Third cry for help

[davcog]

Would like to fab a belly grader blade for my BX 23. Know JD offers 60 in for 700 series but website pics don't give enough detail as to how it is mounted. Would like pics from JD 700 owner operator to see if it is even feasible to start this project.

 

[DennisFolsom]

I can't help you with the specifics, but the BX 23 seems like an awfully small tractor to mount a grader blade under. I suppose, if the blade is sized appropriately to the machine, it should work.

Good luck!

I just noticed. We're almost neighbors! I live in the southeast corner of Readfield.

 

[bcp]

I once had a "mower" with rear tiller and mid-mount grading blade that did good work, so a BX should be better. I've been thinking about doing the same.

Some of the two-bladed 3-point road graders are less than four feet long at the skids.

Do you plan to pull the blade, like a real road grader; or push it, like these?

Grouser Products, Fargo, North Dakota - Photo Gallery

Bruce

 

[radioman]

whatever you do- just make sure the pushing/pulling of the blade forces goes right to the frame of tractor. I would make sure there is a floating with expansion slot for lifting hooked up to the mower lift so there is nothing pushing on mower lift links.

 

[davcog]

I can't help you with the specifics, but the BX 23 seems like an awfully small tractor to mount a grader blade under. I suppose, if the blade is sized appropriately to the machine, it should work.

Good luck!

I just noticed. We're almost neighbors! I live in the southeast corner of Readfield.

I once had a "mower" with rear tiller and mid-mount grading blade that did good work, so a BX should be better. I've been thinking about doing the same.

Some of the two-bladed 3-point road graders are less than four feet long at the skids.

Do you plan to pull the blade, like a real road grader; or push it, like these?

Bruce

whatever you do- just make sure the pushing/pulling of the blade forces goes right to the frame of tractor. I would make sure there is a floating with expansion slot for lifting hooked up to the mower lift so there is nothing pushing on mower lift links.

Plan to "pull" the blade under load to avoid the issue of pressure on the lift links. Envision frame connection on front to do the hard work and a rear connection just to keep the blade from swaying out from under the tractor. LL would just work as depth control.

JD 700 series is about same size as my BX 23 that is why I was looking for an owner operator that could provide pics of an installed 60 in MM blade that JD offers.

Dennis did garden plot for co-worker in Readfield last year off RT 17.

 

[ovrszd]

Hmmmmmm,,,, tryin to envision this. The BX23 has very limited vertical space under it's belly,,, maybe 12" from bottom of frame rails to ground?? Possibly more like 10",,, not sure. But hey, I'll go with 12". So,, if I could lift the moldboard up until it hits the frame rails, and the moldboard is 8", the cutting edge would only be 4" off the ground. Won't you be high centered all the time?? Even if I shrink the moldboard to 6", I'm only lifting it 6" off the ground assuming I have 12" to work with and that I can lift it all the way to the frame rails. Seems very limiting. But I'd like to see it. :thumbsup:

 

[brinet]

Just came across this link. I have been thinking of the same thing for my BX2200 for almost a decade now. Yes, the BX series have low ground clearance, but would be perfect for leveling cart paths, trails, etc.

I have thought of a two piece blade that is hinged in the middle. As the blade rises, the top half would slide forward under the tractor. This would enhance clearance in addition to preventing dirt/gravel/etc from packing up under the tractor. Furthermore, as the main (lower) blade lifts, the top edge should follow the hinged upper half forward so that the blade would actually be horizontal (facing down) in the top position. This would eliminate the traveling clearance issue and allow the blade to be much taller than the clearance from the frame to the ground.

I would not use the existing lift for blade height adjustment. You would not get any down force other than the weight of the blade. However, with too much downforce, you may actually lift the wheels and loose traction!

Keep me up to date on you progress.

 

[brinet]

Ok, more thoughts:

As I have a BX2200, I had envisioned the subframe as attaching on the front and the sides. The sides have existing (tapped) holes where the FEL option would attach. I believe the BX23 has the loader subframe attached in this area.

A small vertical hydraulic cylinder on each side where the FEL uprights currently are could be used to raise/lower and tilt the blade. Your existing loader valve would work great. I would have to purchase a loader valve or some type of valve.

A small cylinder underneath could swivel the blade left and right.

This would allow full control of height, angle, and tilt. As there is not much room under the BX (as previously discussed) the cylinders would not need to be long, just skillfully placed.

 

[davcog]

Hmmmmmm,,,, tryin to envision this. The BX23 has very limited vertical space under it's belly,,, maybe 12" from bottom of frame rails to ground?? Possibly more like 10",,, not sure. But hey, I'll go with 12". So,, if I could lift the moldboard up until it hits the frame rails, and the moldboard is 8", the cutting edge would only be 4" off the ground. Won't you be high centered all the time?? Even if I shrink the moldboard to 6", I'm only lifting it 6" off the ground assuming I have 12" to work with and that I can lift it all the way to the frame rails. Seems very limiting. But I'd like to see it. :thumbsup:

Just came across this link. I have been thinking of the same thing for my BX2200 for almost a decade now. Yes, the BX series have low ground clearance, but would be perfect for leveling cart paths, trails, etc.

I have thought of a two piece blade that is hinged in the middle. As the blade rises, the top half would slide forward under the tractor. This would enhance clearance in addition to preventing dirt/gravel/etc from packing up under the tractor. Furthermore, as the main (lower) blade lifts, the top edge should follow the hinged upper half forward so that the blade would actually be horizontal (facing down) in the top position. This would eliminate the traveling clearance issue and allow the blade to be much taller than the clearance from the frame to the ground.

I would not use the existing lift for blade height adjustment. You would not get any down force other than the weight of the blade. However, with too much downforce, you may actually lift the wheels and loose traction!

Keep me up to date on you progress.

Thanks for your replies still researching and hoping to get pics of JD 700 series tractor with MM blade. JD 700 is approximately same size as BX 23. Now have a local contact # for a guy that buys and refurbishes smaller model JDs. He may have a JD 60 in MM blade.

Not overly concerned with traveling clearance. No obstacles over 6 in high.

 

[davcog]

Hmmmmmm,,,, tryin to envision this. The BX23 has very limited vertical space under it's belly,,, maybe 12" from bottom of frame rails to ground?? Possibly more like 10",,, not sure. But hey, I'll go with 12". So,, if I could lift the moldboard up until it hits the frame rails, and the moldboard is 8", the cutting edge would only be 4" off the ground. Won't you be high centered all the time?? Even if I shrink the moldboard to 6", I'm only lifting it 6" off the ground assuming I have 12" to work with and that I can lift it all the way to the frame rails. Seems very limiting. But I'd like to see it. :thumbsup:

Just came across this link. I have been thinking of the same thing for my BX2200 for almost a decade now. Yes, the BX series have low ground clearance, but would be perfect for leveling cart paths, trails, etc.

I have thought of a two piece blade that is hinged in the middle. As the blade rises, the top half would slide forward under the tractor. This would enhance clearance in addition to preventing dirt/gravel/etc from packing up under the tractor. Furthermore, as the main (lower) blade lifts, the top edge should follow the hinged upper half forward so that the blade would actually be horizontal (facing down) in the top position. This would eliminate the traveling clearance issue and allow the blade to be much taller than the clearance from the frame to the ground.

I would not use the existing lift for blade height adjustment. You would not get any down force other than the weight of the blade. However, with too much downforce, you may actually lift the wheels and loose traction!

Keep me up to date on you progress.

Thanks for your replies still researching and hoping to get pics of JD 700 series tractor with MM blade. :thumbsup:

JD 700 is approximately same size as BX 23. Now have a local contact # for a guy that buys and refurbishes smaller model JDs. He may have a JD 60 in MM blade.:drool:

Not overly concerned with traveling clearance. No obstacles over 6 in high to scale.:laughing:

 

[The Baron]

I know nothing of the BX23 but I have used a mm belly blade on my 455 JD. The blade frame is mounted to the front of the tractor where the front of the mower deck mounts. The blade itself is attached to the lift arms via pins and linkage. It also had a hydraulic cylinder for angling the blade. There is no pulling on the lift arms it is all done from the frame of the blade being mounted to the front of the tractor. I had a blast using it and it does work great. Hope this helps, Tim BTW I think the blade is approx. 7" tall if I remember correctly.

 

[ovrszd]

Not overly concerned with traveling clearance. No obstacles over 6 in high to scale.:laughing:

I run a full sized grader. It has approximately 18" of clearance under the lifted blade. It's very easy to get it high centered. The issue isn't that you are going to go around driving over 6" obstacles. It's that if you drop your front or rear tires into a ditch or low spot the 6" of blade clearance disappears alarmingly quick!!! Then you are stuck. I've lost track of the number of times I've had the blade completely lifted, moldboard still on the ground or pile of material, rear wheels spinning..... Very embarrassing. A grader has the blade capability to finally squirm around and get unstuck. I don't think you'll have that with your BX.

I doubt that you will end up with 6". I'd say more like 4". The average piece of gravel is 1.5". So you've not got much room left for uneven ground or getting off a pile of material.

Let's take your mowing deck for example, I doubt it's over 6" tall. I also doubt you can get it more than 4" off the ground.

The concept described above with the moldboard that lays forward is similar to what our DOT uses here. They have center mounted moldboards on 10 wheeler trucks that they use to push light snow or slush. When lifted the moldboard is almost horizontal which gives them ample clearance.

I'm still excited to see what you end up with!!! :thumbsup:

 

[ovrszd]

Forgot to mention, since you are looking for information concerning a JD700 blade setup, you might start a thread in the John Deere section with that as a subject and get some better responses. I know there's a guy that hangs out there that has a collection of JD lawn/garden tractors that might be able to steer you to what you are looking for, I can't for the life of me think of his name...

 

[davcog]

Forgot to mention, since you are looking for information concerning a JD700 blade setup, you might start a thread in the John Deere section with that as a subject and get some better responses. I know there's a guy that hangs out there that has a collection of JD lawn/garden tractors that might be able to steer you to what you are looking for, I can't for the life of me think of his name...

Thanks for your insights and lead. :thumbsup:

Going to contact local guy first. I'm very tactile and seeing something in person would help tremendously.

Also may put on hold until later this fall or winter. Road is in reasonable condition and have other things going on.

I'm trail master for local snowmobile club and am gearing up for 2011 - 2012 season. Meeting with our landowners, trail improvements, checking grooming equipment, assisting with build of new trail drag, fund raisers and club meetings to discuss pending rule changes with members.

:smiley_aafz: Who said retirees have time on their hands?

 

[evo803]

Over on the mytractorforum user name greengeene made a tow behind box blade for his JD 749 and it is simply amazing. The tow behind design offers the greatest distance between the tires so it produces a smoother surface with fewer passes just like a road grader. It has a walking beam axle design that copes with rough surfaces much better than just a single axles design. It is hydraulically controled for height ,tilt and scarificer use.

You could scale this down and it would be perfect for your needs and you could make all the adjustments a mechanical type to save $$$ .

 

[ovrszd]

Over on the mytractorforum user name greengeene made a tow behind box blade for his JD 749 and it is simply amazing. The tow behind design offers the greatest distance between the tires so it produces a smoother surface with fewer passes just like a road grader. It has a walking beam axle design that copes with rough surfaces much better than just a single axles design. It is hydraulically controled for height ,tilt and scarificer use.

You could scale this down and it would be perfect for your needs and you could make all the adjustments a mechanical type to save $$$ .

A neighbor made one from a 5' BB. His only has one cylinder so can't tilt the box but it will grade a road as smooth as a tabletop.

 

[davcog]

Thanks to Irene may have do build sooner than later. Some pretty substantial rivelets running on the road. Will have to access damage in the am.

Will check out that lead on MTF.

 

[davygp38]

Over on the mytractorforum user name greengeene made a tow behind box blade for his JD 749 and it is simply amazing. The tow behind design offers the greatest distance between the tires so it produces a smoother surface with fewer passes just like a road grader. It has a walking beam axle design that copes with rough surfaces much better than just a single axles design. It is hydraulically controled for height ,tilt and scarificer use.

You could scale this down and it would be perfect for your needs and you could make all the adjustments a mechanical type to save $$$ .

What he said!

 

[MarkV]

Sounds like an interesting project. I am not sure I see the advantage of the mm blade over a rear blade with guide wheels though.

MarkV

 

[davcog]

Sounds like an interesting project. I am not sure I see the advantage of the mm blade over a rear blade with guide wheels though.

MarkV

From what I understand it is easier to get a uniformly level roadway faster with a MM blade. The washboarding caused by the front or rear of the tractor going over humps is reduced because you're not fiddling with the height adjustment of a front or rear blade to compensate.