Box Scraper Beginners guide to using a box blade

   / Beginners guide to using a box blade #21  
Nice thread I've stumbled upon; learned alot in ten minutes.

I notice quite a bit of top link adjustments to be made during the course of a box blading session. Now I know what top-and-tilt is for!
 
   / Beginners guide to using a box blade
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#22  
3RRL said:
- Levelling - thats a nother story. I cannot for the life of me seem to be able to level the driveway. What position should the blade be in for levelling? Should my toplink be all the way out, all the way in, or somewhere in between? How high would you raise the rear blade off the surface of the drive while doing levelling pass?
I touched on this above where somewhere in between is the spot you want for finish grading. Not necessarily leveling, so I assume you mean finish grading to get a smooth finish, right. Leveling would mean (to me) to cut off the high spots and fill the low spots. I set the blades so they are about the same, meaning the top link somewhere in the middle to achieve this blade position. Then I drag the box. What this does is the front blade slightly cuts off any standing ridges while the rear blade is smoothing the dirt out. But the front is not aggressively cutting. One important thing to remember is to compact those low spots you filled, or when you go through them with the boxblade, it will sink/cut deeper in those areas unless you've firmed it up by compacting.

After re-reading, here is another question I have. Rob, you are absolutely right, I do mean finish grading here.

For finish grading, am I dragging the box with the 3PT all the way down so the full weight of the implement bears down on the surface?

I've found that when I've dragged the box with its weight on the surface it tends to fill up. I suspect that this is because my top link is not adjusted right.

Just to be clear, you are saying I should be able to find a top link position where I can have the full weight of the box on a gravel surface and drag it to finish grade without immediately filling up the box. Correct?
 
   / Beginners guide to using a box blade
  • Thread Starter
#23  
daBear said:
Look in your L3400 manual and it will describe the float position for you.

daBear. The float - the obvious fact that the 3PT does not have any down pressure, somehow escaped me. Thanks for pointing it out. It is pretty obvious now that I think about it of course :eek:
 
   / Beginners guide to using a box blade #24  
I didn't know you had a hinged rear cutter, I would think you could do things a little different than with a fixed rear cutter.
 
   / Beginners guide to using a box blade #25  
For finish grading, am I dragging the box with the 3PT all the way down so the full weight of the implement bears down on the surface?
Yes, that's exactly what I do.

I've found that when I've dragged the box with its weight on the surface it tends to fill up. I suspect that this is because my top link is not adjusted right.
Yes, you are right. You might need to tilt the box backwards a bit to keep the front blade from cutting/digging out more material or dirt. You will want to have the box "ride" a little more on the rear blade so the rear blade will crush the material down and smooth it.
I didn't know you have a hinged rear, so consider fastening it while doing this step. That way it should support the weight of the box and smooth out the material. You can see if it's hinged, it could swing out of the way and allow the front blade to continue cutting or scraping.

Just to be clear, you are saying I should be able to find a top link position where I can have the full weight of the box on a gravel surface and drag it to finish grade without immediately filling up the box. Correct?
Exactly, but remember in your case that the rear blade needs to be fixed so it can smooth and not flop out of the way, allowing the front blade to dig down and cut again. Now remember I don't have a hinged rear box blade, so you will need to tell me if that works for you. I know it does for my fixed rear blade boxblade.
Anyway, the rear blade should support the weight of the box and smooth the material. It should keep the front from digging in or scraping too much. You want to set the two blades so the front barely cuts, if any at all. Just to knock down little ridges or pick up some stones, but not cut the entire surface. At that point you want to be smoothing with the rear blade primarily.

Once you get it right, a light will come on in your head and you'll know exactly what I'm talking about and you'll say to yourself, "Self...uh so that's how you do it. That's so easy why didn't I think of that?":) You''ll see the difference right away.
Let us know when that happens. When your get that part down, there is no stopping you to making perfect roads, trails, pads etc.
 
   / Beginners guide to using a box blade #26  
I have a hinged Back Box Blade and in the finish stages I Extend my top link so just the Hinged Blade flaps on the ground giving a finished finsh. Play with the up and down of the three pt and you will find the happy medium..
 
   / Beginners guide to using a box blade
  • Thread Starter
#27  
Hmm. I didn't quite realise that the hinged back blade might actually cause me a bit of grief here.

I'm reasonably sure that if I extend the top link all the way back, my front blade will give me a pretty good cut and the box will fill pretty quickly. Of course that sounds like the last thing I really want for the finish grade.

I wonder if the problem might be that my HTL is just not long enough to give me the correct action that johnK is referring to. That would be too bad because I just got an extension bracket added on. I might end up need the longer top link from CCM after all.

I'll try to think of a way to fasten the hinged back blade. Nothing is coming to mind immediately.

I guess the other option might be to do the finish grade in reverse. I wonder if this might work - thoughts?
 
   / Beginners guide to using a box blade #28  
Since this looks like the tutorial for "boxblades for dummys" Like ME! I've one question.

Where do weights come into all this? Just when you've got rippers down or what?
 
   / Beginners guide to using a box blade #29  
canoe,
I was under the impression that hinged boxblades could be fastened so they don't hinge? Am I wrong about that?

rcr,
Weight, either from the boxblade itself OR by adding weight to it helps to make it more ground engaging if the ground is very hard or the boxblade just "skips" along the surface. Weight can be used to make the rippers dig in better or to make the blade dig in better too for slicing or scraping. It especially helps when having to slice or scrape off high points and also for digging ditches along the road when you've got your box tilted.
 
   / Beginners guide to using a box blade #30  
canoetrpr said:
I'll try to think of a way to fasten the hinged back blade. Nothing is coming to mind immediately.

The hinged back-blade has an advantage if you want to dig, in that it places the full weight of the BB on the front cutting edge. However, for finishing you do not want to have the cutting edge taking a bite, therefore you should develop a way to hold it in place.

Think of the back blade as a door and you need to simply place a door stopper so that it does not swing. If you do this will welding on a stopper then you loose the advantages of the swinging blade, therefore my suggestion would be to bolt something on.

At the risk of insulting your intelligence, this is what I would probably do. I would drill a 12mm or 14 mm hole in each side plate about 1/4 of the distance up from the bottom of the swinging blade (guessing at 5 to 8 cm) and about 14-16 mm from the back of the swinging blade in its fully down position. (That is against its stops, but make sure it is not being held out a bit by packed in dirt.) Once you get the position marked on both sides you can swing the blade up out of the way so that you can drill unimpeded. Use a pair of vise grips or a "C" clamp to stop it from swinging back down while you work. When you have the holes drilled get 2 bolts that will fit in your holes (I would prefer the heavier 14 mm) about 40-50 mm long and 4 nuts and 2 lock washers. These are the stops. With the bolts inserted from the outside and the lock washer and 2 nuts on the inside you have effectively made a removable door stoppers. If necessary you can use 3 nuts if 2 do not give you sufficient surface contact with the blade.

I used metric since you are from Canada, but if you prefer you could go with 1/2 in bolts (3/4 in head) and adjust the holes accordingly. Remember that any thread that is exposed on the bolt will get beat up a bit, you might want to cut the bolt flush with the last nut. Make sure that they are tight or they will enlarge the hole.

That is just the advice from someone who as never done it,:rolleyes: has not seen you equipment,:( and takes no responsibility for the result of this free advice.:D

Have a great day.

Mike
 
 
 
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