BOX BLADE :: PHOTO comparision of brands

scott_vt · Feb 13, 2006

Mornin Cotton,
Got some clarification this mornin. He gave a price for a rear blade. The price for the GB-72 is $1100, ouch. He tried to sell me a Tuffline for $895. Got back on the phone and called a bigger dealer about 25 miles away, he quoted me a price on the GB-72 at $895, were gettin closer to reality. Maybe I should do a little more huntin /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif

scotty

Cottonhawk · Feb 13, 2006

Scotty,
I think that GB-72 at $895 delivered to your door is not a bad price.

PAB_OH · Feb 13, 2006

This thread is awesome! I just read all 16 pages!

I'm ready to buy a BB now. Anyone have any tips? /forums/images/graemlins/crazy.gif /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif

I really like the captive triple lug lower arm hook ups and the "plate" upper A arm construction as opposed to the "bar" or "angle" on some of the others.

I'm still trying to figure out if i want the Roll Over Blade or not. I have a 1300'+ drive and it needs some re-contouring, especially in the turn about half way up the hill side. Water is running the wrong way on it and carrying a good bit of the base with it.

Thanks to everyone who has posted and especially to Bob for starting it. The pictures have been great and really help to illustrate some of the finer points involved in the design of different brands.

I'll be sure to post pictures of mine this weekend after I make up my mind and buy it!

grunewald · Feb 14, 2006

Bought a Howse BB, have not broken any pins, but have bent the steel they are attached to, twice. The welds did not even penetrate the steel. Would rather just replace the pins if broken, easy job, than to disassemble, heat up, and bend the thing back in place. Do some rough work with it, which I had bought the Dale Phillips my dealer carries, much heavier and stronger. Tried to save a few bucks at the time. Know better now.

Bob_Skurka · Feb 14, 2006

Written by PAB ( ( I have a 1300'+ drive and it needs some re-contouring, especially in the turn about half way up the hill side. Water is running the wrong way on it and carrying a good bit of the base with it. ))

Whatever blade you end up buying, please post photos from several different angles!

As for your water problem, I'd suggest you take a look at putting a drain on the high side and running a culvert or even just a pipe under your driveway. I strongly suspect that you have a problem that won't ever go away until you actually deal with it the right way/the hard way. But once you do, it will minimize your issues for a long time.

Written by Grunewald ( Bought a Howse BB, have not broken any pins, but have bent the steel they are attached to, twice. The welds did not even penetrate the steel. Would rather just replace the pins if broken, easy job, than to disassemble, heat up, and bend the thing back in place. Do some rough work with it, which I had bought the Dale Phillips my dealer carries, much heavier and stronger. Tried to save a few bucks at the time. Know better now. )

Your last line tells it all. Tried to save a few bucks . . . know better now. A Box Blade is a tool that really gets used and abused. By its very nature it pushes the limits of our tractors. Heavier, beefier, sturdier is better.

PAB_OH · Feb 15, 2006

I'll be sure to post pics as soon as I get the blade and mount it on my tractor.

As far as the drive, I have a real nice ditch on the high side of the drive until I get to the turn then it's on the low side and there is a culvert that runs underneath to connect the two. There are even 3 catch basins along the the lower half of the drive to divert water under the drive every so often and allow it to run down into the field and then into the cilvert at the edge of the road.

The guy who started building the place knew what he was doing. The guy who owned it for a year after him and before I bought it basically ripped the driveway up trying to get up in the winter and never repaired it in the spring and the water destroyed a lot of the contouring and carried the stone away.

Thanks for the advice though. Much appreciated. I'll probably get a thread going here soon on the rehab the drive is going to undergo. It needs a lot of work.

The attached photo show how high up I am. You can see the road down below. My drive is to the left of me and goes down about 500 linear feet then makes a hard right and heads out behinid the white barn.

It's a lot steeper than the pictures show! Believe me!

Cottonhawk · Feb 15, 2006

Beautiful lanscape.

PAB_OH · Feb 15, 2006

Thank ya much! I like.
Can't wait to make it even better! /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif

century3045 · Feb 17, 2006

I have the 6ft. woods. It costed 675.00 new in 04. Could have gotten a Howse for 375.00 but comparing the difference I figured I would be wise to take the heavier, better made one at 675.00. I also liked the cutting edge Woods puts on the blade. Its not just part of the metal boxing, looks like it can be replaced fairly easy.

inveresk · Feb 17, 2006

Century3045, if that's a recent photograph, I don't know how you keep your bb looking so good.

I got a Buhler in October and it's already looking pretty beat up. Couple days ago it had it's first repair. The bars between the back of the blade and the top link bent like bananas when the scarifiers met an immovable object and the rotational forces put the flat bars in more compression than they could handle. I managed to straighten them out by backing the bottom of the blade onto a tree stump then made a fix wtih some threaded rod.