Grading Tips on using a blade or box blade on rough ground

[fishingreg]

I have had limited success using my blade or my box blade on ground that has ruts or is very uneven. I have a L3400 tractor and I'm using a 6' blade or a 5' box blade. My challenge is with my wheeled tractor every time my back wheels go in a rut, the blade cuts another rut in the ground 3 foot behind the tires then dumps the dirt making a hump when the wheels get on top of the next hump. It seems the process is endless. On somewhat smooth ground, I have very good success. I don't know if there is a good way to achieve the results I am looking for with a wheeled tractor my size or not but if anyone would know it would be the group of folks on this site. Am I doing something wrong or is that just the nature of a tractor and a blade vs. a tracked machine? Any helpful hints will be greatly appreciated.

Thanks,
Greg

 

[teg]

Read this:
http://www.tractorbynet.com/forums/...uide-using-box-blade.html?highlight=box+blade

then come back if you still have a question... (hate to point to another thread but this is a good one.)

 

[Ryansweatt2004]

You need to pay close attention to the rear blade or box blade as you drive over high and low spots. Take your time and rais/lower the implement as needed to follow the grade that your trying to accomplish. Remember, with a rear blade or box blade, any time the front of the tractor rides up over a high spot it will force the cutting edge deeper into the dirt which leaves a low spot. Any time the front of the tractor rides into a low spot the rear blade will be lift up from the ground and dump dirt making a new high spot. The trick to solving this is mainly patience. You will need to get used to raising or lowering the rear cutting edge slightly to compensate as the front of the tractor rides up on a high spot or down into a low spot. It takes some practice but you can do a lot with a box blade and rear blade to level out ruts.

 

[/pine]

I would first try angling the rear blade so it cuts the ruts at an angle...another option is using scarifiers on the box blade to pulverize the shoulders of the ruts with a few passes...

 

[fishingreg]

Thank you all for your responses, Teg, I have read the forum link you sent and that was great. I don't ever mind getting links to previous conversations, there is no reason to restate everything all the time. That thread was very descriptive with lots of knowledge. I will put it to test this weekend. Sounds like I just need to take my time and divide the process up into sections and do each step in order to achieve the results I am looking for. Thank you all.

 

[TripleR]

Here is another one and if it helps, I've been using the darned things for years and still am not as good as I'd like to be.

http://www.tractorbynet.com/forums/owning-operating/214590-how-use-box-blade.html

 

[4570Man]

I set the rippers all the way down and the blade as aggressive as possible. The 3 point hitch floats up up when your tractor wheel goes in a rut so this should have very little effect. You can push the blade backwards for a few feet which is more aggressive. This method works good for taking out a hump, but your tractor quickly runs out of traction.

 

[teg]

Thank you all for your responses, Teg...

Bottom line, it takes practice to learn how to use the box blade or actually learn from your mistakes. If you plan to use the box blade or rear blade a bunch, Top and Tilt hydraulics help you change angles very quickly. Yea, it's more money but it speeds up the learning process to be able to quickly change the angles.

I run my box blade with most of the weight on the rear blade, having the front blade only cutting the high spots.

 

[jenkinsph]

Bottom line, it takes practice to learn how to learn to use the box blade or actually learn from your mistakes. If you plan to use the box blade or rear blade a bunch, Top and Tilt hydraulics help you change angles very quickly. Yea, it's more money but it speeds up the learning process to be able to quickly change the angles.

.

I agree, ^^^
Plenty of seat time and tnt makes for improvement. Don't expect great results right out of the gate. Drive the tractor only as fast as you can keep the box blade at the right height. Speed will come with practice.

 

[s219]

When I hear people describe problems like this, it usually means they are not floating the box blade. You should make sure the 3-pt hitch is dropped all the way down so the implement is floating. That way it stays in constant contact with the ground no matter what your wheels are doing (within reason of course).

To be honest, I don't understand how your box is going to dig a rut when the rear wheels enter a rut, because the 3-pt doesn't have downforce. It cannot drag the box down because the 3-pt cannot exert downforce.

Now if you'r driving around with the box blade slightly elevated, then it will contact the ground and float when you enter a dip with the wheels. But that's why I say to make sure the box is floating all the time. Keep it in contact with the ground and use toplink length to change how aggressively it digs or smooths.

As long as the box can float, it's going to be working under the action of gravity and be able to stay in fairly even contact with the ground no matter what the wheels are doing. From there, top link length tweaks the angle of attack.