Time for a box blade!

It's time for a box blade for road maintenance and fixing all the grade issues around the new building. I'm looking for recomendations here (and I'm about to head over to that other place to read Bob's thread again). Here is what I am thinking....

• 60" or 72"? This is probably going on the Oliver, so do I need to be wider than the wheels? That would be really big and $$$
• Cat 1 or 2? Again, the Oliver is the most likely at 90hp vs the little 24 hp Deer, so I am leaning toward the HD Cat 2.
• Hydraulic rippers? I have about 1800' of road to re-condition plus almost a half acre of compacted soil to re-grade around the building. Hydraulic rippers would sure make things convenient.
• Brand name? Like I said...I'm going to re-read Bobs thread Over There.
• Anything else to consider?

Here is a Wood's 60" HD unit from Bob's files.

Dave, the more and more that I read about road work, the more I believe that a box blade is a mistake. I'd be looking at the LandPlane type dual blade grader units. I have no experience with them, but they sure seem like the right too for actual leveling.

If you want to make the drive to my house sometime you can borrow my 48" Midwest box blade for a few weeks to work with your smaller tractor. I am not sure I will even use it this summer, and I've got the 60" box on the Kubota if I need one.

You'll want 3ph top link hydraulics. That and hydraulic rippers and you would not have to get out of the seat much to make adjustments .

B_Skurka said:

Dave, the more and more that I read about road work, the more I believe that a box blade is a mistake. I'd be looking at the LandPlane type dual blade grader units. I have no experience with them, but they sure seem like the right too for actual leveling.

Click to expand...

For regular annual maintenance, I agree a LandPlane type is probably better. My problem is I have 4" deep potholes, and I need to really rip up the top 5" of the entire driveway. I don't think the LandPlanes will do that.

B_Skurka said:

If you want to make the drive to my house sometime you can borrow my 48" Midwest box blade for a few weeks to work with your smaller tractor. I am not sure I will even use it this summer, and I've got the 60" box on the Kubota if I need one.

Click to expand...

I honestly don't think the little tractor has the capability to work with even a small box blade. I only have turf tires on there, and I get very little traction, even in 4WD.



Here is a Buhler Farm King Box Blade from the same dealer where I got my snowblower.

Dave, not sure, but I think you might be mistaken about the abilities of the dual blade grader type blades. If I was you I would talk to a dealer about what they are capable of, but I think they can handle 4" to 6" whoop-de-doos in your roadway without any problems at all. Ditto tearing out the potholes and leaving a smooth path. In fact I think that is exactly what they are designed to do.

For your little JD, here is a small 3 ripper Frontier blade that might work nicely.

B_Skurka said:

Dave, not sure, but I think you might be mistaken about the abilities of the dual blade grader type blades. If I was you I would talk to a dealer about what they are capable of, but I think they can handle 4" to 6" whoop-de-doos in your roadway without any problems at all. Ditto tearing out the potholes and leaving a smooth path. In fact I think that is exactly what they are designed to do.

For your little JD, here is a small 3 ripper Frontier blade that might work nicely.

Click to expand...

I will definitely talk to a dealer before I dismiss the idea. (I just need to find a dealer that carries them).

I like that little Frontier. That would be nice in the tight areas around the buildings. How much is it?

Dave, not sure of the price on the Frontier, it was at the Lowell, IN, JD dealer (you drove past it to get to Don Bales Kubota/Cub Cadet when you picked up your snowblower) and no price was marked on it. And since I'm not able to drive yet, I can't run over to see if they even have one in stock now. Here is another small box blade that might work with your JD tractor, this one is also from Don Bales Kubota/Cub Cadet. It is a light duty unit, and there was a price tag on this one, but honestly I can't recall what it costs!

The GradeMaster pictured was as DeJong New Holland/Branson in Beecher, IL. They had a couple different sizes out front the last time I looked (last fall) and I think the 5' unit was almost $700. If I recall, they went up to 8' wide. The GradeMaster's appear to be priced similar to the better brands of box blades. I've found prices at DeJong to be somewhat negotiable, but my sales guy retired last year so I only know one of the guys in the repair shop (we go to church together). Link to DeJong: http://dejongequipment.com/

Just buy a cheap 48" King Kutter or Howse at a farm store. Without hydraulic Top'n'Tilt you are going to hate the thing if you have to use it a lot.

I beat the puss out of my King Kutter and it was fine. I sold it last summer since I don't really need it any more.

How many huge rocks and/or stumps do you have? That's the only reason to step up to a better quality one. But I think your tractor isn't big enough to hurt a small box blade.

PBinWA said:

But I think your tractor isn't big enough to hurt a small box blade.

Click to expand...

Oh, I'm pretty sure the 90HP Oliver could shred a cheap poorly built box.

I have a 72" Kioti (Midwest) Heavy Duty (I can hear it now...) and it's done and does a lot of work around here. The majority of the work I do is with the loader and it stays on the tractor for ballast. I do have stumps/rocks and found the compression/peened scarifier tips didn't last. I drilled and pinned tips on and haven't lost a one yet!

DaveNay said:

Oh, I'm pretty sure the 90HP Oliver could shred a cheap poorly built box.

Click to expand...

Oh yeah, I forgot you had that. You have an JD 870 too though - right?

If you are using a 90HP tractor then you need something serious.

Big Dog said:

I have a 72" Kioti (Midwest) Heavy Duty (I can hear it now...) and it's done and does a lot of work around here. . . I do have stumps/rocks and found the compression/peened scarifier tips didn't last. I drilled and pinned tips on and haven't lost a one yet!

Click to expand...

Greg, I think Midwest designates that as the 30 series box blade, so yours would be a 30-72 or a 72-30 (I forget if the series comes before or after the size). Those are very nice blades. Its got the curved back and double cutting blades, one blade for pushing and the other for pulling. Mine is the medium duty 20 series. Yours has thicker steel and the addition of rear corner braces to keep the box blade from going out of square. One thing I like about the Midwest blades is that the sides are trapizoids instead of square or rectangles so the leading corners are not dragging when you have the blade tipped down to do some ripping. Some blades, like the Woods and Buhler brands have "cut corners" but they still drag the box corners when the blade is tipped down for ripping. Frontier doesn't even have the cut corners, its just got a slightly rounded corner.

I would think that Dave's Oliver could easily manage an 84" 30-series Midwest box blade.

FWIW, I've never torn the tips of my box blade, but then again, I've only used mine to tear up clay and sod, I don't think I've ever hit a root and I don't have a gravel drive so I've not used mine for driveway repair. however, I think I might just weld mine back on if they ever pop off?


Here is another blade, this one sold by my JD dealer. It is a Hiniker brand. They seem to display them on their larger CUTs so I'm guessing they sell them as their heavy duty line. I didn't like the way the scarifiers lock into place. They use a proprietary locking clip that, if lost, would be a PITA to replace because you'd have to go back to the stocking dealer to get another one. BTW, you will notice two scarifiers missing in the photo! Also, I could not reposition the scarifiers with gloves on, and with gloves off it was a huge pain in the ass to manipulate them . . . something I consider to be poor design. Overall the blade does not impress me as being very heavy duty either. I'd consider this a medium duty blade. It also has simple cut corners.

B_Skurka said:

Greg, I think Midwest designates that as the 30 series box blade, so yours would be a 30-72 or a 72-30 (I forget if the series comes before or after the size). Those are very nice blades. Mine is the 20 series. Yours has thicker steel and the addition of rear corner braces to keep the box blade from going out of square.

I would think that Dave's Oliver could easily manage an 84" 30-series Midwest box blade.

Click to expand...

You are absolutely correct on all counts here!

BB30-72

Dave has the tractor to test an HD!

PBinWA said:

Oh yeah, I forgot you had that. You have an JD 870 too though - right?

If you are using a 90HP tractor then you need something serious.

Click to expand...

JD 855

B_Skurka said:

I would think that Dave's Oliver could easily manage an 84" 30-series Midwest box blade.

Click to expand...

I am also liking the design of the Woods HD BB. I believe the black one in Bobs first post to this thread is a Woods design.

DaveNay said:

I am also liking the design of the Woods HD BB. I believe the black one in Bobs first post to this thread is a Woods design.

Click to expand...

Yup the black box blade at the beginning of the thread is a Woods HD. It also features reinforced rear corners, heavy plate, etc. It also has a very interesting way of locking the scarifiers into place. I found it a little awkward but still very secure and I'm sure with practice it would become second nature to adjust the scarifier depth. Pardon the crude drawing but this pretty well explains the Woods system of using a sort of a key to lock the scarifier teeth into place, you set the "key" behind the scarifier teeth (one key has 'tabs' that fit behind 2 scarifiers) and lock it into place with a standard lynch pin.

Still, I would not give up on the idea of using a GradeMaster or LandPlane.

B_Skurka said:

Yup the black box blade at the beginning of the thread is a Woods HD.

Click to expand...

Actually, the black one pictured is a Woods XB Extreme Duty Box Scraper. The Woods HD has the proprietary little clip that you don't like (I agree it is a crummy concept).

DaveNay said:

JD 855

Click to expand...

Attached Images
http://www.forumsforums.com/3_9/attachment.php?attachmentid=11610&stc=1&d=1174156383


Dave, perhaps its just me, but dang, get the stringtrimmer (AKA weedeated) out!

dzalphakilo said:

Dave, perhaps its just me, but dang, get the stringtrimmer (AKA weedeated) out!

Click to expand...

That picture was taken literally 4 days after we purchased the farm. Everything you see there was from the previous owner. The building in the background is the one that was demolished in September to make way for the new arena.

DaveNay said:

That picture was taken literally 4 days after we purchased the farm. Everything you see there was from the previous owner. The building in the background is the one that was demolished in September to make way for the new arena.

Click to expand...

I remember those skylights from a previous post.

You did make me think of buddies and people I know in the engineering field and how they kept their lawns. For the most part, it's people that were in liberal arts that kept their lawn like the pic you posted

B_Skurka said:

Dave, not sure of the price on the Frontier

Click to expand...

A 48" Frontier is $695.
A 72" Frontier BB2172 is $1276

A 72" Woods GB72 is $850

My dealer also has a three year old (new) Town & Country 60" for $600, but it has paint problems (that is why it is still on the lot).

Frontier, being a JD brand certainly seems like the most $$.

Town & Country blade pictured below:

Dave, I personally think that Town & Country blade is too big for your JD and way too lightly built for your Oliver. A 60" box blade, combined with a light tractor that has turf tires is just set up for disappointment.

The Oliver would be able to mangle the heck out of that blade based on the fairly lightweight design of the top link attachement point. There is minimal reinforcement in that design to prevent the whole boxblade from twisting (and staying twisted).

B_Skurka said:

Dave, I personally think that Town & Country blade is too big for your JD and way too lightly built for your Oliver. A 60" box blade, combined with a light tractor that has turf tires is just set up for disappointment.

The Oliver would be able to mangle the heck out of that blade based on the fairly lightweight design of the top link attachement point. There is minimal reinforcement in that design to prevent the whole boxblade from twisting (and staying twisted).

Click to expand...

Yeah, I wasn't too thrilled with the design of the Town & Country.

At this time, I am leaning towards the Woods 72", even though it is a standard duty, not medium. I would pull it with the big tractor. But then, I'm not sure it would be usable for doing typical landscaping. GAAAAARRRRRR!!!!!

After thinking about it for a while, I think your idea of a LandPlane type is too much of a single purpose device, and doesn't allow me to do the regular landscaping also. Plus, they seem pretty darn expensive ($1200 for a 72").

DaveNay said:

A 72" Frontier BB2172 is $1276

Click to expand...

Dave, how wide is the tires on your Oliver? I think if it would be me would be to get the heaviest BB to cover your wheels of the Oliver. Unless your drive is really short I would rather see the Oliver do the work over the John Deere. But also remember that that Oliver is one tough tractor and the BB has to be able to keep up with her.

murph

thcri said:

Dave, how wide is the tires on your Oliver? I think if it would be me would be to get the heaviest BB to cover your wheels of the Oliver. Unless your drive is really short I would rather see the Oliver do the work over the John Deere. But also remember that that Oliver is one tough tractor and the BB has to be able to keep up with her.

Click to expand...

The Oliver is probably at least 7' wide. In an ideal world, I would agree with you, and get an 8' construction quality BB with hydraulic scarifiers. However, the budget doesn't allow that, and I need to also fulfill the requirement of doing the lighter work around the buildings.

DaveNay said:

After thinking about it for a while, I think your idea of a LandPlane type is too much of a single purpose device, and doesn't allow me to do the regular landscaping also. Plus, they seem pretty darn expensive ($1200 for a 72").

Click to expand...

Still reading up on these.......There are definitely lower priced (and higher) units than what I said above.

Bob, do you know of anyone using these on anything other than gravel roads? How about using them to smooth/shape good ol' black dirt?

Dave, I used to trade emails with a guy named Sonnie, he had one and he used it to cut new roadways through his lawn. He said it did a great job smoothing the ground but it does not really "move" dirt from place to place.

B_Skurka said:

Dave, I used to trade emails with a guy named Sonnie, he had one and he used it to cut new roadways through his lawn. He said it did a great job smoothing the ground but it does not really "move" dirt from place to place.

Click to expand...

That's probably not a big deal. I already have a 6' rear straight blade, and it can move a whole lot of dirt.

DaveNay said:

Still reading up on these.......There are definitely lower priced (and higher) units than what I said above.

Bob, do you know of anyone using these on anything other than gravel roads? How about using them to smooth/shape good ol' black dirt?

Click to expand...

Dave,

I few years back when they landscaped my lawn and did the sod work the rough grade guy had one of them. I was very impressed on how he was able to move dirt around, shape the water drainage areas etc etc. He was able to pick up and shape dirt that was virgin but am wondering how it would do on a packed driveway??

Landplane. They have a contact link on their page if you want to write them and not sure about if you can buy direct or if they have a local distributor.

murph

Well, I still don't have a box blade.

However, Bob's idea of the land grader device has caused me to keep my eyes out for one of these at a good price, and I think I have found one locally. The price is definitely good, and it appears that the design is sound.

What do you guys think? Has anyone used anything similar, or comparable? What do you think of the design of this one? The seller claims it is 3/16" and 1/4" steel, and the main blades were fabricated from 8" I beams. The trailing blade can be flipped up so it doesn't have any effect, or can stay down for the finish smoothing.

edit: I seem to be having problems with uploading pictures.