Boxblade Usefulness Survey

[curly]

...I don't believe in dragging and smoothing a gravle road with a box blade. All that does is thin out the rock and ruin the road. If you have a low spot, fill it in with new rock. Never cut down the good rock down to the lower level...
Eddie

Someone said that just filling in the hole with new rock (or was it a dirt road they said that about ) never works for them...the hole always comes back. They said you have to dig up the area and start over. That's not what you've found I see.

Well shoot, this implement seems to have those who swear by it and those that don't care nothing about them. A very controversial implement to say the least. Well, I'm gonna get one and see which side I end up on

 

[Spiveyman]

"We the members of TBN do solemnly swear to at all times commit to helping our fellow bretheren spend all of their hard eared money in the acquisition of tractors and/or tractor attachments, upgrade equipment as needed, and actively defend their/our right to do so" Jay

This could be in the TBN "Charter"

Yeah no kidding! When I first found TBN I had this "must have" list. I expected it to be a while before I made it even half way down that list. TBN and seeing people use their stuff has put most of those implements on the fast track, not to mention it's more than doubled the list!!!

 

[Spiveyman]

I bought my six foot Land Pride box blade because I was told how handy it was. The one implement that you cannot live without.

I spent dozens of hours using it, and the more I used it, the more I realized that for every job I used it for, I had something that would do the same thing, but better.

I don't believe in dragging and smoothing a gravle road with a box blade. All that does is thin out the rock and ruin the road. If you have a low spot, fill it in with new rock. Never cut down the good rock down to the lower level.

If you want to smooth dirt, then a drag is much smoother and easier.

For digging ditches or dirt, just about anything is better.

For breaking hard packed clay, I found it's actually faster to use my disks on the ground without breaking it up with the scarfacers. Granted, the scarfacers will break up the ground, but the amount of time it takes to change implements and then break up the ground with them, then change over the disk to finish it off isn't any faster then just putting on the disk and doing it all with that.

My brother will be moving out here sometime in the future and will be buying a tractor. I'm gonna give him my box blade as it's been sitting for three years and is just yard art.

Eddie

Hey Eddie, thanks for your input here. What if you only had one implement to use for all of those things? I don't really have a plethora of implements. I don't have a drag or disks. Would it be safe to say that the box blade is a versitile implement for folks with limited resources? You have a pretty slick dozer there, but using a BB in reverse is about my only option for small dozing jobs. I did also get a FEL, but it sounds like you can get into trouble trying to dig/push with one of those. We cleaned out a pond a couple years ago and the crud that they dug out of the pond has pretty much dried out. So rather than hiring a dozer, I thought I'd try to attack and spread that with the BB/FEL combo. I have lots of projects where I'm not just smoothing a road, but want to really move some dirt from here to there. It seems like the BB/FEL is a decent "poor man's" option for attacking these projects.

All this from a guy with about 3 seconds experience using a BB. As I was rushing to get my newly delivered tractor/FEL/BB into the barn before a big storm hit I just had to drop that sucker and drag a foot or so.

I don't doubt that what you say it true, but since I just dropped the $750 on the thing I'm going to make the best of it.

 

[EddieWalker]

I won't argue with your logic. It's sound and well thought out. It's also why I bought mine.

I've just found other implements that I like better. The dozer isn't really something that compares to it. There's nothing that the dozer does that anythng else can do. It's just a totally different animal.

Eddie

 

[Spiveyman]

I won't argue with your logic. It's sound and well thought out. It's also why I bought mine.

I've just found other implements that I like better. The dozer isn't really something that compares to it. There's nothing that the dozer does that anythng else can do. It's just a totally different animal.

Eddie

In I few years I'll probably be in here telling some newbie that there are better things than a box blade! Ha ha. I'll PM you when that happens so you can give me the "See, I told you so."

And yeah, Dozer - whole different universe. Who knows, by the end of my lake deal I may wind up with one afterall.

 

[bgi]

Would it be safe to say that the box blade is a versitile implement for folks with limited resources? You have a pretty slick dozer there, but using a BB in reverse is about my only option for small dozing jobs.

'zactly. "limited resources" I'm pretty happy with what I can do with my Frontier BB2048L hooked to my little ol' Deere X724. If I had a "real" tractor I'd get a FEL and BH. But I don't and I ain't gonna.

This thread is now 7 years and a few days old.

 

[Compact1]

I just found this thread and wanted to give my opinion.

After having a boxblade I would never be without one. Here in the Midwest, a boxblade is an invaluable tool. I have several implements (including a rear blade) but I find myself using the boxblade more than all the others put together.

I use it to backdrag material just as much as I dig with it. When it comes to the redistribution of dirt a boxblade can't be matched (my opinion). I've become somewhat proficient with my boxblade after many hours of practice. I will admit it was a "booger" at first.

 

[3RRL]

I've got quite a few hours working the boxblade too. It's definitely one of the most used implements (for me). I guess I just have more boxblade work than others?

I fixed mine up a little to make it even easier to use and heavier, along with some tractor mods like top and tilt. I fancy myself as being pretty good with it now. I don't have a rear blade nor a bull dozer, so I make mine work to make up for what I'm missing.

I've used it grade and crown my 1/2 mile dirt road, cut gutters along it, make trails and other paths, plow my food plot, smooth the seeds down, cut and dig a decomposed granite pit, build and level building pads for sheds, garage and barn, pull up big boulders. I use it a lot and I like it.

 

[Spiveyman]

...I fixed mine up a little...

Rob, you know I can't pass this one up after that "pimping" comment! HA! I thought about starting a thread, top 10 things you could do if you had a BB like 3RRL's.

By the way, I don't know if you just missed it, or if you decided not to dignify my post with a comment, but I put some thought into post #34 here: 3RRL's Jr. High Shop Final


As for the BB, well, I have only scraped the surface with my BB. Literally and figuratively. It's been awesome so far, but not having a TnT makes it hard to do the really productive stuff. Still, I love mine, it's an 8'-er from Richie Equipment, very beefy, a hoss of a unit for a factory job. I'm not very good at using it yet, but I can sure see the potential for using it.

Here's my thread on what little I've done with mine so far:My BB Work and some other stuff

 

[jimmysisson]

New England here, use the box blade a lot. It's a 6' Gannon, came well used with a MF 135 8 years ago. Last time used it to scarify the hard clay of a horse paddock so I could regrade it. The loader bucket wouldn't touch the stuff, and the blade either without scarifying. Then it was easy. I actually like using it with the box partly full seems to be smoother and leave a more level site. Pushing helps in the corners, but pulling works best. I can see where a hyd. top link would make it easier.
I also keep the thing on the back in the winter. I have a front snow plow, and the box will work for pushing backwards where the drive meets the road and there's a lot of back and forth.
It's NOT good for removing sod from a garden patch or like that, but I use the thing a lot.
Jim