Grading Blade or Box ????

Anonymous Poster · Aug 7, 2001

Fella's, I need some help;

What is the best implement for grading stone/gravel? I've got a 600' curved drive that goes up a hill. I am torn between buying a blade or a box, but have no idea which one is better for what I will be doing. So, if you can offer any suggestions for what implement type, size, brand, etc. I sure would appreciate it. My tractor (read that "baby") is a L3010HST.

Thank you for the help.

Bird · Aug 7, 2001

Frank, you can angle a blade to pull loose material from the sides up to the center, so it's better for smoothing loose material. However, it's easier to damage a blade (not nearly as tough and strong as a box blade) and they're lighter weight so they don't dig in as well if you have a hard surface to cut down. And to tell you the truth, I've never even used just a blade. I thought I was going to buy one once, but neighbors told me to get the box blade instead and I did. One neighbor has both and I know he hasn't used the straight blade in the 6.5 years I've known him. He's told me to just get it and use any time I want it, but with the box blade, I still haven't tried the other one. And I don't have any snow to play in, but from what I've read, the blade would be better for snow removal than the box blade.

Bird

JimMorrissey · Aug 7, 2001

Frank,

You gotta search for prior posts on this subject...it's a very hot topic. There's more info than you need in old posts. Also, check under the Related Topics at the bottom of the home page and look for the "Implements" discussion group for other posts on the blade vs. box dilemma; it's a tough one with heavyweights on both sides of the ring.

I had the same issue and got the blade...wish I had both. I think I'm gunna weld my own box blade this winter.

glennmac · Aug 7, 2001

I have a 6' backblade and have never used a boxblade. A good backblade can be tilted, angled and offset. This can be very helpful when pulling gravel from the side of the drive and for crowning the drive. The backblade can also be used for trenching, and is very effective as a snow mover.

If I didnt want to plow snow, I would have bought a 6' landscape rake that has a flipdown blade and endcaps. You can then get the benefit of both a rake and a blade on your gravel and dirt.

dsinger · Aug 7, 2001

How would you use the rear blade to trench. I searched at other sites in the forum and was unable to find a post on this subject. I just purchased a B7500 and have to clear out a small ditch and was thinking of using my FEL but would be interested in how to setup and use my rear blade. Thanks for any suggestions.

glennmac · Aug 7, 2001

Well, you can't dig the kind of trench that a trencher or a backhoe can dig. But you can, for example, dig a drainage trench on the shoulder of your drive by tilting the blade 30 or 45 degrees and angling it forward on the trench side. It will then scoop up the dirt as you drive forward. You can also offset the blade so it can cut deeper on later passes. Another use would be to cut and level "steps" on the side of a hill with the same technique. This assumes your ground is soft enough to be amenable to this kind of landscaping.

dsinger · Aug 7, 2001

Thanks for the help. Your solution should work fine for me as all I am trying to do is to clean up a shallow drainage ditch at the side of my drive. After a rain the ground softens nicely and I will try it with the rear blade. My "basic" model Landpride will angle but the tilting is limited to what is available with the top linkage adjustment on the 3 pt. Still your plan should do the job.

treeboone · Aug 8, 2001

I've owned both, but in my situation, the blade gets more use. One advantage to the blade is being able to cast material to a berm on the side. I had a couple of economy and utility weight blades on my 24 HP Case IH and they were fine. I mainly used them for snowplowing and pioneered the driveway and building site with them. Now with the 4610 Kubota, I got a 84 inch 35 series landpride that tilts and offsets. It can pull a small bar ditch and the extra weight definately cuts ground better than the lighter blades. The extra linkage gives more slop but it seems to be OK when it is loaded. For my purposes, a good quality blade gets alot more use than a scraper. I would advise that you look beyond the job you want to do, when that job is done, what implement will continue to serve you? Can you afford both? Whatever implement you decide on, buy the next higher level quality than you need. A few years down the line you will be working it rather than buying another.