Boxblade Usefulness Survey

GlueGuy · Jan 27, 2002

Doc,

I think from your description that you have T&T for the 3PH. Although some question the usefulness of the T&T (and some just the tilt part), I think that this one enhancement makes all the difference in the world. Probably more so because of the tilt.

When you backdrag a FEL, the best you can do is level, with reference to the wheels of the tractor. However, with a tilt control and a boxblade, you can actually change the angle or slope of what you are working on. This is critical when doing things like grading a road or driveway, because you need to create a crown to allow the driveway/road to shed water. If all you could do was level, then you would have very little control of the shape. Well, you could, but would take a long, long time to accomplish it.

John_Mc · Jan 27, 2002

I will probably break down and put in the hydraulics for top-n-tilt by the spring time. After getting on and off to make adjustments...

I'm definitely happy with my top-n-tilt, but I have to admit, I probably learned to use the boxblade faster by not having it... it forced me to think through my adjustments and what their consequences would be (or face the prospect of even more trips up and down off the tractor). I COULD have gotten the same results without TNT, it just would have been a longer, more tiring process.

John

Bird · Jan 27, 2002

difference between a regular box blade and a rollover boxblade

I think there are some other folks on the forum who can do better job of describing them, but basically, a regular box blade is a fixed, rigid box with the front blade angled forward and the rear blade angled back. The scarifiers or rippers can be raised or lowered, one at a time manually on most (although they are also made with scarfiers that can be raised or lowered hydraulically). The roll over blade has a lever at the top and by pulling the lever, you let it "roll over" to whichever one of the three uses you want; scarifiers, forward tilted blade, or backward tilted blade. They're not the best pictures in the world, but you might look at some at <A target="_blank" HREF=http://www.bushhog.com>http://www.bushhog.com</A>, click on "Commercial and Landscape", then on the type of blade you want to see. Roll over blades usually cost considerably more.

cowboydoc · Jan 28, 2002

Mike,
No I just reach back and move it manually. Yes I think that the T&T would be a nice feature and save time no doubt. I can do the same thing by manually moving the top link or the three point arm. My scarifers also have three positions that I can manually move them to.

fishman · Jan 28, 2002

Glennmac,

Hmm, I have to agree with what Trescrowes, Glueguy, and Cowboydoc have to say. My boxblade is second in utility only to my FEL. Of course I currently own only two implements for my 2910!/w3tcompact/icons/wink.gif
Here's what I've been able to accomplish with my boxblade recently:

1) Smoothed out my entire drive without top-n-tilt./w3tcompact/icons/shocked.gif Yes, I know it sounds impossible, but it's true.

2) Completed landscaping the entrance to my drive by using the rippers and backblading with the FEL. Looks great.

3) Converted a brushy area to lawn. The rippers tore out all of the small stumps and roots and by backblading with the FEL, a smooth surface resulted.

4) Ripped up a large flat area with the rippers. The topsoil will be removed with the FEL, and a gravel pad will take it's place. Hopefully a pole barn will magically appear, but that's probably too much to ask of the boxblade.

5) Successfully "tilled" the garden with thee rippers to a nice consistency. Ready to plant.

This was all accomplished with a $288 box blade. I could probably use a little more weight, but since I've never had it, I don't miss it (kind of like top-n-tilt). I know that a tiller would be more usefull for the garden, and a landscape rake might work better for making a lawn, but a boxblade's versatility can only be beat by an FEL, in my opinion.

MikePA · Jan 28, 2002

This sounds like a boxblade could be used as a 'poorman's tiller'. True?

cowboydoc · Jan 28, 2002

Very true Mike. Mine has 6 tines on it and works really well.

glennmac · Jan 28, 2002

Well, I see that the 10 members of TBN who have mastered boxblading have come to the vigorous self-defense of of their investments.....I also defend my Mustang convertible as a useful hauling vehicle mainly because it is the only one I own......Obviously I am getting outnumbered here because the silent TBN majority of vegetarian liberal Democrats is again remaining silent.....I find it interesting that boxblades continue to spark the most controversy and frustration of any implement by far on this forum...controversy that is only matched by the political and hunting threads........All seriousness aside, it is clear that many find boxblades useful implements .... more so in parts of the country, or on land, that has non-bouldery soil that is amenable to scarifying and fluid movement.

GlueGuy · Jan 28, 2002

more so in parts of the country, or on land, that has non-bouldery soil that is amenable to scarifying and fluid movement

Don't know what the "boxblade factor" is, but our land is boulder-y, and you have to get those outa there before the boxblade works well. On Sunday I was working our "lower flat", creating an area where we want to install a pergola, but it wasn't flat. I originally tried to dig it out with the FEL, but that was a loser because of all the rock and boulders. Then I tried to scrape it out with the boxblade. That didn't work either because I couldn't "square off" the corners and get all the way back, although it work better than the boxblade.

So I borrowed a neighbors "dig-it". ALthough it is a puny gas-engined back-hoe, it could at least get into the corners, and alllowed me to break up the rocks and boulders (or pull them out). I then went back with the boxblade, and pulled all the material out, and started to spread it out. Once I had that out, I loaded the (several tons) of big rocks into the FEL and hauled them away. Then I went back with the boxblade and smoothed the rest out.

When my wife saw what I had done, she just said: "Wow!".

TresCrows · Jan 29, 2002

Yes, you can plow/till with the tines down. This is, I have found, easier now with position control but it worked OK on the BX also. Yes, the box is a poor man's tiller. No--now don't get carried away and think it replaces a tiller but if it is all you got then it can do the job of tilling but more time and effort will be required, course compared to a shovel it is light years ahead.
The 10 non vegetarian, coffee drink'n, non liberal non democrats, non-PC have spoken and even Glueguy, a Californian, agrees /w3tcompact/icons/shocked.gif /w3tcompact/icons/wink.gif .
Nope Glenemac, the thing that stirs more controversy than the box and hunting threads is anything comparing a BX to a whatever or is a "BX any good" threads. The most recent probably, I fear, cost us RPM and the one before Woodstock, I hope not but I think that is what he meant when he said "logging off"--I really hope that is not the case.