soilfarmer49
New member
I didn't see the information on beginners use of boxblade, only the gear driven tooth set-up. Can you post the link again please?
Box Scraper Beginners guide to using a box blade
- Thread starter canoetrpr
- Start date
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Look at post number 8 on the first page.
I have spent many, many hours when I worked construction in CA. on a tractor with a "box scraper" (Gannon) as I was the only one on the crew who had ever touched a tractor (I'm from Nebraska) so I HAD to catch on to how to actually operate one, not just drag it behind me. The Gannon box is a box scraper that moves hydraulically up, down, side to side and the rippers are also hydraulic too. They are a WONDERFUL tool that you can do many, many more things than most people can ever imagine, after a few years I could cut blue tops with it and my finish grading was second to none BUT there are some basic things you HAVE to know to make a box scraper work for you.
I have a Kubota B3000 of my own and it has a Woods box scraper on it and it is a basic unit with no hydraulics. The settings on box blades are a little unusal until you "catch on" to how it actually works.
1:Take you tractor and park it on level concrete surface if possible, make sure you box blade is level when it is about an inch off the ground, if it's not get it leveled up any way you can and it will work much better for you when trying to work your ground.
2: Let the box blade completely on the ground, notice if the front blade is off the ground or the back blade is off the ground. If the back blade is off the ground the box blade is in a "digging" position and no matter what you do it will want to dig, this is fine if you are trying to trim down some ground but you don't want to try to take too much at one time, you will have to do this in several passes, the more passes the more it will go down. If the ground is loose when the box fills just take enough weight off to keep it from dropping while you are dragging the dirt, just have the back blade about 3/4 inch to start with as this is not too agressive but you should be abel to tell if you need to back it off with the middle arm or add a little more angle as long as the front bottom sides are not dragging in the dirt.
3: If you have dirt you are wanting to "feather out" or "spread out" dirt adjust so the front blade is off the ground lifted by the back blade being down further, I would start out about 1/2" up as most box blades are pretty small and will spread out rather quickly.
4: If you are just wanting to move dirt have both the front and back blades hitting the ground evenly and when you get where you want the dirt you are dragging just slowly lift the box up with the 3 point.
5: You can also let more out one side or dig more on one side by adjusting your adjustable arm if you have one. If not you can always let a little air out of one tire and put a little more in the other. Notice I said a little, not the best option but if it's all you got and you HAVE to do it then it will work.
It's simply realizing the front blade of the box is for digging and the back blade is for holding the front blade off the ground for spreading. This is for moving dirt while going forwards.
6: Cutting with the back blade is the same principle but much, much more difficult even with a fully hydraulic Gannon box but you will have traction like nothing else with all the down pressure on the back tires. It takes a ton of practice and a LOT of things can make each situation different but that is the basics of the box blade.
I have a Kubota B3000 of my own and it has a Woods box scraper on it and it is a basic unit with no hydraulics. The settings on box blades are a little unusal until you "catch on" to how it actually works.
1:Take you tractor and park it on level concrete surface if possible, make sure you box blade is level when it is about an inch off the ground, if it's not get it leveled up any way you can and it will work much better for you when trying to work your ground.
2: Let the box blade completely on the ground, notice if the front blade is off the ground or the back blade is off the ground. If the back blade is off the ground the box blade is in a "digging" position and no matter what you do it will want to dig, this is fine if you are trying to trim down some ground but you don't want to try to take too much at one time, you will have to do this in several passes, the more passes the more it will go down. If the ground is loose when the box fills just take enough weight off to keep it from dropping while you are dragging the dirt, just have the back blade about 3/4 inch to start with as this is not too agressive but you should be abel to tell if you need to back it off with the middle arm or add a little more angle as long as the front bottom sides are not dragging in the dirt.
3: If you have dirt you are wanting to "feather out" or "spread out" dirt adjust so the front blade is off the ground lifted by the back blade being down further, I would start out about 1/2" up as most box blades are pretty small and will spread out rather quickly.
4: If you are just wanting to move dirt have both the front and back blades hitting the ground evenly and when you get where you want the dirt you are dragging just slowly lift the box up with the 3 point.
5: You can also let more out one side or dig more on one side by adjusting your adjustable arm if you have one. If not you can always let a little air out of one tire and put a little more in the other. Notice I said a little, not the best option but if it's all you got and you HAVE to do it then it will work.
It's simply realizing the front blade of the box is for digging and the back blade is for holding the front blade off the ground for spreading. This is for moving dirt while going forwards.
6: Cutting with the back blade is the same principle but much, much more difficult even with a fully hydraulic Gannon box but you will have traction like nothing else with all the down pressure on the back tires. It takes a ton of practice and a LOT of things can make each situation different but that is the basics of the box blade.
forhim
New member
OK I have another question. Several times compacting was mentioned. How do I compact the gravel drive after I have it smoothed out. The drive goes up at quite a steep angle and just driving the tractor over it doesn't seem to help at all. Any suggestions? How are you compacting the surface?
OOOPS never mind I just went back and read where that was address. Thanks.
OOOPS never mind I just went back and read where that was address. Thanks.
TractrNoob
Member
Just wanna say I really appreciate this thread. I just bought a box blade and was wondering what I was doing wrong. Now I know! Plus I guess I have a little too much BB for my GT. Any way, thanks to all who participated!
Granite Tractor
Bronze Member
Great tips, thanks so much for posting
BillGast
New member
good synopsis Garrett-- exactly right on the control of the blades. The addition of a hydraulic "top link" makes the forward/reverse material movement a snap. Another type scraper that groomed many many yards in the early 50's is the Gannon rollover or "tumbleweed" scraper. It was a great tool when used with the drft control on the tractor. Using the draft control and proper adjustment of the blades made the tumbleweed the first choice of landscapers cutting swales and moving new material in new housing tracts. It would move material, spread like a champ and to use the ripper, the operator reached back and pulled the release and it "rolled over" to engage the blades. Same operation returned it to scraping. Secret to make it all work is as you pointed out, level the unit and make sure you can return the scraper to the same depth and attitude adjustment after raising , dropping the material and making the next pass.
Gmorin2217
New member
Great information here, just wish I read this a week ago. Now I can go out and practice. Thanks to all who took the time to post and help out the box blade newbs!
Wingsy
Bronze Member
Wow. What a great explanation on how to use a box blade. Thank-you very much Rob (3RRL).
I recently got a 54" BB from Everything Attachments for my BX25. I have a short road and a wide area I want to have graveled and wanted to do it myself, but after playing around with the BB for a while I had my doubts if I could do it well. Or even adequate. Then I hit on this article the other day and discovered what I was missing -- the top link adjustments. I had been told to adjust it so the BB was level to the ground, and that's it. But what a difference a little angle makes. Before, I had tried smoothing out a 20' x 20' area I had used for burning brush. There was a pile of dirt in the center of it before it became a bonfire. After, I hauled away most of it with the FEL then tackled the remains with the BB. Still looked awful. After reading this, I adjusted the front blade about 3/4" higher than the rear blade and hit it again. In one pass it's as smooth as a baby's rump. Now I have hopes for my road. In the first picture you see the difference in front/rear blade height. The second picture shows the results. I wish I had a before picture to show the difference, but trust me, it wasn't pretty.
I recently got a 54" BB from Everything Attachments for my BX25. I have a short road and a wide area I want to have graveled and wanted to do it myself, but after playing around with the BB for a while I had my doubts if I could do it well. Or even adequate. Then I hit on this article the other day and discovered what I was missing -- the top link adjustments. I had been told to adjust it so the BB was level to the ground, and that's it. But what a difference a little angle makes. Before, I had tried smoothing out a 20' x 20' area I had used for burning brush. There was a pile of dirt in the center of it before it became a bonfire. After, I hauled away most of it with the FEL then tackled the remains with the BB. Still looked awful. After reading this, I adjusted the front blade about 3/4" higher than the rear blade and hit it again. In one pass it's as smooth as a baby's rump. Now I have hopes for my road. In the first picture you see the difference in front/rear blade height. The second picture shows the results. I wish I had a before picture to show the difference, but trust me, it wasn't pretty.
Wingsy
Bronze Member
Wow. What a great explanation on how to use a box blade. Thank-you very much Rob (3RRL).
I recently got a 54" BB from Everything Attachments for my BX25. I have a short road and a wide area I want to have graveled and wanted to do it myself, but after playing around with the BB for a while I had my doubts if I could do it well. Or even adequate. Then I hit on this article the other day and discovered what I was missing -- the top link adjustments. I had been told to adjust it so the BB was level to the ground, and that's it. But what a difference a little angle makes. Before, I had tried smoothing out a 20' x 20' area I had used for burning brush. There was a pile of dirt in the center of it before it became a bonfire. After, I hauled away most of it with the FEL then tackled the remains with the BB. Still looked awful. After reading this, I adjusted the front blade about 3/4" higher than the rear blade and hit it again. In one pass it's as smooth as a baby's rump. Now I have hopes for my road. In the first picture you see the difference in front/rear blade height. The second picture shows the results. I wish I had a before picture to show the difference, but trust me, it wasn't pretty.
View attachment 316501
View attachment 316502
I recently got a 54" BB from Everything Attachments for my BX25. I have a short road and a wide area I want to have graveled and wanted to do it myself, but after playing around with the BB for a while I had my doubts if I could do it well. Or even adequate. Then I hit on this article the other day and discovered what I was missing -- the top link adjustments. I had been told to adjust it so the BB was level to the ground, and that's it. But what a difference a little angle makes. Before, I had tried smoothing out a 20' x 20' area I had used for burning brush. There was a pile of dirt in the center of it before it became a bonfire. After, I hauled away most of it with the FEL then tackled the remains with the BB. Still looked awful. After reading this, I adjusted the front blade about 3/4" higher than the rear blade and hit it again. In one pass it's as smooth as a baby's rump. Now I have hopes for my road. In the first picture you see the difference in front/rear blade height. The second picture shows the results. I wish I had a before picture to show the difference, but trust me, it wasn't pretty.
View attachment 316501
View attachment 316502
