Rake Land scape rake or Box blade ??

[NIXON]

Well it's coming close to spring and I'm looking at attachments . I can only afford to get one . Either a land scape rake or box blade . I do have a woods 84 " medium duty rear blade that tilts offsets and has end plates . I also have a tooth bar on the Fel . So it's kind of like using two tools to do the job of a bb . I'm leaning towards getting a landscape rake with guage wheels for dressing the drive removing brush ,etc . In fact the one I don't buy this spring will be most likely purchased this fall or next spring . I guess my question is which will make the most sensible first purchase ? Thanks , John

 

[GaryM]

My tractor experience is limited, but I think for general work other than serious grading, a rake would be really nice to have. Make sure you get the guage wheels.

 

[jimgerken]

My first attachment (not including the loader, of course) was a boxblade. It serves as compact ballast weight, in addition to being a very usefull tool. The ballast function is aided by a slab of steel 3" thick, 30 x 12 inches, bolted onto the back of the box blade. Then I added a hyd top link. With the scarifiers down, I can use the top link to rip 3 inch diameter roots out of the ground. It sort of prys them out. Tough to beat the toughness of a box blade for heavy dirt work. You need both the BB and the rake. If you have any Spring cleanup to do, get the rake now. I second the gauge wheel recommendation.

 

[Soundguy]

In general, the box blade is the 'swiss army knife' 3pt tool.. while the loader is the 'sak' front tool.

Since you have a rear blade to grade with.. and the fel is a decent pile digger/mover.. the rake is a good bet.

If you didn't have a rear blade or a fel.. I would choose boxblade.

Soundguy

 

[NIXON]

Thanks for the comments guys . I believe i'll go with the "rake "and guage wheels . John

 

[Henro]

John,

If I had to have one or the other, I would get the box blade.

I assume you are referring to a simple rake like I have, just a bunch of tynes hanging off a horizontal bar? It seems to me it is more of a finish device, where the box is more rough-work heavy-duty.

Both are useful. I am glad I have both now. But I think for me the box blade is more useful overall.

The rake will not really tear anything out from what I can see. It sure will gather up leaves/twigs/loose stuff and it is real nice for leveling/smoothing out fine crushed limestone or gravel, or dirt. The box can level the stone too, by the way. And itwill do a pretty good job at it.

Unless you have a lot of fine finish work to do, I say go for the box blade first.

 

[NIXON]

Bill,
that's food for thought ! And I appreciate your reply. A
lot ! But it really doesn't come down to one or the other . It's more like which to get first . My reasoning is that I have a fairly substantial rear blade (hbl84 -2 ) and a decent bucket with tooth bar . And while It isn't as convenient as a BB , I think I can sort of get by with them for a bit . As I said I have one choice at the moment ( and it's not an easy one ) . You've seen the property and know what it's like . I need to repair /groom my drive . But I also have a bunch of brush that needs to be taken care of . That's why I'm leaning towards the "rake " .
No doubt that by fall I'll be in the market for which ever I don't buy now . They both have their advantages . John

 

[Henro]

<font color="blue"> I'm leaning towards getting a landscape rake with guage wheels for dressing the drive removing brush ,etc . </font>

John, this is what has me wondering...

I don't see the rake doing any brush removal. You can do that with the toothbar on your loader. I don't see the rake pulling out any roots at all. It will just spring over them, won't pull them out, or at least mine won't...

So that leaves the ect. part. And that part could certainly be more than enough reason to get the rake first.

The point I was trying to make was that in my case, I would get the tool that was most useful first. My experience is that for my needs, that would be the box.

Now I only have a cheap KK rear blade, so I don't have a basis for comparison to your good rear blade...The ground just laughs at my KK blade so I don't use it for much but snow. Maybe your rear blade will do all you need, and the rake will be the most useful tool to add to your arsenal! /forums/images/graemlins/smile.gif

Each time you add an implement, it just gets better anyway... /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif

 

[rdln]

IMO, If you dont have alot of scraping to do b4 fall get the rake by allmeans. You cant beat a box blade/scraper whatever for carving out the earth (besides the obvious dozer,excavators, etc.) the cutting edge and angle along with teeth and enclosed sides seperate the box from blade.

 

[NIXON]

Bill,
Now you leave me with more questions than answers !
I want something can move brush, groom my gravel drive ,AND remove roots . It seems the more I ask the more cofusing it gets /forums/images/graemlins/smile.gif John