This will be a little lengthy just so everyone knows where my thinking is, good and bad.
After seeing tractors scoop virgin earth, and knowing all the other projects I could use a tractor for, I went ahead and got myself a little 23s . I have to dig some holes for in ground water tanks, make a septic field, dig the hole for a septic tank, maybe a propane tank ( I like the idea of the explosion going UP, in case something happens, replace the culvert pipe at the road thats half collapsed, dig up/out a 12 foot tree stump(the dirt around it) make a road t the back of my 4 acre property, make a new driveway after the culvert pipe replacement re route a stream and as you reader/lurkers know, regrade my property.
Now, here is the tricky part. From all the rentals and days I would need from the rentals for my projects, it only made sense to buy a tractor and sell when done in 3 years or so (probably all done in the next 365 days). When I mentioned flattening out my property, a few people pitched in and said to just get someone to do it. Problem with that (me being foolish before hand, but thats hearsay now) is that if I spend $2k for someone else to do it, then it kind of negates me purchasing the tractor (I am thinking financially, not "handy"). So, now I have a $25k tractor I kind of "need" to make it work for me, if not, it was a waste of money
.
So, the time came for its arrival. It rained full blast the day I got it and I have been waiting for it for a year, so, needless to say, my yard is a mud pit just driving it around. I have a 2 lane gravel parking spot thats angled, so, I attacked that making even more of a mess, but what the heck, it was seat time and I was a happy duck! Heck, I even went to walmart a few days earlier and got a full wet suit just for the onslaught of rain, that aint gonna stop ME, lol. I learned a lot that day. Seems the tractor will do about 90% of what I expected it to do. Although it was slippery out there, I expected it to bite (traction) a little more and lift a little more. Also didnt steer through the mud the way I thought it would. Okay, so, it was a learning curve I adapted to, to extract as much as I could out of every maneuver. What I was left with though was that unless the ground is 85% dry for max traction/digging softness, no way I am gonna be able to skim the surface like I foolishly planned. There are things I could do to make it work, but, now is the time to work smart!
With that being said, the Box Blade was invented and advised. I looked into them, and, if I have any chance at leveling out the yard before x-mas 2023, I best be grabbing a box blade and giving that a whirl. Next question is how to go about it? Open yard is about 60ft x 140-60ish ft. Total area will be around 200/300x200/300ft when done, but, need to work on the open area first. Sometimes I dont get things, so, lets try this example. Lets take a baseball diamond and drop off 4th base so you have 3 bases, make it a rectangle, so, you have Home, 1st, 2nd and 3rd base, then back to home. Standing at home base, looking at 3rd base its "pretty" level. As you go to the far end of 1st, its about 2.5ft higher (approx 140ft out) than home, and 2nd base goes up to 3ft peak (60ft away) from 1st base.
How would I cut that all down properly to where its level AND it is ALL 8" (cinderblock height) lower than what home and 3rd started out as? Do I just chew on the corner of 2nd base area with the BB til it is even with 1st base area, then go back and forth between 1st and 2nd til it is somewhat even and then start taking out the whole area until home and third are/is cut down 8" (where it needs to be)? 2) Backhoe 2nd base area to 1st base level and box blade it from there, or? Did that even make sense as an example?
After seeing tractors scoop virgin earth, and knowing all the other projects I could use a tractor for, I went ahead and got myself a little 23s . I have to dig some holes for in ground water tanks, make a septic field, dig the hole for a septic tank, maybe a propane tank ( I like the idea of the explosion going UP, in case something happens, replace the culvert pipe at the road thats half collapsed, dig up/out a 12 foot tree stump(the dirt around it) make a road t the back of my 4 acre property, make a new driveway after the culvert pipe replacement re route a stream and as you reader/lurkers know, regrade my property.
Now, here is the tricky part. From all the rentals and days I would need from the rentals for my projects, it only made sense to buy a tractor and sell when done in 3 years or so (probably all done in the next 365 days). When I mentioned flattening out my property, a few people pitched in and said to just get someone to do it. Problem with that (me being foolish before hand, but thats hearsay now) is that if I spend $2k for someone else to do it, then it kind of negates me purchasing the tractor (I am thinking financially, not "handy"). So, now I have a $25k tractor I kind of "need" to make it work for me, if not, it was a waste of money
. So, the time came for its arrival. It rained full blast the day I got it and I have been waiting for it for a year, so, needless to say, my yard is a mud pit just driving it around. I have a 2 lane gravel parking spot thats angled, so, I attacked that making even more of a mess, but what the heck, it was seat time and I was a happy duck! Heck, I even went to walmart a few days earlier and got a full wet suit just for the onslaught of rain, that aint gonna stop ME, lol. I learned a lot that day. Seems the tractor will do about 90% of what I expected it to do. Although it was slippery out there, I expected it to bite (traction) a little more and lift a little more. Also didnt steer through the mud the way I thought it would. Okay, so, it was a learning curve I adapted to, to extract as much as I could out of every maneuver. What I was left with though was that unless the ground is 85% dry for max traction/digging softness, no way I am gonna be able to skim the surface like I foolishly planned. There are things I could do to make it work, but, now is the time to work smart!
With that being said, the Box Blade was invented and advised. I looked into them, and, if I have any chance at leveling out the yard before x-mas 2023, I best be grabbing a box blade and giving that a whirl. Next question is how to go about it? Open yard is about 60ft x 140-60ish ft. Total area will be around 200/300x200/300ft when done, but, need to work on the open area first. Sometimes I dont get things, so, lets try this example. Lets take a baseball diamond and drop off 4th base so you have 3 bases, make it a rectangle, so, you have Home, 1st, 2nd and 3rd base, then back to home. Standing at home base, looking at 3rd base its "pretty" level. As you go to the far end of 1st, its about 2.5ft higher (approx 140ft out) than home, and 2nd base goes up to 3ft peak (60ft away) from 1st base.
How would I cut that all down properly to where its level AND it is ALL 8" (cinderblock height) lower than what home and 3rd started out as? Do I just chew on the corner of 2nd base area with the BB til it is even with 1st base area, then go back and forth between 1st and 2nd til it is somewhat even and then start taking out the whole area until home and third are/is cut down 8" (where it needs to be)? 2) Backhoe 2nd base area to 1st base level and box blade it from there, or? Did that even make sense as an example?
