Box Blade Cutting Angle?

[IndyIan]

Build it strong and heavy with some good size scarifiers. Some times I'll use a scarifier as a rock pick to hook a big rock out of the ground, using the hyd top link and 3pth. So often the whole tractor gets pulled back by one tooth.

 

[workinonit]

HE is asking the angle of attack for the cutting edge.

A box blade dont really have any other angles other than that

And 70 degrees is pretty normal

Hey Just wondering if there are standard angles for the cutting edge to be attached onto a box blade? I have 1023E and plan on building a 54" Box blade. I plan on using a strip of hardox for the cutting edge. I cannot however find a good reference on the cutting angle. If parallel to ground were 0 degrees and perpendicular to ground was 90 degrees. what should it be? thanks

Ok. I apparently read his post wrong that said he was BUILDING a box blade and wanted to know what angle to set his blades. Oh, no, I didn't read it wrong. My point was that he wasn't looking for how to adjust the box blade behind the tractor to change the angle, he is looking for what angle to set his blades on a new build. And yes, that is the angle of attack. I was just offering real live data on the landplane that I built. Mine are at 45 degrees. I'm done. He can build it how he wants.

 

[Too many Kubotas]

Alright, the first measurement from an 8-foot box blade isn't all that precise, as I don't think I got the angle finder centered on the curved cutting edge. Anyway, that one came out to 40 degrees from vertical.

A little 4-footer came to 35 degrees. Sorry, but the 7-footer I couldn't get any kind of decent measurement from as the cutting edge is too deep into the dirt after it sitting for two years.

 

[dodge man]

A picture of mine from the back side. I would have said the blade is nearly straight up and down but there is quite a bit of angle to it.

 

[IndyIan]

Here's mine when I got it, the sides have been worn down and they flipped the cutting edge on the inside to the new side, so you can just see the angle. The cutting edge on the rear isn't flipped and is worn almost an inch This one is around 150+lbs per foot, an old 7' gannon high back. The odd time I've clogged it full with damp clay and 2400lb lifting on the 3 point can't get it off the ground. The hyd top link always tilts it forward though and usually stuff slides out then.

 

[markb4343]

wow everyone thanks for all the replies! There is a bunch of good input, I attached an initial start to my cad model (its not done) . I'm wondering from what I'm gathering if i should do a 45 degree cutting angle. That may be a bit aggressive, but I'm unsure of the down falls exactly. as I see it it will pull sod/hard soil up instead of trying to push it. I understand that too much angle will bring soil up over the box? But my rear moldboard has a decently long vertical stretch. also by the the time the box is at capacity full of dirt I'm thinking the 1023E will be pulling pretty hard.

Also to handle a slightly more aggressive attack angle, I'm thinking about having a set of bolt on adjustable skis and also bolt on straight walls. I attached image of ski idea I'm thinking also. Also I see it that adjustable side walls/skis I can change the amount the blade protrudes past the bottom of the implement,

For the cutting edge itself I will be using 1/2" AR450 Hardox if im right. I will be grinding the bevel on the blade myself with a grinding jig... and patience

 

[old and tired]

....to handle a slightly more aggressive attack angle, I'm thinking about having a set of bolt on adjustable skis and also bolt on straight walls....

No need for that, if it's too aggressive, simply extend your top link so you ride on the rear blade more...

A box blade is all about the top link length. Short it's aggressively digs in, the longer you make it, the less it digs and once you extend the top link enough to where it rides on the back blade, it will fill low spots and smooth out behind the BB.

I have to say with your 1023E, you will be limited, by weight and your tires. Do they make ag/R1 tires for your tractor?

 

[jwmorris]

I attached image of ski idea I'm thinking also.

I have had the same thought, making it a land plane that can capture some amount of dirt.

Then I came across a Craigslist box blade for cheap that had a hinged rear blade so it was a great “cutter” but not as good at smoothing since one couldn’t ride on the rear fixed blade, it would just swing up and you were back to cutting.

I wound up removing the 3pt, teeth and blades from it and welding on sides and using 3/8” x 6” angle to make a land plane. It beats a box with skis for smoothing by a mile. The ball on the back is for a water filled roller to push the rocks back into the dirt.

I made cuts where the red lines are.

I also made it where I could adjust the blades up and down, from the replaceable wear edges On the bottom. The blades are tilted forward for an angle slightly less than 45 deg from vertical.

That said, those don’t move dirt very well from one location to another as it rolls over the blades.

Fast forward a couple years and I had piles of crushed concrete I needed to smooth out at the house and I made this using the box.

I used the electric trailer Jack as a linear actuator at the house because I was using a machine that had a fixed hitch height, so it was the only way I could control blade height, I haven’t plugged it in since I took it to the farm, I just use a 3pt draw bar. It allows a more precise depth of cut than a box and a more level release but will carry more material from one spot to another than a landplane.

The piviot in the rear is where the blade mounted and I came up with another I had to cut down for the inside.

So those came from my least favorite of 3 box blades but now that I have them, I don’t use the ones I favored much. For the most part road/trail maintenance is what I am doing.

 

[Too many Kubotas]

Nice! I made a very simple swing arm setup for a cut down trailer axle, then bought a cheap hydraulic cylinder for the height adjustment.

As it turned out, the cylinder is really only used for transport, then set to rough height for moving dirt. Cutting depth is then fine tuned with the 3-point.

When wanting really good precision I put a 4-foot extension on the tongue.

 

[dodge man]

I took a look at mine again today and a 45 degree angle is probably not far off. My cutting edges are curved also and they don’t extend very far, if any, below the sides of the box blade.