Box scraper vs grading blade

[ukrkoz]

I am buying 1025R JD next Saturday. With mower and front loader.

I have VERY uneven property. It was never properly graded and is what is called "natural grade". Equals to basically waves on lake during mild storm type of surface. Bumps, valleys, puddles of sitting water, runts from rain. It is absolutely torturous to mow, it's so bumpy.

Unfortunately, lower, worse tier, is "face of the house" 3 acre, so I am trying to upkeep it well.

Now that I am getting into tractor business, I am all for slowly regrading it.
I know that I can do some with front loader bucket.

My questions is:

for grass, clay type topsoil, to level all those humps, do I better off with grading blade or scraper box?

Here's pic of what I am talking about. It is not serving well as very detailed description yet, you can still see humps and valleys. Puddles are abundant but it all dries out a bit towards mid May.Upper tier is dry and a bit more level, but still quite uneven.

20181224_094140_HDR.jpg - Google Drive

Plus, I have in mind some upper tier re-grading, to change shape of current layout. We have some useless level transitions running across the entire property upper tier, I want to make it more appealing. So, that type of grading will be involved.

 

[Rich B1]

You may end needing both.

The grader blade is more versatile in doing assorted dirt cutting, moving, etc. A box blade is less versatile in overall dirt work, but, IMO, is superior at leveling, breaking up ground (think rippers), moving material, and finishing.

The box blade is, IME, a slow attachment that requires patience to learn best fore/aft pitch to get it to cut, spread, and finish well. It requires patience.

Reality is, the grader blade requires patience to learn and use correctly as well, but is not as big of a learning curve as the BB.

 

[RoyKing]

That will be a lot of work, turn everything under then buy a laser and start moving dirt, buy soil scoop for rear that way you move two loads at once. More of job for a bigger machine. I hired some guys that do parking lots but you will have turn it under a month before they come in. They were fast and got flatness and pitch perfect, they has laser sensor on the dozer.

 

[WranglerX]

How about adding a couple of removable skids to scraper and it can function as both box blade (skids attached) or scraper with skids removed.... IF you don't need ripper teeth you can probably get by with scraper with skids...

Another option if you just want to drag something to level the surface (knock off highs and fill lows) is a "land plane"...

Dale

 

[kthompson]

Pretty place. You also have option of bringing in dirt to fill the low spots and which will be less mess and easier I think. I agree big job and bigger equipment will provider better leveling. A tiller might be good to loosen dirt to level it. If you have "friends" with equipment you may want to have yard leveling day.

 

[ukrkoz]

I am in no rush. Small steps are fine by me. Basically, I need to take tops off and fill low areas.
there is a caveat to this. If you look at the pic and draw roughly a diagonal left to right corner, left being upper corner, what will be left on the left (Left again?) hand side is wetland. Where the tree and "pond" are. They are really not allowed to be disturbed. I have worked hard to get good standing with neighbors, so it's more one of those "do quiet yourself" jobs.
Land plane is awful expensive to buy, though it does make sense - for the job. But even manufacturer says that it is rather a narrow task tool that is useless for anything else. $1200 for one time job is a bit much, unless to sell after done.

I think, I'll loan tiller for the upper, more level tier. It should do the job "as is", as it's not really that hillocky, as the lower tier, more of various low bumps. It should take me a day to simply till it all and just let be.
Lower though.... I'm afraid, it's box scraper slow "topping", with dragging soil into low areas. As I said, I am in no rush. Weekend here and there. I have about a dozen of major "hills" that need to be taken down and dirt filled into the low spots. Thereafter, it becomes tolerable, considering that my JD will have mower.
I had a guy hired with JD tractor and tow behind mower, looked like 54 inch deck. He did entire low tier in about an hour. My Hustler with 60 inch deck takes 2.5, if not more, hrs, as I have to move it very slowly over the runts and hills. It may turn out ot be quite ok, if I simply shave the hills and move that dirt into the low spots. Even as is, it's the best looking lawn in the area.

Outside of doing a project like this, is there any other use for BB? I have asphalted driveway and no real gravel work else...

 

[s219]

That is going to be a heck of a project for such a small tractor over such a large area. The fact that there is already turf makes it a much harder project. Normally a box blade is better for grading as it accumulates material and can move material from high spots to low spots. But that won't work on turf -- will need to all be stripped off first, then if you're lucky the soil will dry out in a few days/weeks and be workable.

Some people might go at it with a tiller, but then you'll have chunks of turf mixed in with the soil and you can't grade that very well at all.

 

[RoyKing]

That looks like the low spot of the area when, it rains is that the last place that dry's up? That would explain its rolling nature. It has the makings of a bog. Which means you've got to find some place to send the water too, because if it holds water it will end up being rolly again.
If you have no place to send the water to then you need to turn it into thicket with tall grass and not try to make a lawn of it. So if you want a dry lot you need a lot of fill.

 

[WranglerX]

I am in no rush. Small steps are fine by me. Basically, I need to take tops off and fill low areas.
there is a caveat to this. If you look at the pic and draw roughly a diagonal left to right corner, left being upper corner, what will be left on the left (Left again?) hand side is wetland. Where the tree and "pond" are. They are really not allowed to be disturbed. I have worked hard to get good standing with neighbors, so it's more one of those "do quiet yourself" jobs.
Land plane is awful expensive to buy, though it does make sense - for the job. But even manufacturer says that it is rather a narrow task tool that is useless for anything else. $1200 for one time job is a bit much, unless to sell after done.

I think, I'll loan tiller for the upper, more level tier. It should do the job "as is", as it's not really that hillocky, as the lower tier, more of various low bumps. It should take me a day to simply till it all and just let be.
Lower though.... I'm afraid, it's box scraper slow "topping", with dragging soil into low areas. As I said, I am in no rush. Weekend here and there. I have about a dozen of major "hills" that need to be taken down and dirt filled into the low spots. Thereafter, it becomes tolerable, considering that my JD will have mower.
I had a guy hired with JD tractor and tow behind mower, looked like 54 inch deck. He did entire low tier in about an hour. My Hustler with 60 inch deck takes 2.5, if not more, hrs, as I have to move it very slowly over the runts and hills. It may turn out ot be quite ok, if I simply shave the hills and move that dirt into the low spots. Even as is, it's the best looking lawn in the area.

Outside of doing a project like this, is there any other use for BB? I have asphalted driveway and no real gravel work else...

Land plane does not have to be expensive, just make one.. Couple of side rails to float on ground with "blade" suspended between...

I use a 4-5 foot section of railroad track to tow behind tractor to "level" gopher mounds and smooth out area where I have worked ground to death with tractor and its rough and uneven.....

If you gently scalp top of bumps and let it go into hollows and do little bits at a time eventually will have contour you want...

Try looking at GOOGLE Images for "homemade land plane" for inspiration...

Dale

 

[RoyKing]

If the area doesn't flood that will work, but if it holds water it won't last. Because that's how it got that way.