier to learn to use than a heavyweight.

Before buying mine [wanted a woods but ended up with a KingKutter...] I read MANY posts about using the box blade. Either I learned something by reading, or a lighter weight box is easier to use, because I did not have anywhere near the difficulty using the box blade as I expected to from reading the threads here on TBN.

I don't mean to say I am great at using it, just that not having a top and tilt did not seem to be a big deal...PROBABLY because the box was not able to become too aggressive since it did not weigh as much as the better units.

bartman · Mar 18, 2003

Henro
I'll let you know how my place in MD turns out. I just got back from Florida all the snow melted and I have about 6" of water in the back yard/ jungle................
I think Iam going to go with the cheaper box blade cause I just picked up a JD 2 row Corn Planter.......
I have a buddy up in Pa that says he can make a weight box to hang on to the box blade and add 200-300 lbs ( )

Anyhow once it dries up LOOK OUT

Bartman ( )

grandad · Mar 18, 2003

"you are the artist, etc."

Now we know how to identify the real box blade experts... they're the ones wearing berets as they drive! /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif

CTyler · Mar 19, 2003

( you can smooth it better running in reverse )

I'm relatively to this and learned something about reverse and box blading. After dragging up a pile of dirt to fill in a hole I went to smooth it out a little in reverse. The blade dug in and proceeded to lift the rear of the tractor about 6-8" before stopping. Something to consider if you have 4wd. I didn't realize this would happen /forums/images/graemlins/shocked.gif.

chrisjbell · Mar 19, 2003

Umm, yeah, that'll happen if you have your toplink set too far out (too long). You're biasing the back blade to tilt "up" (forward?) so you aren't scraping as much as you could be going forwards and are snagging too much bite going backwards.

On the other hand, this may be what you want in certain situations. Must be cautious with that 4WD stuff, eh? Usually a good thing but every now and then will do something nasty...

mikim · Mar 19, 2003

how to use that thing? 
As said -- practice, practice, practice - everybody does it a little differently - sorta gotta find your own "feel" for it. Practice and trying lots of different tilt angles - jus' a little difference in tilt can make a big difference in performance.

Anonymous Poster · Mar 19, 2003

As said -- practice, practice, practice - everybody does it a little differently - sorta gotta find your own "feel" for it. Practice and trying lots of different tilt angles - jus' a little difference in tilt can make a big difference in performance.


Mike, if I did not know better I would think you were the instructor in the community college welding class that I am taking...

After reading your words I just realized that boxblading and welding have a lot in common: Practice, practice, practice...

Amazing...guess that a lot of things in life are like that!