Ditch digger

[Renze]

I think you've answered your own question.

I've broken 2 boxblades exactly the same way you broke yours. Welding the ears back on is a quick & simple job. Rebuilding the rest of the BB is a *****...

My idea was to reinforce the rest of the box blade too, so i'd be having a box blade that is safe to use behind the size of tractor i have...

 

[sandman2234]

I said I would need to look for a heavy duty bush hog for the Ford, but I was thinking about something else while I was typing, and bush hog is what came out. I meant to say a heavy duty box blade.
David from jax
I am going to repair the one I have, but am not going to add much in the way of extra strength. It is too easy to fix this part, versus fixing something else that might be harder to fix.
David from jax

 

[sandman2234]

Here is a piece of rusty plate that I decided to use instead of trying to locate one the right size.It is one inch thick and I needed 3/4" x 2.5"

Here it is after I cut it down to size and drilled holes in it. I had forgotten just how much fun removing that much metal(and rust) can be!

Here is what I am headed for so that I can use my boxblade to reach deeper into that ditch to cut any small roots. Next step is to weld the two pieces together and hope they don't fall apart at the weld.


David from jax

 

[BTDT]

If your concerned about it breaking, you could fab up some more pieces to bolt to each side (from bottom hole on bottom piece, to bottom hole on top piece) for reinforcement. Or if you need all the holes on the top piece, drill another hole down a little lower. This would allow you to still be able to use the bottom holes at a later time by just removing the bolt on pieces. If you don't think you will use them at a later time, you could weld on the reinforcing. Good luck.

 

[sandman2234]

BTDT,
I considered that, but the square tubing that holds my scarifer has already been torn out on the back side, so I figure any addition reinforcements will probably just rip that out again. It is a pain to fix that problem. If I tear up the extended scarifer, it just means I will be out about $20 and a piece of 1" plate. I don't plan on loading it very hard, but there might be some big roots in it's path, so we will see.
Time to go fire up the welder.
David from jax

 

[3RRL]

David,
Looks to me like that will work. It is just an extension, but you'd be surprised how strong that can be even long like that. I'd still take it easy is you're worried about more damage to the boxblade.

Oh, btw, those clickable thumbnails you are using are great!

 

[sandman2234]

I haven't used it yet, still scared of what I am going to break!!
Thanks for the compliments about my current picture posting. I had a great teacher, no doubt!
David from jax

For those of you that don't realize it, 3RRL gave me some help with my picture posting.
David

 

[loulou61]

While out shrimping we pull a trawl off the side the boat . On the end of the boom pole we have a cable attached to the front of the boat to support the net. What if you were to run a cable from the end of your grader device to the front end of the tractor. ( perhaps to a nice piece of pipe extended from the front bumper out pass the front tire ) This cable or chain would take the pressure off the end of your scraping device and take pressure off your lift arms. Hope you can get the picture of what I'm describing. Just a thought , maybe it will click some new ideas.

 

[sandman2234]

LouLou61,
Someone mentioned that earlier, and I completely understand, and agree that a restaining device should be a part of this design. I haven't done it yet, but probably will as it is pretty easy to do.
I know the father in law of one of your local police officers in Gonzales. Good bunch of people around there!
David from jax

 

[sandman2234]

The cable attached to the front end may not work, as the scarifer is located right behind my rear tire, so any way of pulling on it directly from the front would require an offset, which would defeat it's purpose. Might be possible with some fancy paths, or duplicates from each side of the tire, but I may give it a shot from a different angle.
I spent an hour or so scratching my head, and playing with a tape measure while looking at it, and it isn't looking good. I may give it a run just to see how long it takes to bend it, lol.
Another idea I had to reinforce it, is to put a crossbar with a center pivot point attached to the rear of the drawbar. Have one side attach to the digging scarifer, and the other end to one or two scarifers, or something solid at that other end. That way, if the scarifer tries to bend backwards, it will have to pull one or both of the scarifers on the other end forward, causing twice the metal to have to be bent, for the digging scarifer to be bent. Make sense? What do you guys think?
David from jax