Looking for newbie box blader user tips

[slan]

Well I decided to get a 72" box blade today and am going to try it out over the weekend. Do you fine gents (and ladies of cource( have any tips on using this beast. You know any do's and don'ts.


1,400 feet of pretty rough driveway with some pretty serious rocks below the surface. I think I will take it very slow and I guess if its too much I will have to break down and pull out the big iron.

I have some rough small spots in the fields where I would like to fill in some ruts from using the TLB too early in the spring.

Any advice would be appreciated.

Thanks again....

 

[Hoosier_Daddy]

Just go play.... Take a pass. see what it does. Next step, try a little lower and take a pass. once you rip up what is needed then put on the blade turned backward and drag it around.

To get it smooth, steal some chain link fence amd drag it around. We used to use old bed springs but thy are a by-gone product...........

Good Luck.. Tom

 

[kolmstead]

You're in for an adventure. What works best for me is to keep the level of dirt in the box constant. I make tiny corrections with the 3-pt. control as I see the fill in the box start to rise or fall. Big corrections make huge humps or dips behind you. If you can't move the control with one or two fingers then you need to adjust the friction nut where the 3-pt. control shaft enters the transaxle. The control needs to be almost effortless.

Backing up and using the rear of the box often works better than going forward, because the rear wheels are then running on "smoother" dirt.

Rocks and bushes can frequently be popped out of the ground by backing up to them with the box scraper, then pushing against the obstacle while raising the box.

-Karl

 

[Sniggle]

If you have the scarifiers all the way down, go slow and steady. Catching an immovable object at any speed above creep causes quite the jolt.

- Buy some spare scarifier teeth if your are going to pulling through soil with rocks....the right rock will rip them right off the shaft.

 

[teg]

Don't forget to take photos of before and after Depending on what your road looks like and the problems you have... mud holes, errosion, rough exposed rocks... will determine what you'll have to do. It does not sound like it's going to be easy.

You said "rough" and "pretty serious rocks"... So I assume you might have errosion washing away small rocks and leaving bigger rocks exposed? Big rocks are bad for the road - either cover them up or get rid of them. The BB will pull them up to the surface so you can remove them so that the smaller stuff can be smoothed out. Or else, covering them up with more base could be the answer...

Do you have a good ditch system or does the road become the ditch? The angle of the box blade determines what the BB will do... been talked about here several times.

 

[3RRL]

Well I decided to get a 72" box blade today and am going to try it out over the weekend. Do you fine gents (and ladies of cource( have any tips on using this beast. You know any do's and don'ts.


1,400 feet of pretty rough driveway with some pretty serious rocks below the surface. I think I will take it very slow and I guess if its too much I will have to break down and pull out the big iron.

I have some rough small spots in the fields where I would like to fill in some ruts from using the TLB too early in the spring.

Any advice would be appreciated.

Thanks again....

Here are a couple box blade threads you might read to get some more information.

Various Box Blade Uses

Box Blading in Reverse

 

[shu]

Ooooooooh - newguy with box blade.

First rule is: you can't get to level unless you are already there. Think about it. Front wheels hit a small dip and go down; box rises up and drops dirt, creating hump. You just cannot see and control it fast enough.

Dirt must be free of grass and sticks.

Dirt must be not too wet and sticky nor too dry and clotted; not too sandy nor too claylike.

Tighten up the top-link to dig in, catch, and drag; loosen the top link to spread and smoothe. (Alternatively, tighten the top-link and push backwards to smoothe.)

Actually, back-blading with the heel of the FEL bucket (if you have one) works really well for leveling. For the final touch, chain up some logs or an old gate or something and drag it around.

For leveling en-gross with the box blade, I find driving in circles works rather well. Drop the box and pick up a load of dirt, bring it to where you want; raise the box slightly and start a turn. Turning while emptying the box seems to jostle and break up the clods in the box; also you travel cross-grain to the existing furrow pattern and fill in the low spots better.

 

[FullBucket]

Just to add some thoughts:

You mentioned having some large rocks in the mix. The box blade will pull those up quickly but then they become a problem. You will soon find out that they either drag and create a rut in the area you are trying to smooth or jam and lift the blade leaving a pile in your wake. Having a helper to pick them up or toss aside can save you a lot of time getting on and off the tractor. Once you get the soil to a more uniform consistency you will be pleased with action of the blade.

The side to side and back to front angle of your blade is important. To level your blade park on ground you know to be level. Lift blade just off the ground and examine gap underneath. Use level or go by eye to adjust. Level front to back to adjust angle of attack, with steeper angle being more agressive. Usually angle should be modest. Repeat passes are better than trying to make a bulldoser out of a boxblade. If you catch too much soil and start to spin your wheels simply lift three point hitch a tad and you will find better traction.

Driveways are best graded high in the middle and sloping to each side. Adjust side angle and remember which side is lower. Drive with the low side to the outside down the driveway on one side then turn and go up the other.

Each pass will take a bit of dirt off the highpoints and drag it into the low points. If you tackle bumps directly or from one side to the other widthwise it will take more passes. Because the rear wheels rise up the bump the hitch will raise the blade and much of the bump will remain. Attacking at a angle or lengthwise so much of the bump passes between the wheels allows more agressive grading. With enough passes you'll get the job done either way.

Best of luck with your projects.

 

[tdev]

Well I decided to get a 72" box blade today and am going to try it out over the weekend. Do you fine gents (and ladies of cource( have any tips on using this beast. You know any do's and don'ts.


1,400 feet of pretty rough driveway with some pretty serious rocks below the surface. I think I will take it very slow and I guess if its too much I will have to break down and pull out the big iron.

I have some rough small spots in the fields where I would like to fill in some ruts from using the TLB too early in the spring.

Any advice would be appreciated.

Thanks again....

You will be suprised at what a BB will do, I dug a basement with my scafires about halfway down. Enjoy