Box Scraper Implement Use - Rakes / Box Blades, etc.

   / Implement Use - Rakes / Box Blades, etc. #1  

smalltime

New member
Joined
Apr 28, 2008
Messages
10
Location
Roanoke, VA
Tractor
Massey-Ferguson MF35 Diesel Deluxe
I've only owned a tractor for a little over a year and really don't know which implements are best or how they are used.

Scene:
Tractor: 1964 Massey-Ferguson MF35 Diesel Deluxe
About 5 acres of pasture
5' King Kuttter finish mower
5' blade

A contractor just finished the new septic drain field and I need to regrade and seed.

Additional things I would like to do:
- Regrade the gravel driveway occasionally. (3/10 mile) (The blade seems to do an adequate job if the driveway is moist from rain and I go really slow.)
- Smooth out small culverts in the pasture. (it's a ROUGH ride in certain spots when I mow.) I assume this will require tearing up what's there and reseeding.

Box blade or landscape rake? I really don't know what to use and why. Brand-wise, my local choices look like Woods, then King Kutter.

I was also given a cross drawbar but I don't know what it's good for.

Looks also like a stationary drawbar can be bolted to two studs underneath in the rear. Good idea or not?
 
   / Implement Use - Rakes / Box Blades, etc. #2  
from what i have read sounds like a box blade w/gauge wheels would be your best bet.
 
   / Implement Use - Rakes / Box Blades, etc. #3  
Forget the gauge wheels... a good box blade is a great companion to a grader blade when you have tasks that need cut/fill, move dirt, rip sod, and grade roads/driveways.

soundguy
 
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   / Implement Use - Rakes / Box Blades, etc. #4  
smalltime:

Welcome to TBN :D! I agree with Soundguy as to the gauge wheels on a BB. I have a good landscape rake which I use with my BB. I will probably get a RB when I can "swing it" through SWMBO :eek:. Jay :)
 
   / Implement Use - Rakes / Box Blades, etc. #5  
I use a landscape rake for driveway maintenance. Snow removal and general grooming of stone. My boxblade I really haven't used. The rear blade I use for cleaning ditches and burning brush piles.

Jay what is SWMBO?

Solo
 
   / Implement Use - Rakes / Box Blades, etc.
  • Thread Starter
#6  
It's the wife.
"She Who Must Be Obeyed".
Getting approval for the purchase. I have been incredibly very fortunate in this regard.
 
   / Implement Use - Rakes / Box Blades, etc.
  • Thread Starter
#7  
I really appreciate the replies. Okay, so far it looks like the box blade is the better choice. Although it will certainly eliminate the small row of gravel that accumulates at the edge of the driveway when I use the rear blade, I wonder..... Doesn't the BB really rip things up (part of its purpose) and although it leaves a smooth surface behind, how soft is it after I go over it with the BB?

Also from he original post:
I was also given a cross drawbar but I don't know what it's good for.

Looks also like a stationary drawbar can be bolted to two studs underneath in the rear. Good idea or not?
 
   / Implement Use - Rakes / Box Blades, etc. #8  
smalltime:

It takes some practice using a box blade well, but dependeing on how you adjust your top link and scarifier length you can run a heavy box blade at a pretty shallow depth. My gravel driveway is topped with crusher run gravel. It is a little soft after I smooth it with the box blade, but the next rain seems to pack it down really well.

If the cross drawbar is a drawbar that is attached to the two lower lift arms I would be very careful what I pulled from it due to its higher center of gravity relative to the tractor. For pulling heavy objects you are much safer using a stationary drawbar that is at the lowest part of the tractor. Jay
 
   / Implement Use - Rakes / Box Blades, etc.
  • Thread Starter
#9  
Yes, the cross drawbar would go between the two lower lift arms. Good point about keeping the pulling low - Don't want to go "tractor tipping". What's the purpose of one though? I'm missing something... Too bad there's not a "Implements for Dummies" book.

I've got two large studs sticking out below the rear diff. I'm assuming those would be used for the stationary drawbar.

I've seen some lower drawbars that look like they are allowed some side-to-side sway. What's that about?
 
   / Implement Use - Rakes / Box Blades, etc. #10  
Soundguy said:
Forget the gauge wheels... a good box blade is a great companion to a grader blade when you have tasks that need cut/fill, move dirt, rip sod, and grade roads/driveways.

soundguy

I agree with SoundGuy, with a boxblade there is no need for training wheels. I would also say that since you already have a grader blade, a york type rake would be the better choice. I would go wider, 6 or 7 feet.

Andy
 
 
 
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