box blade or scraper blade

[moloss]

my drive way is gravel (actually more mud and pot holes right now).....is there any advantage of one other the other? I have never owned either but do need something to help get my drive way back in order....any and all help is needed.....thank you Chris.

 

[dex3361]

I have both and I use the BB for driveway maintenance and the scraper blade for snow removal. I suspect there is not much snow where you are so I would go with a BB.

 

[TripleR]

I also have both and my scraper/back blade stays in the shed for a year or so at a time while I put my box blade on and leave it as soon as I take my rotary cutter off.

 

[jimmyj]

I have both also and use the scraper blade for snow and finishing touches (by turning it around backwards and letting it float). The box blade is great for the drive, I'd get that first.

 

[nybirdman]

I own both also,I would start with a good(heavy)scraper blade,a little easier to learn how to use.Box blade definatley has a longer learning curve.

 

[wedge40]

Like most, I have both and for drive way maintenance I use the box blade. But if you have muddy and wet drive way it's more a challenge to use.

Wedge

 

[Gordon Gould]

They each have an advantage in different situations. The rear blade works by moving material back and forth across the road and is good for pulling material from the sides and moving it towards the center to fill ruts or build a crown. The rear blade is the universal road tool. The box blade works by moving material along the road and will fill pot holes and smooth up the road but it is more difficult to contour the road with the box blade although it can be done. The scarifiers on the box blade are very helpful in losening up a hard packed surface. The rear blade will fix wash board easier because the blade is angled across them obliquely where the box blade will tend to follow the crests and valleys.

What ever you get you will want it to be as heavy as possible so that it will cut properly. A box blade should be about as wide or slightly wider than your rear tires and the rear blade should be about a foot wider so that when it is angled it will be a little wider than the tires. You want to maximize the weight per foot of blade. One hundred pounds per foot or more is a good target for working on hard packed roads. If the blade isnt that heavy try adding weight to it.

Every driveway is different. Depending on material makeup, weather, and traffic. On mine the rear blade is what I used most until I got a scraper grader. I still use the rear blade but not as much. You should look at scraper graders.

This is all just my opinion and you will find others have a different opinion.

 

[TripleR]

While not quite as useful for a variety of chores, something like this is hard to be for ease of use on roads.

Land Pride GS15 Series Grading Scrapers

I use one of these, but it takes a pretty good sized tractor.

http://www.landpride.com/main_products/main_ds.html

 

[/pine]

"pot holes"...there is only one sure way to fix pot holes...and that is by using scarifiers and disturbing the surrounding area then adding gravel w/fines and leveling the area... just using a scrap blade and filling/leveling over the pot hole is "treating the symptom" and will only be effective untill storm water and traffic displace the fill...

...therefore I recommend a box blade with scarifiers...

 

[Mousefield]

I use a box blade. I do have a back blade that I have only used a couple of times to grade the road, find by cutting at an angle it help to get rid of the waves. Most of the road is natural dirt/gravel. :laughing:

 

[Thomas]

Consider York rake w/drop down grader blade.

 

[Gordon Gould]

"pot holes"...there is only one sure way to fix pot holes...and that is by using scarifiers and disturbing the surrounding area then adding gravel w/fines and leveling the area... just using a scrap blade and filling/leveling over the pot hole is "treating the symptom" and will only be effective untill storm water and traffic displace the fill......therefore I recommend a box blade with scarifiers...

This is absolutely true. To properly use the rear blade you cut down to a level below the pot hole. A lot of people make the mistake /pine described. This is also why you need a heavy blade. So you can cut deep. Just like a county road grader does.

 

[CompactTractorFan]

If you want a box blade, check out Everything Attachments (an advertiser on here). They sell United which are supposed to be good.

 

[moloss]

wow thanks for all the responses! I guess I need to look into getting a box blade first:thumbsup:.......y'all are very helpful, thank you.

 

[jimmyj]

You know the REAL answer of course is to get both blades! And a rake, and a packer, and .......

 

[wade simpson]

I worked all summer on my road and found that both tools are required. The back blade creates a much better ditch (for me) than the box blade. The angle feature of the back blade moves the dirt towards the center of the road.

The box is great for smoothing and digging out roots and rocks.

 

[Monster5601]

Here is my 2 cents.

I use both the box blade and the back blade as mentioned throughout the thread. My value add is get both.

I was able to pick up both for $400 by watching for auctions. Both were brand new but weathered. Many dealers around me have closed up during the downturn.

 

[jimmer2880]

Owned a back blade of some sorts for ~30 years before getting a box blade. I was amazed at how much more I was able to do with the box blade, and how easy it was to grade compared to the back/scraper blade. I wish I would have learned that lesson 29 years ago.

 

[rankrank1]

In my opinion, Get the box blade first. Matter of fact, If I could only have one 3-pt attachment it would be a box blade. There was an interesting post on this forum a while back how one poster used a box blade for several alternative things from plowing snow with it to using the rippers to till a garden plot and the list went on from there.... The list of tasks that he was able to do with that one attachment was amazing. Granted it may not be the absolute ideal tool for several jobs, but it will still work for many things. A regular blade is much more limited it what it can do.

FWIW, I actually like plowing snow with my box blade better than my regular blade. Now if I had a really long lane the story would be different, but the box blade works better for my situation in snow. Since I never cut ditches, I am actually thinking about selling my regular blade as I never use it.

 

[teg]

Look at used... you can get both for not too much money, imho.