Levelling condensed?

[Freds]

Is there a condensed "how to" on levelling driveways and fields? I've got a backblade and just picked up a box blade yesterday. I'm expecting my new tractor sometime today and wanted to start on my back field, which used to be an old cornfield. "Search" has me reading lots of good info, but I'm not finding exactly what I'm looking for. I will admit that doing a search on anything isn't one of my strongsuits.

Things I'd like to know are:

What are the scarifiers used for and when don't you want to use them?

How deep should they be set and for what applications (breaking up the ground for seeding, levelling...)?

Does a field need brush hogged from 2-4 ft high weeds before attempting to level it? This would allow me to see where the old corn rows are, but does that make a difference?

Should I travel back and forth, or will parallel to the old rows do the trick if I overlap?

Do you float the blade or use position control or a combination as things start to happen and level out?

How does adjusting the toplink for aggressiveness of cut affect the outcome? (I'm assuming this only affects the cut if you are floating the blade?)

Will one or the other blade do it all, or is final levelling done with a landscape rake?

I realize there could be a lot of personal prefference here, but I'm hoping a few good answers will get me started in the right direction so I don't make matters worse before better. Don't mind the seat time, but with the price of fuel...

Thanks a heap for any replies,
Fred

 

[MarkV]

Hi Fred,

I'll take a stab at your questions and how I would go at it. Maybe that will get things going.

The scarifiers are used to break up the soil and make it easier for either blade to move the dirt. They are also helpful for pulling out the unwanted vegetation. You can't level grass or weeds, you have to get to the dirt.

I sure would bushhog the field and cut as short as I could. The grass/weeds will just pile up in or on the blade and not allow it to cut into the dirt.

For me it works better if I can blade the ground from varies angles rather than the same direction the whole time. With your old plow lines I would try to straddle the high part of the old rows and knock them down first. To run across them would cause the tractor to go up and down too much which will also make the blade go up and down leaving high and low spots.

You will end up using a combination of float and position control during the leveling process. On a new area I like to use the position control first and set it to only hit high spots. As above, you want to eliminate as many of the areas that will cause the tractor to go up and down. I have found it best to take multiple small cuts rather than large aggressive cuts.

Adjusting the top link will change the aggressiveness of the cut. I work more aggressive on the initial cuts and gradually adjust the boxblade to flat for final smoothing.

Will one blade do it all, unfortunately that rarely happens. A landscape rake does a pretty good job for your final seed prep and does even better with a set of gage wheels for the final leveling. If your rear blade reverses so you are back dragging the blade it will do a fair job on your final passes also.

A couple of other comments. Don't get discouraged with the boxblade on your first attempts. There is a learning curve to getting things set just right. For me the advice that helped the most was to go slow and make small cuts. I also think that your initial problem will be getting rid of the vegetation. It will pile up on either blade and cause it to skim along the surface rather than cut into the soil.

Good luck and have fun. I'll look forward to hearing how others would approach your project with the tools available. Maybe we can all learn a few new tricks.

MarkV

 

[beenthere]

Some 'before' pics would be great, and some 'during' and 'after' even greater.
You will have a LOT of seat time doing the leveling with just the two tools you have mentioned. Plowing the field first with a moldboard plow would turn over the grass/weeds/stalks and get them under with dirt on top. Then a tandem disc with the front and rear sections angled would be the next best tool to 'level' out the local high and low spots, with the box or back blade to 'level' the larger 'hills' and 'valleys'. Going at about a 15 degree angle to the direction the corn rows are planted (and/or to the dead furrows) with the tandem disc will make things level pretty quickly too. Making multiple passes at a different angle on each pass helps to take high spots and move them to low spots pretty well. But, many passes will need to be made to level with the rear blades alone. Great seat time however. /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif

 

[Freds]

Thanks for the replies, guys!

I will take some pics, good suggestion. I should really do that more to every project I get going on.
The dealer also said discs would do the best job, but he also added that after I was done it would be one expensive attachment that would just be sitting around. That's why I went with the BB. Since my project will be in increments to keep the field somewhat useable for other things, I probably won't check into renting a disc set, but I may know someone that has a set I could work with.

Do you think I will need to rake the weeds and brush up to one end after hogging and before I start levelling if I just go with the box blade? And the scarifiers... is the rougher the ground the deeper you set them a general rule? I have no idea where to start and think I remember reading that someone doesn't use them at all when levelling a drive.

I can't wait to get started. The dealer said he'd have it here around 3:00 and the BH will already be attached. First place I'm heading is across the creek to the field.

 

[MarkV]

Fred,
You might try raking some of the vegetation off with your box blade scarifiers. Set your position control so the scarifiers are just hitting the ground and dragging the cut grass. I think the more you get off the dirt the better.

In your case, when it comes time to start breaking up the dirt, I would set my scarifiers as deep as I could. On a drive you don't necessarily want to do that because you loosen up all the gravel and lose the compaction. Compaction is what keeps your gravel in place so I normally am only trying to cut as deep as the bottom of the potholes.

Have fun and go slow until you get a feel for the tractor. I think you are in for a good day and you might as well call in sick for work tomorrow now. /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif

MarkV

 

[JP11]

Sick call for sure.

Fred- "Sorry I cant come it to work"

Boss - What's the matter Fred?

Fred- I have an eye problem

Boss - That's strange.. what kind of eye problem?

Fred - I can't SEE coming in to work... I JUST GOT A NEW TRACTOR!!!

/forums/images/graemlins/cool.gif

 

[have_blue]

Freds,

I can't add much to the informative replies you already got, but I can tell you a few rules of thumb on leveling ground.

*The longer the tractor's wheelbase, the better it will level
*The closer to the center of your wheelbase the blade is located, the better job it will do.
*With the blade centered on the wheelbase, the more passes you make, the more level the ground becomes.
*With the blade in front of the front wheels or behind the rear wheels, the more passes you make, the more unlevel the ground becomes.
*Regardless of where the blade is located, reversing direction usually helps average the bumps.


Good luck, and have fun!

 

[Freds]

/forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif Good one, JP. I own a boarding facility and while living on the same property as you work can have its downside, playing on the tractor ain't one of them! I already have a sign on the front door that I put up when it's slow that says: "behind building". Of course knowing that and finding me can be two different things. /forums/images/graemlins/wink.gif

I just made several passes in the field. They didn't have my BH in stock I found out, so I just put the BB on and went with that. Basically it was just dragging the weeds along. I had the scarifiers even with the blade and no weight on. The box blade was in float position. It was more or less just cutting/pulling the weeds and made several nice walking paths, but wasn't really moving any dirt.
Do the scarifiers help pull the blade into the ground if I had them set lower or do I need to add weight or adjust the toplink shorter?

Have Blue, I know what you're saying about a grader is the best tool, but are you also saying that it's a lost cause for me to try and get rid of the washboard effect I have going now with the attachments I am trying to use? I'm not trying to get it "grade level" as in the rain water will run this way, just smooth things out so I can drive in circles with my eyes shut and not know which one of two directions I may be facing due to the direction the corn was planted.

Now, with all that typing I just did I have to say... Dang! I love my new L3130!

 

[Mark4510]

Freds,
I have been in the process of getting a small section of land ready for pasture use so here is what I have gone through. I started out by getting rid of any large plants or small trees with a chain saw or lopers. Then I took my box blade with the rippers just below the bottom of the box and got all the plant material into large piles so I could see the dirt. Since we have red clay and quartz in our area I dropped the rippers lower and just kept turning the dirt up with no thought of smoothing or leveling....just wanted to get it softer and remove the larger rocks. Once that was done I started backing around the pasture with the box down. For me, that worked better at getting rid of the undulations. This part took a lot of time and for a while I did not think I would get it done but it got better as I did first one direction, then the other 90 degrees off of that, then I did opposite passes on the 45 degree angles. I know that there are skilled operators that can do this driving forward while playing with the box blade but I am not there yet.

The last thing I did was take a drag that I made out of angle iron that is 7 feet wide and probably 8+feet long. I loaded it up with cinder block and just kept pulling it around. What I ended up with was a pasture that kept its general slope, got most of the rocks out and is much smoother. I think its just a matter of seat time......and thats not such a bad thing. Best of luck.
Mark

 

[polecat]

look out guys there'sa new maniac on the block!!!!!
welcome to tbn my fellow mainaaa /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif
I hear u on the joke!!!!! /forums/images/graemlins/wink.gif