Homemade box blade

skeets · Apr 3, 2015

I must say I am impressed !!

D2Cat · Apr 3, 2015

Daren, looks good. Looks stout. nice job.

Daren Todd · Apr 3, 2015

Thanks guys, Mother Nature isn't cooperating. Thunder storms all last night and today. So I'm not able to test it out

will have to hook it up some time this week to the l1501.. It's gonna have to go to the back burner for a couple days though. Wife said the yard was looking like a hay field. So tomorrow I'll have hook up the finish mower when I get home. Service and grease it. Give the blades a good sharpening and hit the lawn.

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RCW · Apr 3, 2015

Daren - great job on the build.

Was watching your progress closely, and glad you came to what looks like a great final design. The great guys here always offer such expert solutions to our problems. Way to stick to it!

You had me until here:

Daren Todd said:
Wife said the yard was looking like a hay field.

I JUST started making maple syrup last week - and even after a couple days at 60 degrees - most of my F$%#KING LAWN is SNOW!!!

I wish the wife would bytch about tall grass!!!

Best wishes, and great job!!

Daren Todd · Apr 3, 2015

Rcw, i'm jealous and miss being able to sugar. Had a lot of great memories from when we were boiling. We used to set up a camp stove and pig out, and play darts and Other nights it was a good book and the radio

wife actually said if she new how to use the tractor she would have mowed this week. I would have had to go through and fix fences though

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Daren Todd · Apr 3, 2015

I did learn something the hard way while finishing up the blade

if your working with a welder that's 50 plus years old. (Dad got the one in the garage very well used in 1975) Check the hot cable really really good!!!! There was a exposed spot on the cable that I didn't see. Plopped down on my butt to give my knees a break.. Rivet on my pants caught said exposed spot. The cable literally lit my a$$ up

:

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ShaunBlake · Apr 4, 2015

Daren Todd said:
I did learn something the hard way ... if your working with a welder that's 50 plus years old... Check the hot cable really really good!!!! There was a exposed spot on the cable that I didn't see. Plopped down on my butt to give my knees a break.. Rivet on my pants caught said exposed spot. The cable literally lit my a$$ up :

LROL So sorry, DT, I know that was a shock in every way possible, and hurt feelings, pride, as well as butt. I guess I'm just a slug, but it made me burst out laughing. Just the sorta thing I do all the time!

Daren Todd · Apr 4, 2015

ShaunBlake said:
LROL So sorry, DT, I know that was a shock in every way possible, and hurt feelings, pride, as well as butt. I guess I'm just a slug, but it made me burst out laughing. Just the sorta thing I do all the time!

I think I only got shocked for about half a second. Felt the jolt and levitated back to me feet in about .003 seconds

Told dad about it and thought he was gonna pass out he was laughing so hard. Suggested that when he gets back on his feet and wanted to start messing with it again, to invest in some new cables and a ground clamp

Daren Todd · Apr 4, 2015

I know I was supposed to be working on my honey do list (the yard) but I couldn't pass up giving the box blade one last test to see if I got the ripper issue licked

After 2 dozen or so passes down the road the rippers stayed where they were supposed too

Tail gate worked great for dumping gravel back on to the road instead of pulling it with me

Now all I got left is to paint

And at the end of it, this is what the 300' section of road I did looked like

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sawmill · Apr 4, 2015

Great job Daren. Looks like you have a winner.

Tooljunkie · Apr 4, 2015

Um, im still not convinced.better bring it up here and demonstrate it on my driveway....

All kidding aside, thats the ticket!!
Looks like you achieved the desired results.
Great job. Cant wait to see it in color.

RCW · Apr 4, 2015

Daren -

As the guys said - looks good, and does a great job on the driveway!

Remember to round off those corners, will save some skin and blood.

Still jealous about you having green grass.............I'll keep boiling sap...

Lil Foot · Apr 4, 2015

Your project turned out great, and the proof is the driveway- most people couldn't get it that nice with a factory box.

Daren Todd · Apr 5, 2015

Would have been a little easier if the tractor was 4wd

I had to make around 15 to 20 trips up and down the road with the rippers to get it to loosen up. What ever the neighbor spread on it packed down like concrete. First trips up and back were barely going down 1/2" and just grooving the road. I ripped back and forth the lengh of the road till I could get it loosened up enough for the back blade to start pulling material. Then raise the rippers, kicked the differential lock in and ran up and down the road a couple of times burying the blade similar to a land plane. Then tilted it till the cutting edge was off the ground a 1/2" , and then made a few passes up and back catching the entrances to the driveways to get them smooth and shaved down the high spots on the road. Then cranked the cutting edge up some more, and then feathered down the ridges left by the edges of the blade. Got it done just in time too

Got a 600' driveway to grade next weekend and a 20x30 pad to level and lay gravel in for a portable car port/ shed. Should pay for most of the blade

I definitely get why folks recommend a hydraulic top link when grading. It's a lot nicer then having to stop, climb off and adjust the top link

mdhughes · Apr 5, 2015

Daren,
Nice work on the box blade! I like the way you did the adjustment pins, the Land Pride has clips that snap in behind the ripper and are a pain to get out. Need to find a better way and replace the clips.

It looks like you are a pro at using box blades on gravel roads, how about you coming up to MO and showing me how to use the one I got with my L3901DT? I'll even let you run the L3901DT till I think I understand how to do it. Mind you that sometimes I'm a little slow learning, but I can drive my Mule along side till I think I have it.

Everyone,
Hope you all had a great Easter!

Daren Todd · Apr 5, 2015

mdhughes said:
Daren,
Nice work on the box blade! I like the way you did the adjustment pins, the Land Pride has clips that snap in behind the ripper and are a pain to get out. Need to find a better way and replace the clips.

It looks like you are a pro at using box blades on gravel roads, how about you coming up to MO and showing me how to use the one I got with my L3901DT? I'll even let you run the L3901DT till I think I understand how to do it. Mind you that sometimes I'm a little slow learning, but I can drive my Mule along side till I think I have it.

Everyone,
Hope you all had a great Easter!

Actually, I've only used a box blade a few times. Twice about 10 years ago doing a driveway my dad picked up for a side job, but couldn't get to himself, and some gravel in my gramps driveway when they built his house. Did two test runs with the blade I built before seriously tackling the road out in front of my house which hadn't been touched in three years. I have had quite a bit of experience with heavy equipment periodically over the years. Best piece of advice I got when learning a new piece of equipment is to go slow and take your time and don't try to do the whole thing in one pass. And if you aren't liking the results, then stop, take a good look at what your doing. Make your adjustments and try again. I found I have an easier time smoothing out a rough road or driveway with a blade if I loosen the material up really good first, then go back and smooth it out. I've been happier with the results doing it that way. It took about thirty passes on the road in front of my house. With the majority just running back and fourth loosening it up till the blade itself would make contact with the gravel. three passes to cover the width of the road. It was like concrete when I started.

ShaunBlake · Apr 5, 2015

Daren Todd said:
Actually, I've only used a box blade a few times...
Best piece of advice I got when learning a new piece of equipment is to go slow and take your time and don't try to do the whole thing in one pass. And if you aren't liking the results, then stop, take a good look at what your doing. Make your adjustments and try again...
It took about thirty passes on the road in front of my house. With the majority just running back and fourth loosening it up till the blade itself would make contact with the gravel. three passes to cover the width of the road...

DT, your brief comments represent 'BoxBlade 201' to me; far more education than I would get riding beside you on mdhughes's mule.

Thank you very, very much for the explanation! (And I must admonish you: it makes the hair on the back of my neck stand at attention when you anticipate my question and answer it before I can ask it!)

skeets · Apr 6, 2015

Pretty good pictures,, though I have to ask ,,,, where did you get that hood ornament?

Daren Todd · Apr 6, 2015

skeets said:
Pretty good pictures,, though I have to ask ,,,, where did you get that hood ornament?

Lmao,

I found her online

ShaunRH · Apr 6, 2015

Final job is awesome... love the cross between the land plane and the box scraper... now, should I modify mine to do the same? LOL!

Yeah, 7014 is a common AC rod, my Allis-Chalmers D-17 is mostly 7014 welds, but I can get away with 6011 on horizontal welds, they suck on vertical. 7018AC is nice but flux central. It's not like the nice Lincoln Excaliber 7018 flux which just flakes off.

You did a great job with what looks like mild steel. Are your cutting edges carbide?

Homemade box blade

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