Box blade or grader blade?

   / Box blade or grader blade? #1  

RayCo

Veteran Member
Joined
Jul 24, 2005
Messages
1,027
Location
Chester County, PA
Tractor
Kubota BX24, Case 580 Super L
Hi group. I have a small categeroy 0 grader blade that I put on my Kubota BX24 (cat. 1) last night. (My cat. 0 tractors are getting sold.) It's not a very good fit, so I need to replace it. But, should I get a grader blade or a box blade? I do a lot of grading in the woods to create and smooth out trails. I also have a long gravel driveway to maintain, and I have a hard time not destroying it with the grader blade. My current need to is grade out a stretch of ground that I excavated that's about 70' long, 6' wide, and 1' deep. Also, after my current project is finished, I'm going to have to do a lot of repairs to my front yard, which will involve lots of grading.

When would one use a box blade as opposed to a grader blade and vice versa? Perhaps if I know that, I can decide on my own.

Thank y'all.
 
   / Box blade or grader blade? #2  
I have both.

With a box Blade by tilting the box back (onto the rearward facing blade) I find that I can level out areas fairly easily. Tilting forward allows the use of the rippers to loosen material prior to moving it. By adjusting the tilt between the extremes gives you a balance of the two depending on how much tilt you use. It is also great for moving material from one spot to another (use to fill in low spots). A downside tough is it collects material so you need to stop a clearing process to get rid of the spoils.

With a rear blade (without gage wheels) I find it hard to get a level surface on loose material. (fresh gravel spread for a driveway) although it works great for moving the spoils into a windrow. You can make multiple passes to keep clearing out an area or progessively move the spoils to one side or another.

I have tilted mine from side to side to be able to start a ditch. Without the sides like a box blade has I was able to get the ditch roughed in, but then to be able to cut thought the harder areas I switched to the box blade (extra weight and rippers) to be able to get it smoothed up.

I have found that I use each based on the advantage of each. I use the rear blade exclusively to plow snow. I use the only box blade to dig out the base for a driveway. When I spread the topping for the drive I use both, the rear blade to spead the base to the edges and the box blade to get every smoothed and crowned.

Having both, for me, has been a timesaver. I use the box blade the most, but I would not be happy without the Rear Blade.

RayCo said:
Also, after my current project is finished, I'm going to have to do a lot of repairs to my front yard, which will involve lots of grading.

Based on this statement I would get the box blade based on my own experience. (I attached a pic of where the drive and the dirt on the right side was leveled with the box blade. The rear blade was used to get the gravel to the edge of the drive. It would have helped to move the dirt up to the edge of the drive but I decided to use the box since it was already on. The blade would have been faster but not fast enough to justify the time it would take to switch between the two.)


Kurt
 

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   / Box blade or grader blade? #3  
I could only afford one piece at the time, so i got the box blade as it is more multipurpose. it does not excel at grading, but does good enough. For final smoothing when landscaping, I'm seriously considering making a drag out of chain link fence or an old set of box springs. I've used my box blade on driveways and also to reshape a neighbor's dry lot so it would actually drain after a rain - and not dump all the water in her barn.
Like Kurt said - tip forward with rippers down to break up the surface, then raise the rippers to redistribute and smooth out, last pass tipped back to finish smooth/crown things. (plus, driving over it all multiple times helps pack it down)

I'm sure I could find lots of things to do with a grader blade, too (and faster!) - but it's not been in the budget yet. ;)
 
 
 
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