Box Scraper What size box blade?

[jake98]

Everybody talks about doing gravel work with a box blade. Seems to me gravel is moved w/bucket...'
I'm also considering a box and wondering how the terraceing theory works. Jake

 

[jcmseven]

If you are thinking of going with a JD/Frontier product the 2065 65" BB is a nice match for your tractor. Your machine will really easily handle that width and it is wider than your track without being cumbersome. My advice is to buy the smallest box blade you can get by with, not the largest. Having owned and operated many compact machines, the one thing I have found is going too big gets one into trouble. Your 790 will pull a 6' BB, just not well. My previous 3720, with almost twice the HP of your machine, would not pull a 6' BB that well, so I went with a 65" and was happy. I have found that a well-matched smaller BB on the correct tractor is actually FASTER than the same tractor pulling a few inch larger blade and struggling with it. Also, in tight turns, etc. the bigger BB's tend to be much more difficult to manuver and also require more ballast, which strains the machine even more. I say this mainly because I think you should get a 65"--but since they are uncommon in size and might not be in stock--I want you to avoid jumping on the 72" blade which might be there and opt for the 60" if the 65" is not available. I think you would be happier with the performance.

John M

 

[browns40]

Ditto on the 65" for that size/weight/track machine.

 

[bjcsc]

Everybody talks about doing gravel work with a box blade. Seems to me gravel is moved w/bucket...'

It is moved with a bucket - initially. The BB is handy for maintenance. I don't know what the others here do, but my drive is 2300ft of #57. I use a landscape rake, angled and tilted, to run down each side and pull all the "pushed out" gravel to the center of the road and fill in any low spots. Essentially I create a big crown of gravel. Then I use the BB to spread it back out flat. It gives me a nice uniform finish. As we drive on it, I have to BB the middle a few times as the wheel paths compact, but then I'm done with it for a year...

 

[horse7]

I'm also considering a box and wondering how the terraceing theory works. Jake

I want to put some terraces in, but it looks like the rough terrace shape needs to be done by bulldozer-- the slope I'm considering peaks at 18*, and a tractor with FEL isn't too suitable to make a terrace on that driving lateral on the slope.

Also need to work from the top down so that one is unlikely to drive on a fill section or over a drop off, have to watch the sidewalls as the box doesn't stick out too much but some rocks do... terracing seems to work on gentle slopes but takes a while.

The real problem though is the price for rock or retaining block to make the retaining walls. Might be cheaper to use packed dollar bills or sand bags full of pennies for retaining material.

 

[john_bud]

I've used a box blade in conjunction with FEL to cut terraces into side hills. You just drop the scarifiers and break up the ground where you want the road, then angle the box to dig in more on teh high side and continue with the scarifiers. Then pick up the scarifiers and drag out the dirt. Angle the box so you are cutting with about 1/2 to 2/3 of it. That will cut the hill side down more and move the dirt to the low side. You actually want the road to be angled opposite of the original hill. (High side is now the low side) THen you ditch that side for drainage and channel the water to a spot where you cross the road -either over or under. Depends on the amount of water you are expecting. That will help keep erosion down and the road dry.

Again, with the 790 being so light, you should probably stick with a 5' box.

jb

 

[855Idiot]

I'm rated at 28 horses and I have a 5' General Box with a rear hinged blade.

It's not hard to fill the box up and bog the tractor down.

I'd stick with 5'.

 

[dirt ditch]

Thanks, lots of information. At first was considering a larger box blade as could not think of any tough projects to use one on. Found out yesterday there is a 50 year old yard with thick grass that needs 4 - 5 inches of dirt taken off and sloped back to the street. Think I will get a Cimarron 5 foot hinged back bb for $595. John Deere dealer sells them instead of the Frontier brand. Says the Cimarron bb is a better bb for the money.