Grading with a Back Blade

[LouNY]

Did you people read he is useing a box blade. Not useing a back blade.

I have yet to see a box blade you could angle to the center. The idea behind a box blade is to use the shanks to dig up and sofften the gravel. the box edge is supposed to ride leval across the high spots digging them up and the 3pt arms stay leval so the gravel drops in the hole.

Doesn't seem to be some thing you can do quickly. Have to go sloly and make many passes withth eback blade stock from the store.

Seat time.

Al

Sorry but from the first line of the original post "I have been having problems using my back blade to"

 

[lucky llama]

^^^^^

 

[prof fate]

I've been using a box blade for a year and just got a back blade 2 weeks ago. I've had a chance to use both. Similar, but very different tools.

Plan is to get a hyd top link, but so far i've been wasting money on more implements...and beer.

ANyway, the box blade works well/better for leveling and on hard packed surfaces. The back blade is much better on loose (gravel, loose dirt), and will dig in RIGHT NOW if not used carefully. BUT it an move material sideways, can be offset to one side, tilted (at least mine can do both) plus angled, and then the top link can adjust the angle of attack and in reverse I find it bulldozes MUCH better than the box blade. LOTS of adjustability -and sometimes one turn on the top link makes a big difference in what it does.

As for a gravel driveway...I've tried both a bit and used the box blade teeth to loosen/scarify...using the back blade I created bigger dips and low spots..what was a puddle is now a lake. My thought is to angle the blade, and tilts, to move the edges back into the tire track area. It did an excellent job of removing the grass strip down the middle though.

The box blade does much better at leveling - a few passes back and forth and it's all leveled out. But when I get near the edge of the gravel I push too much gravel out into the grass - hence my desire to try the back blade to scrape it back into the main drive area.

 

[travlitt]

Did you people read he is useing a box blade. Not useing a back blade.

I have yet to see a box blade you could angle to the center. The idea behind a box blade is to use the shanks to dig up and sofften the gravel. the box edge is supposed to ride leval across the high spots digging them up and the 3pt arms stay leval so the gravel drops in the hole.

Doesn't seem to be some thing you can do quickly. Have to go sloly and make many passes withth eback blade stock from the store.

Seat time.

Al

I read that he is using a back blade

 

[shooterdon]

Placed the blade at 45* and that addressed the washboards. Gone in four passes

Also slowed way down and used the position control to try to take the tops off the dips. The drive is still not level but I am making improvements.

Smoothed out the widrows by turning the blade 180* and that worked well.

On a scale of 1-10, I went from a 3 to a 6. Not perfect but much better.

I did not use a chain for the top link as your suggestions were helping a lot. I am thinking rear gauge wheels might be a worthwhile addition.

Thanks for all the help

 

[BMan2005]

Placed the blade at 45* and that addressed the washboards. Gone in four passes

Also slowed way down and used the position control to try to take the tops off the dips. The drive is still not level but I am making improvements.

Smoothed out the widrows by turning the blade 180* and that worked well.

On a scale of 1-10, I went from a 3 to a 6. Not perfect but much better.

I did not use a chain for the top link as your suggestions were helping a lot. I am thinking rear gauge wheels might be a worthwhile addition.

Thanks for all the help

On bad uneven surface I cut one way at a hard angle pulling, say your 45*, then turn the blade the opposite but not quite a 45 maybe 20* to push material back (back side of blade not the cutting side) where I pulled it, set the position control just putting down pressure, & go in reverse pushing with the back of the blade. This seems to push material and fill/level in low areas with the tractor riding on the new more level plane the blade just made. It痴 definitely trial and error, I知 adjusting on the fly never leaving it set in place to do what I want by my eye. Just another thing to possibly try.

Btw, if your road is pretty flat with next to no low areas you may have to adjust the angle more aggressively in reverse pushing or it could leave material higher in that spot instead of spreading it back out. When you start moving just watch the material building up and you値l see what to change to put it where you like. Hope this wasn稚 confusing

 

[Fallon]

I run my BB at a 45 degree angle to the road and it seems to do a fairly good job. I have 6" long teeth on my bucket, so I scarify with the bucket going backwards only on the high spots, first. Then attack with the BB turned backwards at the 45 degree angle. I start on one side and basically 'carry' the windrow over to the other side, then carry it back to the first side again. It is easier to do it than it is to explain.

Be really careful with running your bucket at steep angles forward or reverse. It puts a huge load on your curl cylinders when they are extended & at their weakest. Back dragging like that is the primary cause of bent curl cylinders.

 

[npalen]

On bad uneven surface I cut one way at a hard angle pulling, say your 45*, then turn the blade the opposite but not quite a 45 maybe 20* to push material back (back side of blade not the cutting side) where I pulled it, set the position control just putting down pressure, & go in reverse pushing with the back of the blade. This seems to push material and fill/level in low areas with the tractor riding on the new more level plane the blade just made. It痴 definitely trial and error, I知 adjusting on the fly never leaving it set in place to do what I want by my eye. Just another thing to possibly try.

Btw, if your road is pretty flat with next to no low areas you may have to adjust the angle more aggressively in reverse pushing or it could leave material higher in that spot instead of spreading it back out. When you start moving just watch the material building up and you値l see what to change to put it where you like. Hope this wasn稚 confusing

with the tractor riding on the new more level plane the blade just made.
That, in my opinion, is the key. Run the wheels on the new flat surface whether its tractor wheels or rear gauge wheels.