Box Blade Help

[Dave5264]

Hi Folks, first time seriously tryig the box blade today. Im removing the grass and top soil froma 80x130 area for a riding ring.

I have the scarifiers dropped down to help tear thru the top layer.

problem is, the scarifiers will cut thru 2 or 3", but the blade itsself is riding an inch or 2 above the ground, it doesnt scrape .

-Ive adjusted the top link to get as aggressive as i can. -- no change
-the 3pt control lever is set as low as it can go
- I adjusted the vertical links - no change
- when i disconnect the blade from the 3pt the lowert control arms will go way below where the ride on the blade, so theyre not hung up

whats the Deal? can anyone help?

 

[countrybumpkin]

sounds like the toplink is not long enough

 

[MtnViewRanch]

Some pictures would help a lot. You know, a pic is worth a thousand words kind of thing.

 

[Mousefield]

Will it work if you raise the scarifiers? So you have the box blade tilted forward? It could be you are asking the boxblade to do too much at the same time. You also may need to add weight to help get the box blade down and/or use the scarifiers first to break up the grass and then use the blade to scrape. For some reason, perhaps your soil, the scarifiers will only dig in so far down thus the blade is above the ground. Can you post some pics of your setup? What type of soil do you have under the grass? As mentioned above make sure your toplink is long enough.

 

[Dave5264]

Hi Guys, ill take a pic next time Im up.

I have to replace one of the pins on the BB too (one that a lower 3pt arm attaches to,) came loose and got bent/stripped the threads

You may be righ wrt raising the scarifiers, the sod is hard, clay below, may be too much to ask of it.

thanks

 

[TDVT]

It could be you are asking the boxblade to do too much at the same time.

When I first got mine I tried the same thing as you & found that it WAS trying to do too much at once. With our rocky soils around here, I had much better luck using it as two different tools, one to break up the soil & then as one to grade. As I've gotten more time with it, I rarely use the scarifiers.

But it does sound as though your top link might be a bit short too.

Also check out the box blade video on Youtube from Everything Attachments.

 

[countrybumpkin]

Also check out the box blade video on Youtube from Everything Attachments.

Good suggestion. I have looked at a few of there videos and seem to be very informative.

 

[Mousefield]

Hi Guys, ill take a pic next time Im up.


You may be righ wrt raising the scarifiers, the sod is hard, clay below, may be too much to ask of it.
thanks

So it could be the scarifiers can't dig any deeper than they are, that is possibly the problem.

 

[hawkshaw1]

I always used the plow points and then raised them and went back with the box blade. I never had much luck with them down and trying to move dirt at the same time.

hawk

 

[skipmarcy]

As others have said a picture would be the ideal thing here. On the rare occasion I use my scarifiers I find it works better to go back without them to actually move the materials. Weight is about the biggest asset when using a boxblade and blade angle is critical too - you shorten your toplink too much and it does just the opposite of what you think it should. Think of slicing something with a knife - you angle it too much and it just rides over instead of cutting into. Also a boxblade will start grabbing more material after you start getting a little material into the box - the weight of the material gathering in the box above the blade will force the blade down some more (like adding weight), that's why I like my hydraulic toplink - you can adjust the angle on the fly as you gain material in your box and/or ground angles change - unless you are on perfectly flat ground the angle of your blade is constantly changing as the front of your tractor goes up or down any grade/hump/hill. Boxblading is definitely a learned skill, practice is absolutely necessary.

 

[SFish]

Hi Dave. Most box blade scarifier teeth have a depth setting where they just touch the ground when the box is sitting level on the ground. With this scarifier setting I tilt the blade forward (shorten the top link) to lower the teeth to rip a few inches deep and cover the whole area I am working. Then I lengthen the top link until the box is tilted only slightly forward to load the box to move dirt. For fine leveling and smoothing I set the blade level to tilted back a little (longer top link). For spreading I tilt the blade all the way back. How much tilt is needed for different tasks changes slowly as the scarifier teeth and the blade edges wear.

In my soil I can rarely rip more than a couple of inches deep, but this works just fine. In really hard ground I sometimes have to remove some scarifiers (turn them upside down). Do this symmetrically in pairs from the outside in to keep the pull straight. If you do much of this kind of work a top and tilt kit works wonders.

Steve

 

[Dave5264]

Hi Dave. Most box blade scarifier teeth have a depth setting where they just touch the ground when the box is sitting level on the ground. With this scarifier setting I tilt the blade forward (shorten the top link) to lower the teeth to rip a few inches deep and cover the whole area I am working. Then I lengthen the top link until the box is tilted only slightly forward to load the box to move dirt. For fine leveling and smoothing I set the blade level to tilted back a little (longer top link). For spreading I tilt the blade all the way back. How much tilt is needed for different tasks changes slowly as the scarifier teeth and the blade edges wear.

In my soil I can rarely rip more than a couple of inches deep, but this works just fine. In really hard ground I sometimes have to remove some scarifiers (turn them upside down). Do this symmetrically in pairs from the outside in to keep the pull straight. If you do much of this kind of work a top and tilt kit works wonders.

Steve

Thanks for all the tips guys.

This weekend ill try with the scarifiers up, and play withthe top link length to see what i can get.

I got the new lift pin yesterday (and a spare) so I should be good to go on Saturday

 

[Dave5264]

Well, it was an eventful weekend with the BB, and not all good.

I got the new lift pin installed, and set to work, I experimented with the depth of the scarifiers and the length of the top link. Eventually, by shortening the top link a bit more, i got the blade to do a "bit" of scraping.

I think the ground is so hard it just skims the top.

I just took my time and made many many passes/rounds to get the sod off. Not done but getting there.

then.... I moved to project number 2 (landscaping a few humps and bumps out of the side yard (clay...hard clay). I decided, for reasons unknown, that it would be best to use the back blade and reverse into one particular bump of clay......not a good decision.... the blade dug in and the frame of the BB folded like paper....looked just like a snow play blade tips when the relief springs trip.....except as you know, there are no trip springs on the BB.

The BB is now in the local tractor repair shop undergoing straightening.

both the steel mounting points for the lower pins are bent 45degrees, the brackets that run from the lower lift pins to the top line and bent and twisted.



I guess I had too aggressive an angle for pushing backwards.

on the Up side, the Tractor is ok,

Lesson learned the hard way

 

[MtnViewRanch]

Sorry to hear of your troubles. but be glad that the damage was done to the BB and not your tractor.:thumbsup: Hopefully the repair shop is not strengthening it too much with the repair. You don't want your tractor to be the weak link, always better to damage the implement before the tractor.

 

[Artimus]

Hope the repair bill is not too stiff and you get it worked out. Out of curiosity do you have a draft control? If so, the depth setting may be too shallow and adjusting it might help with the blade. Yep, you guessed it, I made that mistake once. : )

 

[Dave5264]

Hope the repair bill is not too stiff and you get it worked out. Out of curiosity do you have a draft control? If so, the depth setting may be too shallow and adjusting it might help with the blade. Yep, you guessed it, I made that mistake once. : )

Supposedly, yes. but the instruction manual with these Romanian mande (60's technology) is sketchy at best.

I know what postion the lever has to be in, and the locking wedge has been removed fromthe top link spring, but I dont know what to do to set the Depth (?).

any tips ?

 

[mwb]

Can you disk your riding area to loosen the sod? Might be a lot more efficient than what you are trying to do.

 

[Barely Smokin']

x2. If you can angle disc it for a couple passes, then straighten the discs, that usually works pretty good. Ideally, follow up with a drag----something along the lines of a 8' section of 6" I-beam. Works way better than a BB or rear blade for what you're trying to do. A disc will chop up and turn the turf but otherwise leave it in place (although the finish surface will be pure dirt). A BB will not chop; so you either have to leave the turf clumps there or scrape the entire lot clean.

But, if all you've got is a BB, I'm sure you can make it work. Here's my technique:

- Lower scarifiers max depth.
- Tilt BB all the way forward. The goal here is to tear up the turf. Don't worry about moving any dirt just yet. Keep tearing it up until it's good and torn up.
- Now, if the soil is loose enough you can accumulate enough dirt in the BB so that it will mix the turf bits in with the dirt and spit it out the back. To do that:
1. Make the rear of the BB 2 - 3" higher than the leading edge of the BB.
2. Adjust the scarifiers so that they're level with or slightly lower than the leading edge of the BB.

The idea here is to agitate the soil going in to the BB. If you get the 3PH hitch at the right height and the rear of the BB kicked up a little, the BB will fill up with dirt (which also helps it dig) and pay out a nice, even layer of dirt. BUT, if you have big clumps of grass mixed in there, it's likely to be pretty rough and probably won't work very well.

In that case, beg your neighbor for a disc! Or, lower the rear of your BB to level (I'd keep your scarifiers level with the BB, too) and start scraping all the turf off to the side. Remember, you'll need to scarify the heck out of the turf before you'll be able to pull this off. Grass clumps have a tendency to "roll" out of the BB, which lifts the BB and let's all the dirt out in a big hump. Good luck!

 

[Dave5264]

x2. If you can angle disc it for a couple passes, then straighten the discs, that usually works pretty good. Ideally, follow up with a drag----something along the lines of a 8' section of 6" I-beam. Works way better than a BB or rear blade for what you're trying to do. A disc will chop up and turn the turf but otherwise leave it in place (although the finish surface will be pure dirt). A BB will not chop; so you either have to leave the turf clumps there or scrape the entire lot clean.

But, if all you've got is a BB, I'm sure you can make it work. Here's my technique:

- Lower scarifiers max depth.
- Tilt BB all the way forward. The goal here is to tear up the turf. Don't worry about moving any dirt just yet. Keep tearing it up until it's good and torn up.
- Now, if the soil is loose enough you can accumulate enough dirt in the BB so that it will mix the turf bits in with the dirt and spit it out the back. To do that:
1. Make the rear of the BB 2 - 3" higher than the leading edge of the BB.
2. Adjust the scarifiers so that they're level with or slightly lower than the leading edge of the BB.

The idea here is to agitate the soil going in to the BB. If you get the 3PH hitch at the right height and the rear of the BB kicked up a little, the BB will fill up with dirt (which also helps it dig) and pay out a nice, even layer of dirt. BUT, if you have big clumps of grass mixed in there, it's likely to be pretty rough and probably won't work very well.

In that case, beg your neighbor for a disc! Or, lower the rear of your BB to level (I'd keep your scarifiers level with the BB, too) and start scraping all the turf off to the side. Remember, you'll need to scarify the heck out of the turf before you'll be able to pull this off. Grass clumps have a tendency to "roll" out of the BB, which lifts the BB and let's all the dirt out in a big hump. Good luck!

Yup, BB is all I have. thanks for the Tips !!, this will help me for sure.

I did lower the scarifiers and do that first...but probably not enough.

I need more equipment !