Various BoxBlade Uses

[zeuspaul]

I snapped a ripper on a root...looks just like the broken one in 3RRL's picture. On rocks they generally hit and ride up. Also lost a couple of points. I too get the whole replacement ripper at agri supply for about $15. I bought three and now have no more spares.

As far as *gotta have* in a box blade. I wouldn't be without Top and Tilt and a heavy box. Sometimes I adjust the top as I am cutting...cutting backward on varying sloping ground. There would be no way of doing this manually.

I use the hydraulic rippers less frequently. They are nice but I suppose I could do it manually.

Zeuspaul

 

[MtnViewRanch]

Counter argument is that I paid as much as 4 cheapo TSC boxes...

jb

Then you got yourself a deal, I would have thought that 5-6 times would have been closer, but maybe that is the hydraulic version.

 

[john_bud]

John, thinking about what you said. LOL ... I figure I've still got 2 cheapo boxblades to catch up to you.
Even with what I've got invested in mods on my old Howse. Not so bad in my book. I'll say I've made good use of it too, probably saving quite a bit of dough doing all my own grading and leveling for the house and barn pads. Let alone all the road maintenance I do with it. If you have the means and do it right, I think upgrading the boxblade is worthy of consideration as opposed to spending it up front?

I looked up my actual expenditure

4/10/2001 Gannon "Landscaper" box scraper $1,454.85

It was built to order and was delivered with wet paint in the runs. At the time a "cheapo" was about $350.

You can spend a lot of time upgrading. If you have the time, that's ok. You can also spend a lot of $$ welding on plate and such, which is ok if you have the $ + welder. You can also wind up with a box that is still structurally weak and prone to bending the blade, box or scar bar. If you don't have fab experience you can do a lot of tail chasing !

It's probably 6 of one and half dozen of the other. Also, some think mods are trouble where some see them as relaxation (and we all know which side you fall on!).


MtnViewRanch, The hydraulic was about 400 more if memory serves. It's just a bit of line, some couplers and a cylinder. Easy to retro. Maybe one day when I add rear outlets....
jb

 

[MtnViewRanch]

I looked up my actual expenditure
4/10/2001 Gannon "Landscaper" box scraper $1,454.85
It was built to order and was delivered with wet paint in the runs. At the time a "cheapo" was about $350.
You can spend a lot of time upgrading. If you have the time, that's ok. You can also spend a lot of $$ welding on plate and such, which is ok if you have the $ + welder. You can also wind up with a box that is still structurally weak and prone to bending the blade, box or scar bar. If you don't have fab experience you can do a lot of tail chasing !

It's probably 6 of one and half dozen of the other. Also, some think mods are trouble where some see them as relaxation (and we all know which side you fall on!).


MtnViewRanch, The hydraulic was about 400 more if memory serves. It's just a bit of line, some couplers and a cylinder. Easy to retro. Maybe one day when I add rear outlets....
jb

Does Gannon even have a lower quality box? Everything that I have ever seen from them is heavy duty. My roll-over was also made to order, took about a week I think.

 

[3RRL]

.... Also, some think mods are trouble where some see them as relaxation (and we all know which side you fall on!).

LOL ... Is it that obvious?

 

[john_bud]

Does Gannon even have a lower quality box? Everything that I have ever seen from them is heavy duty. My roll-over was also made to order, took about a week I think.

Yeah, there are mulitple quality grades. The industrial versions are the highest strength. But, in general they make a good overall product line with higher quality than the stuff you will find at the local TSC.

But the price...



Rob, Oh yeah - we've had your type nailed down for a while! I'm just glad you choose to share your obsessions with us!

jb

 

[Charlesaf3]

Lots of good stuff for me, great reading!

The weight makes sense. I've often thought it would be nice if my basic woods box had more weight.

I've no welding skills, so I'm better off buying something that doesn't need mods out of the box. And I can't even begin to express how little I need another project list - I seriously find myself telling the gf "oh, that's around #150 on the project list"... Not to mention you folks out in Cali have a working season that's a smidgeon longer than ours...

So heavy duty is a must. I can see the advantages of a roll over, but is it as strong as a regular box with retractable rippers? I have a separate rear blade.

ANd Top and Tilt is a must, no doubt. Don't have it now, WILL have it on my next tractor.

3RRL, I love to see your road posts, I really learn an incredible amount from them.

 

[3RRL]

3RRL, I love to see your road posts, I really learn an incredible amount from them.

Thanks Charles!
I'm not sure how many I have all together, but I know I have a couple of them bookmarked. If you want links to them, just let me now and I will PM them to you. Plus a lot of that is in my log home thread under "Projects".

BTW, I would sure like to get my hands on that hydraulic PHD you have. I have a Leinbach that I keep shearing bolts on. It's OK, but for what I have coming up a hydraulic PHD would be the cat's meow.

 

[Charlesaf3]

Thanks, it would be great to have the links, I'll send you a PM.

The PHD is great. Be nice to have more torque, but at least when it binds there's no bolts to shear. And the reverse, downpressure, and easy on off are great too - definitely worth it I'd say.

 

[john_bud]

So heavy duty is a must. I can see the advantages of a roll over, but is it as strong as a regular box with retractable rippers? I have a separate rear blade.
.

The good roll over boxes are very strong indeed. Study the woods web page and get one from them or one built the same way (and just as heavy).

jb

 

[Box5]

really good info here, pretty much sold me on getting a box blade.

 

[canoetrpr]

I have not regretted it.

I got quite a few hours on it getting my driveway project done. The driveway has been extended now, new gravel spread and I'm generally quite happy with the result.

Since I have finally bought a welder and am acquiring some welding skills, I plan on welding up a stopper for the rear hinge blade to be able to set the weight on it for final grading. I was able to get a reasonable result with the box blade and rake.

The box blade really shined when I went to spread all the dirt that had come off the part of the driveway that I extended - ripped sod off - on my existing lawn. Within 45 min flat I had that whole area in front of my dog kennels redone and ready to add new seed to! I don't know if this was just cause I aquired box blading skill... more because I found dirt a bit easier to work with than loose gravel I can't imagine how long this would have taken by hand. Boy a tractor sure helps!

 

[Box5]

I guess my only question is, will a 4ft box blade on my B7001 Kubota have enough dig to get our hard packed driveway smoothed out? We have water runoff, some potholes, washboard, and the driveway was once all gravel, but thats either been pushed off the side, or sunk into the earth. I read a post where someone said his 4ft box blade just bounces along hard pack, im thinking thats just because its to light and could have some weight added to it. Ahh, being a noob again, asking all these questions

 

[3RRL]

I guess my only question is, will a 4ft box blade on my B7001 Kubota have enough dig to get our hard packed driveway smoothed out? We have water runoff, some potholes, washboard, and the driveway was once all gravel, but thats either been pushed off the side, or sunk into the earth. I read a post where someone said his 4ft box blade just bounces along hard pack, im thinking thats just because its to light and could have some weight added to it. Ahh, being a noob again, asking all these questions

You're right.
Weight is the contributing factor in getting your boxblade to cut. Depending on what model you have, adding weight if necessary is done all the time. Use your scarifiers to bust up the hardpan first, then work it with the blade. You don't need the scarifiers to stick out much either, just enough to get into the ground and bust it up.

 

[Rowdius]

I don't have many action shots, and I do not even have a boxblade for my new kioti yet. I got broke out in dirt work on TLBs, so using the loader until I get my boxblade does not bother me, but it would be nice to have.


Boxblades are good things to have around, that is for sure.

 

[Baytown]

G'day from Ken in Australia.
We live on 15 acres in the Tropics, so right now, my 900ft dirt drive way is fairly cut up (floods and cyclone season).
I've been away with the military for 2 years, so need to put some serious time in on the property. I was looking for info on drive way maintenance when I came across this site and thread.
Thanks for all the great info, as I was wondering weather to purchase a box blade or standard scraper blade.
Box looks to suit my needs better.
Thanks again, and I'm looking forward to many enlightning conversations with the group.
Best wishes from Oz.

Ken.

 

[3RRL]

G'day from Ken in Australia.
We live on 15 acres in the Tropics, so right now, my 900ft dirt drive way is fairly cut up (floods and cyclone season).
I've been away with the military for 2 years, so need to put some serious time in on the property. I was looking for info on drive way maintenance when I came across this site and thread.
Thanks for all the great info, as I was wondering weather to purchase a box blade or standard scraper blade.
Box looks to suit my needs better.
Thanks again, and I'm looking forward to many enlightning conversations with the group.
Best wishes from Oz.

Ken.

Hello Ken and welcome to TBN,
I'm sure you'll find hundreds of interesting topics to read.
Regarding getting a straight rear blade vs getting a boxblade, they each have their strong suit. A rear blade may have the option of swinging out to the side while pulling it so you can get to say a fence row or close to a building to scrape. On the other hand, I find a boxblade is much handier for what I do. I move a lot of dirt with it and I rip up hardpan spots with the scarifiers. I can bulldoze in reverse. I have cut ditches and built a 10,000 sq ft pad for my barn and smaller ones for the house and garage and sheds. I have maintained and smoothed my 1/2 mile long road for the last 3-1/2 years with it.
So to me, it is a little more valuable than a straight rear blade. I know some guys have both.
Rob-

 

[JB4310]

I agree with Rob, I have a 6' Rear Blade and a 5' box. I think the box is hands down the more versatile tool. The only thing I use my RB is for scrapping snow off hard surfaces.

The box is easier to use basically you just pull it along with out much adjusting, it fills up by scrapping the high spots and fills in the lows, once its full it doesn't over dig and just acts as a heavy self leveling drag. You can raise it to deposit more fill faster, or raise all the way to unload the whole box full, but I usually just drop it and let it float, I do add extra weight so it will cut and fill up faster.

That may be over simplifying a bit but compared to my experience with the RB, where I had tried grading with it and made such a mess in such short time, almost layed the tractor over in the holes I made. My RB does not have wheels on it and if you were to get one then wheels would be a necessity and I'm sure would make it more manageable/useful.

Here's a link to a thread that might help, in there I recommended a York Rake with wheels, which should be considered as it's the easiest tool of all to use IMO, very forgiving, and not a dainty implement either I was surprised the rough work it was capable of.

http://www.tractorbynet.com/forums/attachments/135588-grading-long-driveway.html

Good Luck,
JB.

 

[JoelD]

My box with rippers is great for pulling rocks out of the soil. And it is really good at leveling.

I like mine very much.

Joel

 

[Baytown]

Thanks for the welcome and further info re Box vs Rear Blade fellas. Primarily it will be used for my 1/2 mile of drive way as well, and since we wouldn't know what snow looked like, the Box does sound like the item I need.
I'll start looking for prices here in Oz, and try to get the most industrial unit I can manage with my Case IH 595 4x4.
Again, I really appreciate the info, and this site has a good feel to it.
Best wishes everyone.

Ken.