Some basic box blade questions

[bill9068]

LOL, all clay here, water never disappears till it hits the lake. You are correct if the down slope exceeds a comfy side slope you can get water running down a wheel track. I have an old driveway with this issue, I put in dips across the driveway that work ok, I think someone called them water boards, but can't remember for sure.

Best,

ed

Water bars.

 

[dirttoys]

Water bars.

Thank you, sounds way less abusive.

 

[MechanicalGuy]

Sounds like you should get a top n tilt system for your box blade for sure if you have all those needs. I got one and it's quite useful.

 

[fried1765]

I had a Kubota L48 TLB that I recently sold and replaced with a Kubota L4060 tractor with FEL Now that my heavy work around my property is complete, I'll be using the L4060 mainly to carry dirt, stone, and mulch, maintain my 1000' driveway and do some minor grading around my property that once done, will not need to be repeated. I never had the backhoe off the L48.

I also had a little JD 670 with a little 4' grading blade that I used to keep my driveway reasonable, but using that is the only experience I have had with a 3PH, and I'm really pretty much a complete rookie. So now with the new machine, I want to get my driveway in much better shape than it is now. My intention is to buy a box blade and a land plane/grader scraper. I want to be able to crown the driveway properly and rebuild that crown when needed.

The other situation I have is that along about 400' of the driveway, on one side, there is a 2' tall embankment with a sharp vertical cut down to the driveway. At the point where that embankment meets the driveway, there was a ditch cut to channel the water from heavy rains down to a culvert halfway down the driveway that passes under the driveway and carries the water down a wash to the stream that runs around our property. That ditch along the embankment regularly gets filled up with sediment and debris and needs to be cleaned out. Up till now, I have not had an efficient way to clean it out. The blade on the little JD 670 was not long enough to reach beyond the wheels of the little tractor. If it was longer, I might have been able to angle it with the left side of the blade up and the right side of it down, and dig the right, bottom tip of the blade into the existing ditch and clean it out. But that blade would have had to be 6' or 7' long to reach far enough beyond the wheels to reach the ditch when set at a sharp angle to dig out the ditch and the little JD didn't have enough weight or power to handle that.

Here are the questions I have:

1. Could I maintain that ditch along the embankment with a box blade? I watched a youtube video where the operator dug a ditch with a box blade, but it was not next to an embankment. If yes, the L4060 is 66" wide. How much beyond the width of the rear wheels would the box blade need to extend in order to dig out the ditch?

2. If a box blade cannot be used to maintain the ditch, hypothetically, could a regular grading blade ....7' or 8' long that pivots on the center attachment bolt be angled enough with the left side up and right side down to dig out that ditch?

3. How do I knock down long, rolling bumps in the driveway? Would the land plane do that or would I need to use the box blade first to knock them down and then use the land plane to finish grade the driveway? When I tried to knock down those bumps with the little JD and 4' grading blade, it just followed the rolling contour of the bumps and did not knock them down. How do you keep the attachment from following the existing contour and instead, get it to knock down hight spots and fill in the low spots?

4. How do you re-build the crown in a driveway after repeated use has worn what I'd call, tire ruts into the driveway and the center of the driveway has built up from the displacement of the gravel?

Thanks for any help.

You need to take a hard look at the .... EA 6 Way Deluxe Scrape Blade .... for 20-50HP tractors.
I have owned 3 rear scrape blades.
My EA 6 Way Deluxe Scrape Blade is by FAR the best I have ever owned!
I have a new box blade that I bought 15+ years ago..... never used! Forget the entire box blade idea!
A box blade is for MOVING dirt, but a scrape blade is for shaping dirt, and crowning your driveway.
I have 50+ years of driveway grading experience.

 

[dirttoys]

You need to take a hard look at the .... EA 6 Way Deluxe Scrape Blade .... for 20-50HP tractors.
I have owned 3 rear scrape blades.
My EA 6 Way Deluxe Scrape Blade is by FAR the best I have ever owned!
I have a new box blade that I bought 10+ years ago..... never used! Forget the entire box blade idea!
A box blade is for MOVING dirt, but a scrape blade is for shaping dirt, and crowning your driveway.
I have 50+ years of driveway grading experience.

Smart guy. Box blade does do somethings well, but, in general you are spot on with the scraper.

Best,

ed

 

[jgoodma1]

You need to take a hard look at the .... EA 6 Way Deluxe Scrape Blade .... for 20-50HP tractors.
I have owned 3 rear scrape blades.
My EA 6 Way Deluxe Scrape Blade is by FAR the best I have ever owned!
I have a new box blade that I bought 15+ years ago..... never used! Forget the entire box blade idea!
A box blade is for MOVING dirt, but a scrape blade is for shaping dirt, and crowning your driveway.
I have 50+ years of driveway grading experience.

You need to take a hard look at the .... EA 6 Way Deluxe Scrape Blade .... for 20-50HP tractors.
I have owned 3 rear scrape blades.
My EA 6 Way Deluxe Scrape Blade is by FAR the best I have ever owned!
I have a new box blade that I bought 15+ years ago..... never used! Forget the entire box blade idea!
A box blade is for MOVING dirt, but a scrape blade is for shaping dirt, and crowning your driveway.
I have 50+ years of driveway grading experience.

Thanks for that info. With a rear scrape blade, as a rule, should the blade be the same width as the tractor, particularly if the blade has offset capabilities?

 

[MechanicalGuy]

Thanks for that info. With a rear scrape blade, as a rule, should the blade be the same width as the tractor, particularly if the blade has offset capabilities?

No, you want it much wider so that when you have it at an angle it can cover Your Tracks. Mine is 8' wide but my tractor width is about 6'.

 

[dirttoys]

Thanks for that info. With a rear scrape blade, as a rule, should the blade be the same width as the tractor, particularly if the blade has offset capabilities?

I was taught it should at least cover the wheels at a 30 degree angle.

Best,

ed

 

[Williy]

Using a blade when ;your tractor hits a bump your blade goes
up and leaves a lump more bumps more lumps???? So how
is a blade better than a box blade???

willy

 

[dirttoys]

Using a blade when ;your tractor hits a bump your blade goes
up and leaves a lump more bumps more lumps???? So how
is a blade better than a box blade???

willy

Draft will help some. I have found if you angle the blade you will change the trailing bump you create. If you then swing the angle the other way and attack from the other direction, you will end up with your surface pretty perfect. It really isn't rocket surgery, or deep mystical manipulation of the blade as just the right second, but, it does take a couple of passes in each direction, then swap angle and make a couple more.

Best,

ed