Box Scraper New Box Blade to level land

[GarthH]

I finally pickup my LP 72" box blade. I need to figure out how to use it right away as I need to level land for a 80 x 40 shop that is to be built over the next few weeks.

The worst I have not used a transit in the past.

I am guessing that I will rent the transit at our local Home depot. I assume the transit stays stationery and we shoot the different spots where the building will be located.

Then I am guessing I will set the teeth of the box blade to take off the top soil exposing the clay. I am thinking of putting down landscape paper and then gravel. I've heard of the clay mixing with the gravel and sinking down dramatically. In a previous condo my wife owned the engineer indicated the landscape paper would have been the answer.

How tough is it to use the box blade, any tips?

Thanks

Garth

 

[SkunkWerX]

You probably mean a Level, not a transit?

I have a laser level, wasn't too expensive. The tripods can be as much or more $$.

Use wooden stakes to mark your height at each corner and several places in between. This will show you the areas theat need to be cut, and those that need to be filled.

Laser Level

 

[cp1969]

There are a lot of different issues at play here.

Is your building going to rest on a footing is it a pole building with a slab for a floor?

If you're doing a pole barn with a concrete floor, you may not need to move any dirt. Just bring in AB-3 or gravel and start leveling. I will give this advice--raise the building floor 6" higher than you think it needs to be. A foot would be better.

As far as how tough is it to use a box blade, it can be very easy or very hard, depending upon what you're trying to do. Get ready to have a stiff neck. The only way to learn is get on the tractor and do it. Not many mistakes you make will be uncorrectable.

 

[GarthH]

You probably mean a Level, not a transit?



Laser Level

Maybe I have it wrong. A transit is the old instrument that had a scope that would aim at someone holding up a measured rod. I assume through the transit would see the numbers on the rod which would indicate the height of the land.

I know Home Depot has a land level for rent. Again I have not see it used so I always wonder if the laser is bright enough to see it on the laser on rod during the day? Has anyone used one?

We are just doing footings for the building. We have concern about rocks so we felt it would be best just to use 16" footings.

Garth

 

[jimmer2880]

Maybe I have it wrong. A transit is the old instrument that had a scope that would aim at someone holding up a measured rod. I assume through the transit would see the numbers on the rod which would indicate the height of the land.

I know Home Depot has a land level for rent. Again I have not see it used so I always wonder if the laser is bright enough to see it on the laser on rod during the day? Has anyone used one?

We are just doing footings for the building. We have concern about rocks so we felt it would be best just to use 16" footings.

Garth

As far as the laser being bright enough to see, you dont' see it at all. Use the "laser finder thingy". I watched my contractor do that. He set up his spinning laser, then used the laser finder to mark each of the corners, etc. Worked very well.

This is what I'm talking about
CST/Berger Dual-Sided Universal Laser Detector - 57-LD400YEL at The Home Depot

 

[SkunkWerX]

A transit is for surveying and finding your position, and other positions, relative to a known position. A level is more simplistic, it's a level and they can rotate, usually 360, so you can also check squareness.
The new lasers usually have a beam-bender, which gives the added features of being able to send off a beam at a 90 degree angle, as well as make a solid line, which can be handy.

The spinning lasers can be very expensive. The Red Dot levels can be seen 100 feet away, but, check the packaging and specs first to be sure.

I used an optical level for over 20 years, and they still work great.
The most important rule for any level is the set-up, the base must be perfectly level.

A water level is a handy device too, clear tubing, filled with water, will always seek level. Cheap easy to use, only warning is make sure there are no air bubbles, that will throw off level. Add food coloring if you really want to get fancy. You can make clear tubing adapters to go on a garden hose.
10 feet of clear tubing, a male and female garden hose adapter, and your favorite garden hose and you have yourself a water level.
They don't work well under 32 degrees F.

I like setting up at the low corner, well, about 10 feet behind the low corner.
If the area is way off of level, you can do some rough cutting, first, but don't go crazy. Then set-up for more precise measurements.

As was already mentioned, if you are building a pole building, it can be off a little bit, since you are pouring inside, afterward. My 30x40 building was on a slope, and I got it within 6 inches, high to low corner, then filled with gravel to help level it, the flowing concrete did the rest.

Check the aisle with the levels at Home Depot or Lowe's, you will be suprised at the amount of choices.

 

[john_bud]

What you need to do with the box blade is...

1) on a flat and level area attach the box to the tractor and level it side to side and front to back. A smart person would measure the length of the top link at this point for future reference.

2) Adjust the top link so the front of the box is 1" to 1-1/2" lower than the rear. This is the "forward rake" adjustment you want for sinking the scarifiers in and ripping the grass and sod. Adjust the 3pt lift arms so the front blade is about 1" above the ground. Make a pass in N-S orientation then in E-W orientation. Each pass should have about 50% overlap until the whole area is stripped. You will probably have to remove grass and such after each pass so the scarifiers can keep cutting. The size of the area is at least 30' larger than the building's final footprint.

3) pull up the scarifiers so they are either all the way up or at the lowest penetration. Depends on soil conditions and tractor strength. Lower the 3pt arms all the way down and repeat the pattern. This will strip off the top soil. Try and just take off the productive soil and pile it along one edge outside your work area. Drag forward / back up - repeat.

4)Once the good stuff is off the soil, assess the level and remove the high spots.

5) Adjust the rake of the box so that the nose is 1" to 1-1/2" higher than the rear. This is the setting for smoothing.

6) have your fill dumped and drag it out with the box. Most DT operators will be able to dump and drive forward smoothly leaving a pretty level and uniform deposit. You want the fill area to be 30' larger than the final building. After smoothing each layer, compact it with a vibratory plate compactor. The final building area will be flat, smooth, firm, level and 10' larger on each edge than the final building. It should be raised enough to keep the inside of the building dry by forcing the rain water away.

HTH,

jb

 

[BamaRob]

jb,

I'be copied your post to a textfile for future reference. I don't think I've ever seen such clear, concise instructions for boxblade use.

Thanks,

BR

 

[john_bud]

Thanks for the compliment. The instructions come from some long hours of hard use and my experimentalist nature. Naturally, the settings are general and will be varied due to the nature of the soils you are moving, power of the tractor, the geometry of the box / 3pt, etc. Having a starting point and knowing what it is for is hopefully helpful to the new user and will get them onto the road to expertise quicker.

cp1969 also had a great tip. You will have a stiff neck if you are doing it right as you HAVE to look back as much or more than you look forward. I'm probably 4x more looking backwards than forwards. It's one major reason why I don't allow any spectators wandering around when I'm using a box. It would be too easy to run them over (kids and loopy adults alike).

jb