Box blade not indestructible

[rd_macgregor]

I meant to take a picture, but dropped the unit off for repairs before doing it.
I caught a ripper tooth on a stump while lightly blading some woods trails. The tooth rotated backwards, peeling a 4" strip up from the box beam it was mounted through...just like a can-opener! Oh, it also bent the 3ph pin on that side.
I guess I'm lucky it wasn't a blade that got wracked; I'll bet they're a lot harder to fix.
It seems like trees and tractors don't get along...I've done more damage to the tractor and implements with a few dozen hours in the woods than with hundreds in the fields!
BOB

 

[CBW1999]

WOW..... glad you didn't tear out your lift arm or other important components! Must have made an interesting sound!

Couple of years ago, went to move a boat/trailer on my property. trailer wasn't stuck, but the heaving over the winter created a steep hump to get over. started spinning my tires in 2wd so, Popped it into 4 low eased forward......gave it some gas. Then there was this really interesting sound as I launched forward.

Got out to see what had happened...........ripped the bumper in half at the ball! Guess that surface rust was a little deeper than I thought!

 

[Gordon Gould]

Woods roads are tough to work. On mine I would be afraid to run with the rippers down except working in a small area to fix drainage or flatten a side hill bump. There are just to many roots and rocks. I wouldn't get very far.
You probably have some nice roads if you can rip them. You just got unlucky and didn't see the stump. Now you know it is there. I find it amazing how we can remember where all those obstacles are.
Glad you didn't wreck anything to expensive.

 

[wade simpson]

How fast were you going? I've hooked rocks and roots that stop the tractor but I'm going so slow that it just spins.

 

[Mousefield]

A few months ago I bent my box blade a bit. Had the teeth as high as they go and still managed to hit a large rock that was sticking out of the road maybe 1 inch. The top front middle bent about 1-2 inches, kind of surprised as the tooth is between 2 heavy pieces of metal. Not worth fixing and now I have put the teeth in the holders upside down. Don't usually use the teeth anyway. When I put the backhoe on one of the first things was to go down the road and dig out several large rocks including the offending one. :cloud9:

 

[Soundguy]

yep.. I've seen box blades made into pretzles from stumps and roots.

soundguy

 

[slowzuki]

I've never used a box that hadn't been welded on before! Thats what happens to them.

 

[Soundguy]

it was a long time before I knew you could get implements without extra weld beads and metal grafted onto them..


soundguy

 

[rd_macgregor]

I wasn't going very fast and I'm a bit surprised the wheels didn't spin (especially since I have industrial tires)...maybe having it in 4WD is the culprit!
It sounds like my box blade will start looking like a Frankenstein monster over the next few years, if I keep using it on the woods trails.
If you just run the blade without the rippers, will the blade always pop up over a rock or stump or will it get wracked and twisted, too?
BOB

 

[Soundguy]

it has a better chance of popping up over a rock.. not so much a stump.. however.. hook it right and it will become a pretzle like you found out.

soundguy