Box Scraper Box Blade 101

Daronspicher · Apr 1, 2015

Hi, I'm going to have a 400' limestone driveway over the years to keep up.

I look at box blades and think I have a decent idea what the big idea is, but then just like everything else, I wonder if they work half as good as it looks like they should.

Can someone walk through how it actually works.

Let's assume a limestone driveway that's pretty hard and has dippity doo's here and there.

Are the teeth in the down position, just a hole enough so they do a bit of busting things up, then the forward traveling blade gathers material from high points and lets it go into low points. The rear facing blade?? smooth things out?

Seems there are Box Blades where the rear facing blade is on a hinge so material doesn't build up between the front and rear blades. Do you actually blade in reverse? Something about that seems wrong, so what is the point of the rear facing blade?

I have a Kubota M5400DT, am thinking of a 6 or 7 footer with I think 6 or 7 teeth. Does the BB float along (I'll have to check if my tractor has that) or should I be having down pressure. I have a hydraulic top link and also a hydraulic 3pt arm sizer (can lift one side up or down to angle stuff or level it.) which seem like they would be handy for a BB.

I'm looking to learn here, I appreciate your help getting up to speed on how these really work.

Would I want the BB with the hinged rear blade, or just the standard unhinged one?

Thanks, -Daron

/pine · Apr 1, 2015

A couple of things...The learning curve for a box blade (to use efficiently) is about as steep as they come for 3ph attachments...many here will tell you other options would be better...
IMO, regardless of what grading/grooming implement you choose...a hydraulic top link is paramount...and in many cases a side link is equally as valuable...

In the same respect...many will suggest a land plane type grader...which from what I've read (mostly here) they have one of the easiest learning curves to master...

Good Luck...

Fallon · Apr 1, 2015

The back facing blade can be either used for smoothing or pushing backwards. A 3pt is designed for pulling, NOT pushing, so you are likely to break things if you do much aggressive pushing. Most higher end box blades have a hinged rear blade so the front blade can dig more aggressively.

Always remember weight matters. A heavier blade of any type will dig better & cut harder the heavier it is. Also weight is usually a good proxy for strength. So a heavier blade will last longer & withstand more abuse than a lighter one.

Fallon · Apr 1, 2015

Daronspicher said:
I have a Kubota M5400DT, am thinking of a 6 or 7 footer with I think 6 or 7 teeth. Does the BB float along (I'll have to check if my tractor has that) or should I be having down pressure. I have a hydraulic top link and also a hydraulic 3pt arm sizer (can lift one side up or down to angle stuff or level it.) which seem like they would be handy for a BB.

98% of tractors don't have the ability to put any down pressure on a 3pt they are for lifting only. I'm pretty darn sure Kubota has never done that. At any rate down pressure would mean up pressure & loss of traction for your rear tires. You will probably want to fill your rear tires for ballast (traction) anyway.

As I said previously weight matters. That's the case for most all 3pt implements.

Generally you want an implement slightly wider than your rear tires. Box blade, back blade (figure this when the blade is angled), snow blower, rotary cutter, what have you. This is often referred to as clearing your tracks.

Read through this section looking for box blade threads, you'll find a lot of good info.

jeff9366 · Apr 1, 2015

Here are a passel of ADJUST BOX BLADE threads from the T-B-N archive:

https://www.google.com/?gws_rd=ssl#q=adjust+box+blade+site:tractorbynet.com

There are a lot of Box Blade videos on Youtube.

Consider purchase of a ROLLOVER BOX BLADE.

Who make the L120 tractor? If you were more specific you would receiver replies tailored to your tractor.

Fallon · Apr 2, 2015

He said he had a Kubota M5400dt...

Also he has a hydraulic top link. One of the main reasons to look at a rollover box blade I was told was if you didn't have a hydraulic top link. The rollover is more forgiving relating to top link adjustment. As he can adjust at will that benefit is moot.

Creamer · Apr 2, 2015

I agree with /pine. A box blade will do the job but it is more difficult than other tools. one of the big issues with any 3pt implement is that it is hanging out back and as the front of the tractor goes up and down (in and out of holes and over bumps) the tractor pivots around the rear axle and consequently this thing hanging out the back goes up and down as well.

I have used a land plane and they work well but they are a single purpose tool - leveling only. I use a standard back blade (no box) that I can manually angle. Then instead of just dragging the gravel you move it diagonally and respread the rocks as needed to level out the road similar to a large road grader. The more the blade is angle the more it counteracts the rocking effect I mentioned earlier. By adjusting the leveling of the 3 pt arms I can set the blade to do what I want. I maintain almost a 1/4 mile of limestone driveway this way and I only need to go over it a few times a year to keep it nice.

I also use this blade for snow removal.

TugHillDog · Apr 3, 2015

To one of the original posters questions about the teeth: The box blade outperforms many other devices in removing potholes from gravel road surfaces. I've seen lots of people that spend time/money filling in the holes. Now you have holes that are full of material that will shortly exit from traffic. The box blade teeth, scarifers, allow you to bust up the road surface to below the pothole bottom and at the same time smooth out the resulting surface of material. An important thought that goes with this is to be sure that your road surface is deep enough to sustain that kind of aggressive manipulation.

jeff9366 · Apr 3, 2015

Creamer said:
A box blade will do the job but it is more difficult than other tools.

One of the issues with any 3pt implement is that it is hanging out back and as the front of the tractor goes up and down (in and out of holes and over bumps) the tractor pivots around the rear axle and consequently this thing hanging out the back goes up and down as well.

For others without TnT: a Hydraulink (shock absorber) ameliorates this "hobby-horse" effect when using a Box Blade. Also useful when using a Landscape Rake. I have never operated an Angle Blade but I speculate it would be useful with a blade too.

When I had my B3300SU Kubota tractor-loader package the Hydraulink reduced shocks to the relatively light 'B' frame and to my body considerably when it was used. I used Hydraulink with most of my implements then. I though Hydraulink would add to the longevity of the B3300SU.

Now that I have a heavier Kubota L3560 I use the Hydraulink with my Rollover Box Blande and Landscape Rake only.