what is the trick to a box blade or box scraper?

[PhysAssist]

Hi Dan,

What BB are you using and what are you pulling it with?

Do you have hydraulics on your 3PH?

In case you haven't yet figured it out from all the previous posts, the way you maximize and finesse your work is different for every different type of BB and having a hydraulic top and/or side link can make a big difference in how easily you can adjust your bite and smooth actions.

Thomas

Is there a specific way to use a box scraper to smooth off a road

 

[FTG-05]

Draft control, hydraulic TNT, and laser guided machine control are all wonderful tools, and I'm sure they'll all make grading and leveling easier, but for many of us, the financial outlays for this equipment is out of reach. I use older tractors because they fit my budget. It may take a bit more effort, but that's okay. I'm not in a race. Here's my take on box-blading:

1. Keep it slow! You'll need one hand on your steering wheel and one hand on your 3PH lift lever. Bumps and hills in your path will change the attitude of your tractor and implement. You'll want to be moving slow enough to compensate.

2. Weight is your friend. The more, the better. This goes for tractor and implement.

3. Adjust your top link to match conditions and the job at hand. I use a hinge-back blade, so what I do may very well be different from many others. In my case, a shorter top link lets it ride on the side plates and results in more of a scraping/smoothing operation, whereas lengthening it gives a more aggressive cut. (Fixed blades are opposite.)

4. Keep it slow. This ain't no land plane.

5. Make multiple shallow passes. Digging too deep and trying to do it in one pass will result in dips, hills and craters. Skim a little bit off at a time, spread it around and stop to see what it looks like. Repeat.

6. Did I mention speed? Good!

7. Patience! Like I said, I don't have the newest fancy equipment with the latest in gadgetry, but I can still get very good results with a box-blade... Provided I slow down, take my time, pay attention to what's going on at the point of engagement and adjust accordingly.

8. Practice. The more you do it, the better you'll get.

Joe

This is the only problem I have. I brace my 3ph hand against my right leg and can lift my 3ph lever less than 1/10 of an inch and, as a result, get a big dump of material on my one mile gravel road while trying to smooth it out. Very frustrating!

Heavy, slow, top link, practice - I'm retired, I got these. 3ph level control while on the go: ain't happenin' yet!

That's the bad news. The good news is that you son's of ******es have convinced me to spend money on lots of steel to make my own land grader. That's the story I'm telling my wife and I'm stickin' to it!

 

[YardBikeBob]

After several years of trying to smooth out dirt/gravel road and driveway I gave up and moved on to a road grader (RG Series Road Grader).

Gotta love the picture on their website.

A landscape rake would of been fine!

Bob

 

[ovrszd]

That's the bad news. The good news is that you son's of ******es have convinced me to spend money on lots of steel to make my own land grader. That's the story I'm telling my wife and I'm stickin' to it!

I wanna build one real bad. I've got most of the steel. For me, I just don't have enough use for it. But I WANT one......

 

[LostintheNW]

Oh my gosh, murphy1244, that is the most useful website for me. As a rookie, soon to be, tractor owner, wow, great resource to see how to use the attachments properly. Thank you for that!!!!

 

[Marveltone]

This is the only problem I have. I brace my 3ph hand against my right leg and can lift my 3ph lever less than 1/10 of an inch and, as a result, get a big dump of material on my one mile gravel road while trying to smooth it out. Very frustrating!

I'm not familiar with your tractor, so I'm likely wrong, but it sounds like your lift needs adjusting.

The good news is that you son's of ******es have convinced me to spend money on lots of steel to make my own land grader. That's the story I'm telling my wife and I'm stickin' to it!

Now that sounds like the way to go! Post pictures of your build.:thumbsup:

Joe

 

[FTG-05]

I'm not familiar with your tractor, so I'm likely wrong, but it sounds like your lift needs adjusting.


Now that sounds like the way to go! Post pictures of your build.:thumbsup:

Joe

Is there any adjustment for the 3PH on Kubota L4330? Don't know, gonna have to check out the workshop manual and see.

Thanks for the hint!

 

[Monster5601]

Gotta love the picture on their website.

A landscape rake would of been fine!
Bob

A landscape rake would be fine for what? Not for leveling and keeping level and smooth a dirt/gravel road.

 

[IXLR8]

I wanna build one real bad. I've got most of the steel. For me, I just don't have enough use for it. But I WANT one......

I want a land grader as well, can't justify the cost. I found my local Kubota dealer rents some 3pt equipment, they have a land grader w/scarifiers for $50/day. So I am going to rent one once or twice a year rather than buying/making one.

 

[YardBikeBob]

A landscape rake would be fine for what? Not for leveling and keeping level and smooth a dirt/gravel road.

Okay, the OP was asking about box blades and you posted about your road grader. I was curious and clicked over to your link and saw a marketing picture of clean gravel being smoothed on a smooth path on flat ground. I just got a giggle in that their marketing picture conveyed little of anything useful except, perhaps, the tool is overkill for the task depicted.

The picture shows expensive rock hauled in. Done that more than once!

Around here, the Missouri Ozarks is seldom flat and usually rocky. The flat parts become the repository of all that expensive rock sluiced down from the new ruts formed by the occasional downpours. The BB is used to pull that rock back up the grade where it belongs. While doing that you can expect the BB to kick up softball-sized to bowling ball-sized rocks that sprout like mushrooms around here in the spring.

The right tool for this task is a BB:



Successful BB work is having your ruts filled, your gravel back up on the sloping drive, and a new pile of rocks at the top of the grade for FEL to cart away. If that is the job you have to do, I can't see buying the Road Grader and putting the BB on Craigslist.

And, really, I'm not criticizing the Road Grader. My frustration is the purveyors of all these attachments depicting them in pristine condition on flat ground under sunny skies. Trying to learn from marketing materials is useless.

Bob