Box Scraper New Hobby Farm Owner - Need advice on boxblade/scraper

   / New Hobby Farm Owner - Need advice on boxblade/scraper #1  

damonstealth

New member
Joined
Mar 17, 2010
Messages
5
Location
Woodstock, IL
Tractor
IH 454
Hello all! I've trolled here for a while and there is clearly a TON of great advice and tips to be found. Finally joined so I could ask for some advice. I currently have an IH454 with a Westendorf WL-21 front end loader. Also have a 5' rotary brush hog and a 6' rear blade. I have two needs at this point...

A) the ability to fix and maintain my gravel drive
B) the ability to loosen soil and till in some aged manure in 5'wide x 100' long vegetable beds. Being able to remove grass/sod before making the beds would be great as well.

I think a box blade/box scraper would accomplish most of this but wanted to run it past you guys. I figure a 6' would be sized about right, cover my wheel tracks, and still work for those garden beds. Also looking for recommendations on brand/size/options/etc. Money is really tight so if I could find something used locally that will still do the job I'd be thrilled but I want to know what to look for. Forgive me but I still don't understand the specifics of whether a hydraulic top link is necessary. Although I've heard talk of top and tilt? and guess it has something to do with the ability to run the shanks deeper?

Need to find something quickly for the spring beds so any help you could offer is appreciated... :)
 
   / New Hobby Farm Owner - Need advice on boxblade/scraper #2  
I can tell you what I use for maintaining my driveway. I have a CK35 and use a 6 ft box blade. Bought it for a reasonable price but really should have a 5 ft. It seems the rule of thumb is that a box blade or back blade should be just wide enough to cover your tractor tire tracks. I have a 7 ft back blade, again bought reasonably, but should be a 6 ft. I have only used the back blade a few times. The box blade does a great job for me on the road. If you get too big a box blade and it fills up with gravel your tractor may bog down as it just can稚 pull it. How wide does your tractor sit, outside tire to outside tire? That should be your guide for side of implement. Hope this helps some. :)
 

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   / New Hobby Farm Owner - Need advice on boxblade/scraper
  • Thread Starter
#3  
A 6' boxblade would just cover my tracks and stick out about 3.5" past each wheel. Good point about pulling weight but the tractor is 50HP and I would think is designed to pull a full box with no problems. I thought I saw somewhere on here that TSC had a 6' boxblade for $650 or so. What brands should I be looking at and what prices should I be expecting?
 
   / New Hobby Farm Owner - Need advice on boxblade/scraper #4  
You might want to look at Woods, Bush Hog, and Land Pride as a start. They are going to be higher priced than the TSC, but heavier built. It is good to have a heavy box blade. The weight will help. Look for captured pins instead of pins just sticking out that your lower control arms link to. If you check the Bush Hog and Land Pride websites they give you an idea of which of there model is suited to your HP. My dealer primarily carries Bush Hog although he can bring in Land Pride. I got a price on the Land Pride one from another dealer and my dealer ended up matching it with a heavier duty Bush Hog. When you put those scarficers down and are pulling on that box blade it will take a pretty decent piece of equipment to hold up so do some comparing of how heavy they are built before jumping at price.
 
   / New Hobby Farm Owner - Need advice on boxblade/scraper #5  
For what it's worth, my latest tractor is a 50 horse and I just got a 7 foot Land Pride Box Scraper; don't know if yours is a 4WD or not and this may affect how well you can pull it. When using a box blade with my 2WD tractors, I run out of traction long before HP.

In my opinion a Box Blade is one of the handiest pieces of equipment you can have and a used, faded one will work as well as a shiny new one. Be sure it has replaceable cutting boards though.
 
   / New Hobby Farm Owner - Need advice on boxblade/scraper
  • Thread Starter
#6  
Yeah, it seems like box scrapers take a lot more punishment than other types of attachments out there and I can see how heavier is better. I was hoping to find a used one and may not be able to spring for a new one this year. I may just try and find someone who will rent me one for the weekend. My IH454 is 2WD so traction is always in the back of my mind. I'll definitely look into the manufacturers you listed. Any thoughts on United brand?
 
   / New Hobby Farm Owner - Need advice on boxblade/scraper #7  
damonstealth:

You mentioned agravel drive. We have a "crushed gravel" drive (not to be confused with crushed stone.) The crushed gravel freezes and and doesn't move under a low blade.

I use a landscape rake to do a few passes and it works well nice (might start soon - frost is almost out)

A rear blade is used for plowing snow. Usually hire a sander for $60/ event on a ~ 800ft drive when it gets icy (sp?)
 
   / New Hobby Farm Owner - Need advice on boxblade/scraper #8  
but the tractor is 50HP and I would think is designed to pull a full box with no problems. I thought I saw somewhere on here that TSC had a 6' boxblade for $650 or so.

50 HP and TSC equipment do NOT mix well. Most of their stuff is only rated for 30-35 HP.

My first scraper blade was from TSC and I was a very frequent customer at the local weld shop to fix it. Later I bought a medium duty Woods blade and I haven't been back to the weld shop in ten years.

Look at the Woods, Land Pride and Bush Hog websites. They rate their attachments for different horsepower ranges. Usually the light duty attachments are 30-40 hp max. Medium duty 50-80hp. Besides, with a heavier duty implement, you will get more weight which will help it dig in instead of just skimming over the surface.

I bought a new 7' medium duty box blade last year. It cost around $1300. I'm pulling it with a 50 HP Kubota.

Ken
 
   / New Hobby Farm Owner - Need advice on boxblade/scraper #9  
I picked up a pretty heavy old box blade; so far it's worked well with my Ford 4000 diesel what little I've used it (about 45-50 hp I think?). It's missing most of the scarifiers & they're 3 x 3/4 (iirc) & most I see are 2.5 x 1/2 inch steel & a bit shorter (don't recall the lengths). Can't find any indication of maker; anyone got any ideas on it? Mostly rust color now but may have been white at one time? I'd really like to find a few more teeth for it.

Lew near Waco, TX
 
   / New Hobby Farm Owner - Need advice on boxblade/scraper #10  
Lewbest,
Why not cut some out of flatbar and call it good? Faster than looking for them.
 
 
 
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