Gravel Driveway vs Box Blade

   / Gravel Driveway vs Box Blade #11  
The rear blade will work better than box blade. I have a steep drive also, and got tired of dragging it back up the hill every time it rained hard. The only way I've found to stop the "river runs through it"ordeal was to crown it and dig shallow ditch with hoe down each side because drive is cut into the hill I'm on.
 
   / Gravel Driveway vs Box Blade #12  
I use my box blade for light digging, and dragging a box full of material from a pile to a different spot.

I use my rear grader blade for ALL smoothing operations. Its what it was meant for and works much better than the box for that purpose. I have a 72", because it still covers my tire tracks when used at an angle.

My old Ford tractor is a gear model with 12 forward speeds, and I've found that SLOW is the best speed to use when grading.

Turning the balde around backwards and pushing it in reverse gives increased bite if you have a stubborn spot, otherwise I use it as a drag implement, moving forward. For real finese, you can leave it turned around and drag the surface with the curved back side of the blade too.

Good luck.
 
   / Gravel Driveway vs Box Blade #13  
those woopeidoos are fun HUH!

like others said go SLOW and use the scarfers to break up the top surface to about 2~3" on the humps, that will make it easier to spread the humps out into the lowes...

I don't have a blade but the BOX is great for drive maintenance kind of one thing it was made for , moving and leveling. others said it that the top link is the KEY to getting the blade to do what you want.


tilt the box so that the blade hits slightly before the sides in the front, use the scarfers in just down below the blade height. and only for the first few passes once the gravel is loosened up then retract the scarfers. Move the loose stuff into the lows then tilt the angle slightly flat, so blade and sides touch at same time, pay close attension is best way to get the hills and vallies gone, watch the box fill & empty it when you come to a low by raising it slightly. (my method as no draft control on mine,) though I think the draft control may hurt you with a box and actually cause the high/low problem?

process is not that hard just takes some getting used to and ccorect blade angle with top link.


Mark M /forums/images/graemlins/smile.gif
 
   / Gravel Driveway vs Box Blade #14  
</font><font color="blue" class="small">( And in my opinion you'll continue to have the problem as long as you are trying to raise and lower the box blade with the 3-point hitch (at least I did). )</font>
I totally agree Bird. Putting the 3pt in float causes the box blade to follow the contours and if adjusted properly at the top link will knock off the tops and drag them into the low. Position control is apparently better for this than draft control as when draft control hits a hard spot, it brings the 3pt arms up out of the ground and then drops them back in after the hard stuff is passed. Also, when the tractor tires go into a depression, in float, the box is not pulled up out of the material as it does if not in float. John
 
   / Gravel Driveway vs Box Blade #15  
</font><font color="blue" class="small">( Tell your wife to slowdown! /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif )</font>

So I'm not only one... /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif I try not to watch.
 
   / Gravel Driveway vs Box Blade #16  
DepthCharge:

As others have posted, the problem is the change of angle because of the tires going up & down in the ruts. If the tires are level, the grading will be level. Visualize a washboard (draw a wavy line on a piece of paper). Now draw your tractor in. Playing with adjustments on the top link can help. Going slower makes it easier, etc. But you still have the fundamental problem.

But you can see that by "pushing" instead of "pulling", the tires are running more level as they are riding in the more level gravel/dirt (or whatever you are trying to level). It's a simple issue of the geometry. I didn't like the regular box blade set-up myself, so I bought a roll-over type. The "box" can be pulled, or, rolled over easy with a lever and pushed as needed. The rippers are in a third position and "rolled" into position without the box blade so you can rip without blading. While a bit more expensive than a standard box blade in my view they are much more flexible for leveling work. The leveling work I have done so far would have been much harder and involved a longer learning curve with a standard, fixed box blade with manually adjustable rippers.

JEH
 
   / Gravel Driveway vs Box Blade #17  
Maybe I'm just content in my ignorance, but I don't encounter that on the drive, and I maintain app. 320' of drive. I've had that hill and valley thing happen when tilling dirt, but not using a box blade. If the drive just needs a touch-up, I don't drop the scarifiers. If it has gotten rough, I will drop them to the first hole (perhaps 2") for the first couple of passes. In either case I set the box blade down all the way and just go...rather slowly, and then feather out the excess left in the box when I am finished.
Another device I have found even nicer for just leveling (it won't dig at all) is a land leveler...an 8' is actually less than a 5' box blade, and can be dragged by about 25hp. It has several cross pieces at varying angles to help level material.
 
   / Gravel Driveway vs Box Blade
  • Thread Starter
#18  
Thanks to everyone for the advice.

I ended up putting the 3 point control into float mode and tilting the box blade back to prevent the blade from biting in.

Then I just ran it back and forth for about an hour.
Worked like a charm, the driveway is nice and level now.

I came very close to buying a grader blade that I could angle but I didn't have to do it. I will still buy one in the future but I don't have to now.

Thanks again,

DepthCharge
 
   / Gravel Driveway vs Box Blade #20  
I hope that poor fella figured it out already in the past 9yrs.
 
 
 
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