Rake Land scape rake or Box blade ??

[Junkman]

A landscape or York rake will not remove roots unless they are already cut and loose. For the most part, a landscape rake is only used for removing rocks and other debris in loose soil. It will level as it goes along, but on hard ground, it will just slide over it. For the most part, it is a useless tool unless you have loosened the earth first or are spreading loam. Like any tool, it has its purpose and that is all it is good for. When in doubt, buy both. /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif /forums/images/graemlins/blush.gif

 

[AndyM]

<font color="blue"> For the most part, it is a useless tool unless you have loosened the earth first </font>

Hence, the pefect reason to buy the box blade first. It will loosen your hard soil and level it out.

I figured I wouldn't use a box blade very often, so I bought a cheap one for $249, but it has held up remarkedly well for the price and the amount of use it ended up getting. Use the savings to put towards the york rake.

 

[NIXON]

Thanks guys for the info . Now my head hurts !
Junkman . ... I will have both of them when it's all said and done . the hard part is in the picking . It's about as bad as choosing a tractor !
I had some great luck in convincing the wife on buying a tractor .... she picked a machine better than I had wanted .
Any ideas on how I might pull it off with a bb VS rake ? /forums/images/graemlins/smile.gif
John

 

[Soundguy]

The toothbar and fel removes brush Box with rippers will too.. The rake or rear blade or boxblade will level 'fines' on a driveway. Box will drag it better though. Box digs flatland good.. fel loads from stockpiles / makes stockpiles good. Neither are great for dozer applications.. but I have seen front blades on fel arms that work nice..


Soundguy

 

[Henro]

<font color="blue"> .... she picked a machine better than I had wanted .
</font>

Obvious answers are sometimes hard to find! There, You have it...ask the wife! /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif

Problem solved! /forums/images/graemlins/shocked.gif

 

[NIXON]

Bill, I did ask my local dealer ( kevin ) about bb's today .
Man! they seems pricey ! Mind you , it's a Rhino hb72 /with hyd scarifier . But 2400+ bucks seems a bit high . He said that the other brands in the same range were about the same Price , but had the manual lever for the scarifiers . ( and I do want to be able to control the scarifiers with a lever . and, not have to pin each one ) . If I save my pennies I could get a BH for twice to three times that price ,and be happy to spend it . I guess I need to shop around a bit more .I guess I'm just in the "sticker shock " mode right now . I know I was when I first looked at new tractors /forums/images/graemlins/smile.gif John

 

[AndyMA]

I've been using landscape rakes, box blades, and rear blades for many years. Like every tool they come in many "grades". My 8' Ford (york type rake) cost me about $1400 in 1987. It has very heavy teeth, offset, angle and tilt and only offset has a hydraulic cylinder. I have several hundred hours of use on this one and have bent a few teeth but never lost one. I regularly pull large piles of brush and other junk with it and the only problem is getting the roots out of it's teeth. I've also spread many piles of loam and gravel with it. It does a reasonable job of leveling when I use the bucket to knock over the high spots. Don't confuse a real heavy duty York type rake's capabilities with one of those $400 to $500 light duty rakes. The heavy duty Yorks can be had with drop down rippers as strong as a box blade's as well as drop down grading blades which come down in front of the rake teeth.
/forums/images/graemlins/cool.gif

Andy

 

[Henro]

John,

Considering the expense of a good box blade, another option might be to buy a cheap KK box from TSC and try it out first. They can do a lot and give a very big bang for the buck. If you determined you needed more you could sell it to someone and not lose that much...

Attached is a shot of what I have. Not the greatest, but works pretty well for me. Well enough, that I may never need better...might put some gage wheels on the rake sometime though...

 

[Soundguy]

Heck my beat up old 5' box is ? OX or something like that.. It routinely digs packed clay, and pushes maneuer up...

No need to spend big buck$ on a box unless you are big time comercial..

got mine use don the side of the road for 100$

Soundguy

 

[AndyM]

I paid $249 for mine at a Homier sale.
It's served all my needs so far, though I plan on using it a lot more this summer...