New First Choice Box Blade

[JimMc]

So Gary, have you gotten any pics of your box blade being used yet? I always like to see how people use our stuff.

 

[bmac]

Gary in Indiana, Thank for the info and caution.

Ozarker, thanks for the suggestion.

Just trying to learn as much as I can here. I'm impressed everyday with how much you folks know and how willing everyone is to share their experience with yahoos like me. Thanks again.

 

[Gary_in_Indiana]

OK, Jim... I guess I'll have to fess up now. I had a bit of a time getting it assembled. Nothing to do with the box blade. More of an issue of my not having the proper tools for the task.

So, after I went and bought wrenches large enough (1 1/4") to do the job it went a lot more smoothly. More smoothly but maybe not perfectly. /w3tcompact/icons/hmm.gif When I approached to start on it I realized (in hindsight) that I had taken it off the trailer from the wrong side for where I set it in my barn. I needed to turn it around to be able to roll it from it's back to it's bottom to assemble it.

No big deal with my tractor to just lift it up so I can spin it around and set it down again. No big deal if you have air in all of your tractor tires, that is. /w3tcompact/icons/sad.gif After I got that handled it was the piece of cake I originally anticipated. /w3tcompact/icons/smile.gif

The actual assembly (dealer prep, we call it in my business) only took a few minutes so I was still feeling smug about having it drop shipped here. /w3tcompact/icons/clever.gif Just today, however, I was looking at your site and enlarged your pic of the blue box blade and it hit me that I don't think I put the main supports on properly. I'll have to look tomorrow when I go out there but if memory serves me correctly /w3tcompact/icons/blush.gif I think I mounted those inside the vertical attachment pieces instead of on the outside of them as the photo shows. I know I did the arms correctly on the inside.

All I could think of was that I'd joked about putting it together wrong earlier then actually did it (I think). Harv responded to my comment then and said I had to fess up and show a pic if I did mess up and I intend to take a pic of it tomorrow to post. I may have to take two- one of how I did it and another of how I REdid it correctly. /w3tcompact/icons/blush.gif

In the grand scheme of things I doubt it would matter as it went together just fine, but I would like to have it "right" anyhow. /w3tcompact/icons/smile.gif As with most goofs like this, I have no one to blame but myself. I didn't even think about checking on how it should go before I went out there to do it. I didn't even give a thought to it when I was there. I just put it together. I'm guessing that's one of the reasons you have dealers- to avoid people like me doing a bad assembly job. /w3tcompact/icons/smile.gif

I'm sure had I not worked my deal to have the unit drop shipped to me rather than going to the dealer first it would have been assembled properly when I got it. The flip side is, I would have had a separate freight bill, too. I guess I'll take the teasing to save the shipping. /w3tcompact/icons/wink.gif/w3tcompact/icons/smile.gif/w3tcompact/icons/grin.gif

 

[Harv]

<font color=blue>Harv responded to my comment then and said I had to fess up</font color=blue>

Wow! I'm not used to having my suggestions taken seriously.

BTW -- might I suggest that every Thursday at 2:15 pm you wire a thousand dollars into my personal account? /w3tcompact/icons/grin.gif

Looking forward to the picts.

 

[bnixon]

bmac,

I just ordered a 84" RFM and a BB3072 Box blade from First Choice today. I don't even have my tractor yet but with all I have been hearing and the money I could save vs buying from my dealer (Landpride attachment) I couldn't pass it up. Hopefully will sign the papers on my TC40D with supersteer mid July!!!!!

Am I nuts or what?

 

[Inspector507]

bnixon,
Actually I picked up my boom pole before I got my tractor so I would have a way to get the tiller out of the back of the truck. But while I was there, it made sense to pick up the grader blade and the carry-all, didn't it??/w3tcompact/icons/laugh.gif

 

[Gary_in_Indiana]

OK, Harv... Here's the pic's of how I assembled my box blade when I had a choice of which side to bolt something. Here you see both upright pieces bolted inside the attachment points.

 

[Gary_in_Indiana]

Harv, here's the other place where I had a choice and again you can see I went inside. Right? Wrong? Doesn't matter??

 

[Gary_in_Indiana]

<font color=blue>"Gary, you know we want to hear the good things about our stuff, but if you have any constructive comments, please include them as well."</font color=blue>

Jim,

Here's the only thing I found thus far that I wish were a little different. Unfortunately, I don't see a real simple way to change it.

As you can see from the attached pic, there is a pretty tight space in which I need to reach to pull the clip from the hitch pin to allow me to adjust the depth of two or the five scarifiers on the 60" model I have. For me to get the clip out of the hitch pin I had to use a tool because I could only get the very tips of my forefinger and thumb in there and didn't have much gripping strength at that point.

Now, To be fair, I don't have the tiniest of hands (or feet, for that matter /w3tcompact/icons/smile.gif ), but I wanted to mention this in case there's a way to redesign it so that even those of us with big hands can have an easier time of it. Thanks for taking a look at this.

 

[Harv]

<font color=blue>Right? Wrong? Doesn't matter??</font color=blue>

You asking me? Offhand I don't see what difference it would make to the general structural integrity of the thing. Seems like you'd want to leave the area where the top link attaches to the mast as free from obstructions as you can, but as long as there's no interference, I can't see the harm.

Then again, I'm waiting for one the TBN smart guys to tell us the real story.