How to stop rippling when spreading/dragging with back blade

[Baby Grand]

I use the "butter knife" method, myself.

Here's another way to get the disconnected top link effect, but with less hassle:
Rather than disconnecting the top link, make yourself a section of chain that you can use in place of the top link. This will give you the benefit of "unpinned" operation when the 3pt is lowered & the chain is slack, but still allow you to lift the 3pt & blade when you want to stop dragging without having to get off the tractor to pin and un-pin the top link. This will save you a lot of time if you have to do a lot of maneuvering or turning around during the job.

 

[Ford850]

Some of this advice depends on what your drive is made of. I have hard packed 411 limestone, which is 3/4" down to dust. It must be moist to allow the cutting action to re-grade. Once I break a lot of the surface, level low spots, and have loose material to work with, I can use the blade backwards to finish. Many driveways consist of 57's (clean 3/4" stone) or something similar. That remains loose and can be back dragged from the start.