Setting angle on box blade

Jerome · Apr 23, 2006

I just got a box blade and need some advice.
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when setting the vertical angle when do you tilt it forward backward or plumb? Any other advice on using one would be appreciated as I have been making a huge mess.
Jerome

qstott · Apr 23, 2006

Is the rear blade fixed, or does it swing?

chatcher · Apr 23, 2006

</font><font color="blue" class="small">( I just got a box blade and need some advice.
/forums/images/graemlins/confused.gif
when setting the vertical angle when do you tilt it forward backward or plumb? Any other advice on using one would be appreciated as I have been making a huge mess.
Jerome )</font>

I usually set my rippers so they just touch the ground with the box level. Then angling the box forward makes them dig, and angling it back slightly raises them off the ground. Of course, my box blading leaves a lot to be desired. I keep thinking that more time with it will bring more skill, but it is the one implement I still consider myself nearly incompetent with. Part of that is a misunderstanding of what the blade can do and although my brain keeps telling me that when the tractor goes over uneven ground, the box blade will create even more uneven ground, hope springs eternal and I create bigger and bigger messes. I have more or less mastered smoothing large areas by using a light cut and driving in random figure eights, but still cannot do much in a straight line. I find myself using a rear tiller to do work that I once thought the box blade should be used for.

VT_Kioti · Apr 23, 2006

The best advice I ever read was in a posting here on TBN. The poster said to set the box blade so the front blade is slightly higher than the rear blade. When set up like this the front blade will cut the high spots off and the rear blade will drag over the ground leveling the surface. This is done after loosing the gravel surface with the scarifiers.

ejtaylor822 · Apr 23, 2006

I am by no means an expert, maybe an experienced novice at best. I will pass on the best advice I have received and that is to go SLOW and just keep working at it.

When I first started using mine I really struggled getting a nice smooth finish. Read on this site to slow down and it makes a big difference - you have time to react for more "technical" spots.

With my box-blade, others might be different depending upon how long the teeth are, I agree with keeping the front slightly upward - and I do mean slightly. Have found that going backwards and "pushing" really helps to level out the bumps.

Best thing is just to practice and try different setups on your blade. The guys you see on the job site make it look to easy - like watching golf on TV - they do it all the time. Don't try to match their speed and don't get frustrated, just enjoy the seat time and have fun /forums/images/graemlins/laugh.gif /forums/images/graemlins/laugh.gif

Take care,
Eddie

newcountry · Apr 23, 2006

There is a lot of help on this site, do a seach for box blade and you should get some great advice.

Here's a link I've kept that has been helpful -

I suck with the box blade, Help!!

flusher · Apr 23, 2006

Depends on what you want to do with the BB.

I have a 4-ft King Kutter BB that I use with my 21-hp B7510HST.

I'm landscaping about 3/4 acre around my new house. I need to scrape off the weeds/turf and get to bare ground without bringing up a lot of weed seeds. I removed the rear blade and beveled the bottoms of the two side plates so the BB will want to dig into the turf. The BB tilt is adjusted to make the front about 1/2" lower than the rear.

The key to making any BB work properly is weight. My BB only weighs about 245 lb, which is puny. So I have three 120-lb concrete weights (5-gal plastic paint containers filled with concrete) that I can load onto the BB.

Jerome · Apr 25, 2006

Sorry I forgot to mention 1 yes the blade will piviot any where up to 360 degrees and I can swing it from side to side it dose lock where I put it. 2 I do not have rippers/scarfers as I just build sides for my regular blade. 3 I gues it is not a real box blade just a wana be.