TSC 6 ft rear blade

[oldpilgrim]

CountyLine® Grader Blade, 6 ft. W - Tractor Supply Co.

anyone use one of these? I just got one and hope I didn't make a mistake. I'll use it for snow and occasional driveway smoothing out.

I went to the dealer where I got my tractor and his 6 foot version was offered to me at $625, list was $775. It didn't appear to be any better made to me either. It did have a way to tilt the blade that the TSC dosen't.

I'd like to hear your opinions on the TSC.

thanks

 

[ecbaatz]

You should be able to get some tilt by adjusting your top link. Whether it will be enough for your application will have to be seen.

 

[oldpilgrim]

yeah, I'm sure it will. The tilt feature was nice but not at twice the price.

 

[s219]

I bought one of the TSC blades last winter for snow removal, and it has worked just fine for that. That's all I have done with it. I use my Howse box blade for driveway work (it's the better tool for that in my experience).

 

[HEC]

I bought one a few months ago and it is working fine for my needs . I have used it to level off some new lawn area , grade some driveway and just recently moving some snow . I have read where if you use it to hard they can bend so I welded some scrap channel iron on the back to help it have some extra strength , and so far no problems at all .For what it cost I am satisfied with it.

 

[vulcancowboy]

I bought a 7' blade from TSC a few years ago mainly for snow removal. Worked good until I caught the end of the blade on something solid and bent it. I tried to straighten it as best as I could, but it was never right after that.

 

[oldpilgrim]

Another question....I've never used one before and I was wondering if leaving it in a float position would work for snow, or if that would cause it to rise.

 

[Threepoint]

Old Pilgrim, I've had that TSC County Line 6' blade for my Kubota B2150 for about 10 years. It's a good value. I think it will be a great match for your tractor. :thumbsup: They make the same blade in a 7' length, but I think the moldboard is a bit light for that length due to the increased rotational force if you catch on something, as vulcancowboy did. I myself have seen two of their 7-footers bent pretty badly, one on a JD 955, the other on a Kubota L3200. Of course you can bend pretty much any blade if you're moving fast enough. Force = Mass x Velocity.

Not sure what you mean by leaving it in float position. To my knowledge, all CUT link arms float unless you've added hydraulic downforce, which would be unusual. It's not a very heavy blade, but I've never had a problem with it lifting up on me while moving snow.

 

[oldpilgrim]

I could let it down on the ground by opening the 'gravity' valve and let it set there with the position control lever down all the way. Or I could let it sit there with the valve closed which would make it not drop when it hits a lower spot. Thats what I meant by float.

Guess I'll just have to play with it. That's what's the most fun anyway.

 

[s219]

Yes, you want it to float for snow removal.

 

[Threepoint]

I could let it down on the ground by opening the 'gravity' valve and let it set there with the position control lever down all the way. Or I could let it sit there with the valve closed which would make it not drop when it hits a lower spot. Thats what I meant by float.

Guess I'll just have to play with it. That's what's the most fun anyway.

I've never had much luck trying to plow snow with the blade in the partially-up position, e.g. a couple of inches above the surface. You'd think it might help with a gravel driveway, but if partially up, the height of the cutting edge follows the change in elevation of the rear axle, well forward of what's actually beneath it. So it tends to create bumps and gouge marks as the elevation changes. If your driveway is completely level, you might have more success. You'll have fun experimenting.

 

[oldpilgrim]

I've never had much luck trying to plow snow with the blade in the partially-up position, e.g. a couple of inches above the surface. You'd think it might help with a gravel driveway, but if partially up, the height of the cutting edge follows the change in elevation of the rear axle, well forward of what's actually beneath it. So it tends to create bumps and gouge marks as the elevation changes. If your driveway is completely level, you might have more success. You'll have fun experimenting.

nope, not completely level but I've been trying to get it more so for many years. All gravel, packed hard. If I dig in, I won't hurt anything, just smooth it out and go.

I just determined that the top link I that came with the tractor works great for this:

but is too short for the blade. Just got a new longer one and it sits much nicer and more level.

I'm not looking forward to snow, but I would like for everything to dry out a bit as I want to figure this thing out before the snows come.

I suspect it will work best by just letting it sit on the ground with it using it's own weight to do the job and 'floating'...like S219 says above.

 

[jeff9366]

Old Pilgrim, I've had that TSC County Line 6' blade for my Kubota B2150 for about 10 years.

For quite a time Countyline implements were produced for TSC by King Kutter.

As of two years ago, Countyline implements have been produced for TSC by Tarter in Kentucky. The Countyline implements at my local TSC all bear prominent Tarter labels.

(At least in Florida.)

 

[Threepoint]

nope, not completely level but I've been trying to get it more so for many years. All gravel, packed hard. [snip]

I'm not looking forward to snow, but I would like for everything to dry out a bit as I want to figure this thing out before the snows come.

I suspect it will work best by just letting it sit on the ground with it using it's own weight to do the job and 'floating'...like S219 says above.

Yep, I think you'll have the most success that way. What you'll need to be careful of, though, is picking up gravel along with the snow. I know you say your drive is hard-packed, but rest assured it will still tend to happen unless it's completely frozen. You won't notice how much you've picked until the snow you've swept to the shoulders starts to melt a little, exposing the mixed-in stone. Try to limit the number of passes you make; you don't need to take it down to bare stone. You can also experiment with turning the blade 180 degrees and plowing with the back of the blade as you drive forward. And of course you can practice plowing while in reverse, with the blade in various positions. I find that gets old real quick, if you've got much to do!

 

[nybirdman]

Plowing in reverse can lead to expensive broken parts!Use caution.You can adjust attack angle by the top link,experiment to see what works for you.I use a seven ft. back blade and a eight ft.front.The back blade is used to pull away from buildings,garage doors ect.

 

[Threepoint]

For quite a time Countyline implements were produced for TSC by King Kutter.

As of two years ago, Countyline implements have been produced for TSC by Tarter in Kentucky. The Countyline implements at my local TSC all bear prominent Tarter labels.

(At least in Florida.)

Interesting. I just checked the Tarter website, and their standard duty 6' blade looks identical to Old Pilgrim's, so I suspect you're right. And my 6-footer looks identical, as well, even though many years older.

 

[s219]

We have a crusher run driveway, about 700' long. I didn't have any significant problems picking up gravel the few times I plowed last year, all while the ground was not frozen (we did have several cold snaps when the gravel was froze solid like concrete, but of course it never snowed during those times). I only do one pass each way, down the driveway on the right and back up on the other side. It left a very thin film of snow, which usually melted in a couple hours when the sun hit it. I think the TSC blade is on the light side, so it's not really going to scrape hard like a heavier blade would.

This year, I plan to replace the steel cutting edge with a rubber edge (piece of horse stall mat) to minimize damage to the exposed aggregate parking area near our garage. The rear blade ended up scraping some gravel off the top of that, and I'd like to prevent further damage. It was mainly in the section where I kept repeatedly dragging snow when pulling it away from the garage doors.

 

[MitchellB]

I got a Tractor Supply 6' grader blade about 1998 for our 8N Ford. Not sure who made it then, but do not think it was County Line. It worked OK for me, but a few years ago the swivel pin hole in the frame wore out badly and when I welded in new metal to beef it up, I added a tray on the rear to sit 2 concrete piers for weight. Not the best blade available, but cheap and rugged enough for a small tractor like my 8N. I turn it backwards to move fresh snow out of the driveway to prevent the blade from digging up my gravel. I move piles of leaves into the woods with the blade backward too. I've since got a box blade that handles most of the heavy work I need to do now.

 

[HEC]

Plowing in reverse can lead to expensive broken parts!Use caution.You can adjust attack angle by the top link,experiment to see what works for you.I use a seven ft. back blade and a eight ft.front.The back blade is used to pull away from buildings,garage doors ect.

Broken parts to the tractor or to the back blade ??????

 

[paulfun9]

We have a TSC scrapper blade and it has worked great for us. We actually tore up two more expensive blades before getting the one from TSC and were very surprised at how well it stood up to my abusive nature. For light snows it has been fine and I mostly used it turned and in reverse it hasn't had a problem with lifting when plowing snow but I have had to add weight to it when working with dirt during the summer. At the asking price I feel its money well spent and would buy an other without question.