Hey all. Got my first 3 pt hitch implement. Thought I could basically hook up my box blade and run over my driveway and that would be that. Guess I was wishful thinking. Seems the blade doesn't rest on the ground like I thought it would. Every time my back wheels rise up going over unlevel surface, my box blade rises with it. I have all teeth in uppermost position. I have rise/fall knob in lowest setting. I was under the impression it would be a little simpler. How do y'all smooth dirt driveways and level property?
proper box blade operation?
- Thread starter Jason G
- Start date
TripleR
Active member
Equipment
BX2200, BX2660, L5740 HSTC, M8540HDC and some other tractors and equipment
"Practice, practice, practice etc, etc "
This sounds good, but it's wrong.
Perfect practice makes perfect. You practice doing something wrong long enough, you'll get real good at doing it wrong!
Find someone local to show you first hand. Other option is, as suggest, go to YouTube. But there you have to see if they have credentials or just want to upload a video!!
This sounds good, but it's wrong.
Perfect practice makes perfect. You practice doing something wrong long enough, you'll get real good at doing it wrong!
Find someone local to show you first hand. Other option is, as suggest, go to YouTube. But there you have to see if they have credentials or just want to upload a video!!
Daren Todd
Well-known member
Lifetime Member
Equipment
Massey Ferguson 1825E, Kubota Z121S, Box blade, Rotary Cutter
I found that taking your time, small bites, and going good and slow gave me the best results. I'll usually start with a small area, get it level then work my way out from there. I also found if it's really rough, then i chew it all up and get it good and loose first, then come back and adjust it to give me more of a drag and float setting to fill in the low spots. Big thing is getting used to your machine, the response of the 3ph, and how the angle on the box blade effects wether it digs or floats.
Have you checked the range, up and down, of those arms back there? Is there a chain keeping the arms from going down? On some tractors the arms won't go down as far as the implement wants, so the lifting "rods" need to be re-set or extended. I find my BX is very limited as to the range and to attach some things I need to have the implement sitting on a support, due to that limited down range.
I was trying to use my box scraper for the first time tonight. I guess I did kind of ok for my first time but, I have a lot of room to improve. My problem is that I'm going down a slight grade and then around a turn. The thing I didn't do was to tear the ground up first with the shanks. I'll have to try that first. Then I'll adjust the top link and try to start leveling and smoothing it out.
Burt
New member
Equipment
L3700SU, box blade, 6 foot rhino blade, 1 bottom plow, 3 point receiver hitch.
JasonG,
First off , watch you tube videos about box blades.
Next, put a pile of gravel in front of a hole or a depression. You could also use dirt if you don't have gravel. Set your box blade behind the gravel. In other words, you will drive over the gravel and the hole. Use your top link to "tilt" the box blade just a bit backward. Don't gouge the gravel or dirt, rather, keep your box blade just above the prior surface but enough to pick up your gravel pile.
Now, drive forward slowly having another person watching and walking beside your box blade. Assure you that your box blade is pick up gravel from your pile. You can tell if it bunches up gravel inside your box blade. If it isn't, stop, go back and re-adjust your box blade. Don't use your scarifiers at this point, just the box. Once your box blade picks up gravel at the right height, it will drop it into the depression or hole and "level" it for you.
As you get better, you can finesse it perfectly by lowering the blade to the existing ground level.
Scarifiers are used to scratch up soil, prep it and make a mess if you want to.
We have flattened many "moguls" around our place using the box blade and scarifiers. It's like owning a miniature grader. It will also make your gravel driveway like new.
BTW, you can clear out a ditch with a box blade or make one. Tilt your 3 point to one side and clear a ditch, or go one way and then back with it tilted and make a nice new ditch with it.
Do the you tube research and practice. You'll find it to be one of the best things you ever got as an attachment.
Burt
otter
Member
Equipment
L3800, LA524 loader, BH77 backhoe, thumb, box blade small wood lot log grapple
Thanks for all the great info and link by RRR.
Learning much to practice with when the ground thaws.
Learning much to practice with when the ground thaws.
They have some of the best videos on using equipment
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LxuEDGSGOZA&feature=player_embedded#t=5
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LxuEDGSGOZA&feature=player_embedded#t=5
Lil Foot
Well-known member
Lifetime Member
Equipment
1979 B7100DT Gear, Nissan Hanix N150-2 Excavator
My somewhat limited experience shows that it doesn't need to be as aggressive as I would have thought (box blade angled down in front- a little angle goes a long way) and that after all the cutting of high spots is done, angling the rear of the box blade down a lot really helps to spread & level things. (like a "butter knife") Great for mashing dirts clods & such. My rear blade can be left "floating", but for the "butter knife" effect I like it locked down. Best thing I did to learn was to haul my rig to a local vacant lot where people had been (illegally) dumping dirt & fill & such, (the Arizona state pass time) and pick a spot & try to level it. Lots of experimentation led to a couple of "AHA!" moments. Even had a cop stop & thank me for "cleaning up".
Daren Todd
Well-known member
Lifetime Member
Equipment
Massey Ferguson 1825E, Kubota Z121S, Box blade, Rotary Cutter
Farmer behind me has one on his. It's definitely the ticket. Spend more time mowing with mine, i don't see the need for it. Use a box blade about once a year at my gramps, smoothing out his drive with his tractor. It usually only takes me about a minute to get it adjusted the way i want it. Course they won't go through the expense on his since it might get about five hours a year on it. I keep trying to get him to trade his l2250dt with fel, for my l1501
so far it's a no go 
I've used hydraulic and turnbuckle style top links. The hydraulic unit was great but really more of a need to have for someone that is in the dirt, dragging it around all the time. If you use the box once a week or less, or only for smoothing and not shaping projects, then the hydraulic link is not necessary. If you are doing landscape shaping, then not only the top link, but the side link(s) might need to be hydraulic also.
There is another thread that talks about drag linking the box, with chain and such, this is also capable of dropping far lower on your 3pt than normal. If you extend out your links with hard links, that also gets you more 'drop'. You can do that with modifications to the box blade itself. Weight on the box helps as well.
A properly run box blade can fill in holes, make them and even rip decent size mounds down. I've done all of them and it takes practice and experimentation with it. Set aside a few gallons of diesel and go play in the dirt.
There is another thread that talks about drag linking the box, with chain and such, this is also capable of dropping far lower on your 3pt than normal. If you extend out your links with hard links, that also gets you more 'drop'. You can do that with modifications to the box blade itself. Weight on the box helps as well.
A properly run box blade can fill in holes, make them and even rip decent size mounds down. I've done all of them and it takes practice and experimentation with it. Set aside a few gallons of diesel and go play in the dirt.