Grading Woods RB84 rear blade

[Dargo]

Well, I got cheap and bought the Woods RB84 "standard duty" rear blade for my tractor. After looking at the HD blades it sure looks....well....light. I graded my 800 feet or so of gravel drive with it and it seemed to work fine, but with much gravel being snared, it seemed to flex some. I'm intending on concreting my drive the rest of the way out soon, so I just couldn't justify in my mind spending twice the amount for the HD blade.
Anybody else use this blade? If so, is it fairly stout, or did I buy too small? I'll likely only use it to grade gravel and clear snow. I have a extremely heavy duty 6' box blade that weighs 1200 lbs that I'll use for dirt. If my Woods blade is weak, where would a guy strengthen it? If you've seen some of my other posts, I'm not too shy about trying my hand at design and fabrication. /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif Thanks in advance for your thoughts and comments...unless you just want to call me stupid for being cheap. Then you'll depress me. /forums/images/graemlins/frown.gif Just kidding there; as they say "I ain't broke it yet!"

 

[GoodGuy]

I've got the same blade labelled as JD Frontier & I've had it snagged up to the point where it brought the tractor to a halt & no problems at this point. I'm looking forward to using it this winter because it should help (speed) with my driveway/yard cleanup as well. I wish I had bought a box blade first but that's life. Box blade is on my wishlist for next year. Good Luck
Eric

 

[SacandagaBrad]

I have the RB72 and wish it was heavier simply from a weight, not necessarily strength, standpoint. I too have snagged it to stop the tractor with no problems to the blade. I have probably abused it quite a bit, tilting it to hook a corner of the blade into a buried boulder and put an incredible amount of stress on it with no twisting or bending of the blade. The reversable cutting edge is probably the strongest part of the unit. The reason I wish it weighed a little more is that I re-grade our compacted gravel road once or twice a year and it would give it a little more bite on the first pass. I guess that is where a box blade with scarifiers would come in handy. I also use the RB72 for snow plowing with no problems. I wouldn't worry about it, I think it was a decent value that will last me a long time.

Brad

 

[Youare]

I have the RB72 by Woods mainly for snow removal and some driveway grading work. As others have stated unintentionaly I have snagged an object that did not move. No bends or twists yet.

I am more worried that I will damage the 3PH arms than I am hurting the rear blade. I would rather have that be the weak link than the tractor.

Randy

 

[Dargo]

Thanks for the great replies. I'd actually toyed with designing a "weight attachment" creation for the blade, but talked myself out of that because of exactly what you guys all seem to tell me; that for what it is, it is great, but perhaps a little light (weight wise). I figured that if I put more weight to it, it would bite harder, but also perhaps break easier. Oh well, I figure I have $500 or more to spend on modifications before I'd reach what the next heavier model cost.
Again, thanks much for the input!

 

[DJFoster]

Brad,

I have a Woods HB72 box Scrape and a 7' Landscape Rake.

I have some gravel roads to maintain and would welcome any insight you can offer.

Do you recommend a rear blade for compacted loose gravel? I beleive I have #67 stone. It is probavly 3 to 4 inches thick in general, but has some spots that are getting thin.

I have yet to try working the roads for fear that I will simply pull the underlying red clay up into the gravel.

If you guessed that I am newbie, you guessed correctly.

Thanks,

David

 

[SacandagaBrad]

David,

I use my back blade because that is all I have, I would prefer the box blade. I don't have much trouble with the regular blade, but it takes multiple passes to accomplish various steps in the process, with several settings adjustments. I first pull material to the center of the road by scraping down several inches along the edges with the blade angled to the max to windrow into the center of the road, with a good tilt set by adjusting the lift arm on the 3PH. Once I've built it up, I start re-grading the loose material back toward the edges, usually by first going down the center of the road with the blade set square to allow windrows to fall to each side, being careful to leave enough in the center for a crown. Then with the blade angled sharply again to avoid chatter marks, I use the blade in reverse to spread and compact the tread areas of the road. Position control 3PH helps, TNT would be a great help, and I have to think that a box blade would eliminate most of the steps. It also took quite a bit of practice and expermentation. I recommend taking small sections of the road at a time - I typically rip up about 100 at a time. You will end up with a load of material at each end after you make your cuts and that needs to be respread, keeping the working sections short make that a little easier.

You might need some more gravel brought in if it is only a few inches in spots. You definitely do not want to mix in the clay with your ripper teeth.

Hope this helps.

Brad

 

[DJFoster]

Brad,

Thanks.

I'm going to experiment ASAP while keeping your suggestions in mind.

I recently placed a gravel "road" through the center of my dirt floor barn. I mostly used reverse motion with the FEL and got pretty good results.

An interesting aside --- years ago, I used to observe farmers working their fields with a tractor and be very thankful for higher education. Of course, at that time I couldn't even afford a tractor. Now that I own one, those farmers sure got a lot smarter. Did they take crash courses or what?

I appreciate you sharing your thoughts to help me with everyday problems.

David