A DOH moment & a question...

[Mike_B]

I cut all the grass along the road frontage today. Afterward I hosed the Bota off & let it drip dry. Then I decided I would drop the MMM so I can give the blades a looking over. Well I unhooked everything except the PTO shaft. No harm done but I just felt like an idiot. This B2320 really is the cats meow for my uses. I do with it was a bit bigger from time to time, but that's usually when I'm trying to do something I shouldn't be doing. This leads me to a question: What's the best implement for leveling out several acres with small mounds & dips? I've been saving money for an equipment trailer & implements & am getting close to what's needed for a purchase. I will be scouring local sales circulars & craigslist. I also would like to start gardening next year if all goes as planned. I guess a tiller &, disc harrow & plow is in order for that.

F Area

 

[skeets]

I would say a box plow would work well and then use a drag harrow or spike harrow to smooth it out,, I'm sure others have some better ideas

 

[Eric McCarthy]

Box blade gets my vote!

 

[Russell King]

Look at a land plane. Not sure what type of HP they need or your tractor produces..

http://www.everythingattachments.com/Tractor-Land-Plane-Tractor-Land-Leveler-s/9893.htm

 

[Bulldog]

Although every implement has it's place it would be hard to do without a box scrape.

 

[helomech]

Look at a land plane. Not sure what type of HP they need or your tractor produces..

http://www.everythingattachments.com/Tractor-Land-Plane-Tractor-Land-Leveler-s/9893.htm

Those are awesome. I have one a little heavier duty than those in the pick, but once you get one like that you will never use a box blade again. It used to take me a full day to fix my road with a box blade, now it takes me less than a hour to fix it with the leveler.

 

[DanDan]

I would say a box plow would work well and then use a drag harrow or spike harrow to smooth it out,, I'm sure others have some better ideas

Ditto on the drag/chain harrow, particularly if the surface is soft (not caked/hardpack).

If your "small mounds and dips" are really small- like potholes, washboard, or potmounds (is that even a word?), then the BB is probably the perfect tool.

However, at least in my hands, the box blade is a bit of a disaster when it comes to leveling out large-ish mounds and dips- as the tractor front goes UP a mound, the box blade goes DOWN, thus exaggerating the effect. After I have made a mess of it with the BB, I usually have to go over it with the front end loader locked in "float" mode and back over the area, trying to repair the damage...

I think the ideal setup is probably a mid-mount blade (there are some around; vs. fabricate it yourself), or a pull-type BB that is not fixed to the fore-aft axis of the tractor (like bulldog_shotgun's brilliant implementation: http://www.orangetractortalks.com/forums/showthread.php?t=9637&highlight=pull+type+blade)

 

[helomech]

This is real similar to the one I have. It fills in low spot great, but in soft soil it can dig too deep and bog down the tractor. Just have to modulate the 3 point when that happens.

https://www.google.com/search?q=pul...%2F95894-road-boss-road-grader-3.html;640;480

 

[Bulldog]

That is a cool looking implement but I see nothing it does that I can't do with my box scrape. Not only able to do everything the land plane does but more.

A land plane is about the same as a "T" in baseball. It lets everyone play the game including the ones who can't operate a box scrape properly.

 

[helomech]

That is a cool looking implement but I see nothing it does that I can't do with my box scrape. Not only able to do everything the land plane does but more.

A land plane is about the same as a "T" in baseball. It lets everyone play the game including the ones who can't operate a box scrape properly.

It does everything a box blade does, but it fills in way better than a box blade. If you never used one, try it you will ditch the box blade I swear. I maintain my mile long iron ore dirt road, and have to fix it on a regular basis. The box blade took forever to use, it drug to much dirt, did not fill in holes like this does. I can operate a box blade, but it is harder and does not do as good a job as this implement does. My father in law has been running heavy equipment for 50 years and when he tried the grader he loved it. Why would you choose a implement that is harder to use and does not do as good of a job. A box blade is fine for moving dirt, but for leveling ground and filling in low spots the grader is MUCH better. My box blade is now in the woods getting grown over.

I am willing to bet anything I can do a job faster with the grader than you can with a box blade. Only job a box blade can do faster is moving dirt from one spot to another, everything else the box blade can stay parked.

Name something you can do with a box blade that this can't do, and I'll post a pic of me doing.

 

[Burt]

It does everything a box blade does, but it fills in way better than a box blade. If you never used one, try it you will ditch the box blade I swear. I maintain my mile long iron ore dirt road, and have to fix it on a regular basis. The box blade took forever to use, it drug to much dirt, did not fill in holes like this does. I can operate a box blade, but it is harder and does not do as good a job as this implement does. My father in law has been running heavy equipment for 50 years and when he tried the grader he loved it. Why would you choose a implement that is harder to use and does not do as good of a job. A box blade is fine for moving dirt, but for leveling ground and filling in low spots the grader is MUCH better. My box blade is now in the woods getting grown over.

I am willing to bet anything I can do a job faster with the grader than you can with a box blade. Only job a box blade can do faster is moving dirt from one spot to another, everything else the box blade can stay parked.

Name something you can do with a box blade that this can't do, and I'll post a pic of me doing.

OK, I'll chip in. Since I've never used a land plane, it would be interesting to compare prices between them and a box blade.

However, I wasn't sure what a box blade could do when I was given mine. You tube answered the questions easily. They do require some 3 point adjustment to get it right. So far, we have leveled out dirt covered mounds, smoothed and flattened gravel, dug a 7 foot, 3 foot deep trench around a garage, cleared ground around neighbors outbuilding and dug up a plot for a neighbor. Oh yes, done what the origin of this message link was about. Many mounds have been flattened and smoothed.

Our trick was watching the video. Then my wife walked beside me at first watching the blade. If it picked too much up, I'd adjust the 3 point angle to compensate. One you get the hang of adjusting the box blade, it didn't make any difference if you dipped the tractor or not, just watch the 3 point from the CEO's seat.

We also have a foot blade but the box blade has no equal for us.

I'm sure the land plane is a good tool as well, so the availability, maintenance and price can determine what you get. Scarifier teeth are readily available for box blades now. Although I haven't broken one, I know that a replacement is easy to get.

Burt

 

[helomech]

OK, I'll chip in. Since I've never used a land plane, it would be interesting to compare prices between them and a box blade.

However, I wasn't sure what a box blade could do when I was given mine. You tube answered the questions easily. They do require some 3 point adjustment to get it right. So far, we have leveled out dirt covered mounds, smoothed and flattened gravel, dug a 7 foot, 3 foot deep trench around a garage, cleared ground around neighbors outbuilding and dug up a plot for a neighbor. Oh yes, done what the origin of this message link was about. Many mounds have been flattened and smoothed.

Our trick was watching the video. Then my wife walked beside me at first watching the blade. If it picked too much up, I'd adjust the 3 point angle to compensate. One you get the hang of adjusting the box blade, it didn't make any difference if you dipped the tractor or not, just watch the 3 point from the CEO's seat.

We also have a foot blade but the box blade has no equal for us.

I'm sure the land plane is a good tool as well, so the availability, maintenance and price can determine what you get. Scarifier teeth are readily available for box blades now. Although I haven't broken one, I know that a replacement is easy to get.

Burt

The grader is more expensive no doubt. I have both. Never said a box blade could not do the work, it is just more of a pain in the arse than the grader. I can run wide open with the grader and never look back and it smooths out the ground perfectly. No dips when the tractor hits a bump or a hole. It digs as good as my box blade, maybe better, because it has two cutting blades and has more weight than a box blade. You can get them with the teeth if you want, mine does not have the teeth. I hardly ever used the teeth anyways with my box blade, I was always breaking them when hitting a stump or big rock. My soil is not nice soil. It is iron ore, with lots of large rocks under the surface, and old tree roots and stumps from earlier tree harvests. I understand you have to adjust the 3 point while using the box blade, that is my entire point. The grader you just lower it and run as fast as you want. It even does a great job in reverse for pushing and smoothing.

All I am saying is if you have not used a grader blade than you really don't know what you are missing. I can fix my road in 2 passes, where the box blade was lots of backing up and hitting it over and over again. It has taken me 2 days in the past (when the road gets real bad)to get my road in good shape with a box blade, it has never taken more than 2 hours with this new grader blade. If I keep up with the road and don't let it get bad I can fix it in about 30 minutes with the grader, best time with the box blade was measured in hours. To me that time savings is worth more than the cost difference between the two.

 

[TripleR]

This always seems to be a hot topic, land plane vs box blade. If I had the money to spare and place to store it, I would like to have a land plane.

I move a lot of dirt on our farms in addition to road maintenance, so I have a Land Pride HR3584 with Top and Tilt on our L5740 and just a hydraulic top link and scarifiers on our M8540. We also have a ten foot drag scraper which works really well, bought it when setting up home sites; different brand but it looks like this: http://www.landpride.com/product-search/dirtworking/33?f[0]=field_dirtworking%3A9

Often times we have to use compromise equipment and I am happy with what I have. Now if someone has a land plane they want to give away...

 

[helomech]

Here is the one I have, can't remember what I paid for it, but it was worth every penny. It is the 6 foot model and weighs 785 lbs.

http://www.armstrongag.com/Prodimages/DBG.pdf?#view=Fit

 

[TripleR]

Here is the one I have, can't remember what I paid for it, but it was worth every penny. It is the 6 foot model and weighs 785 lbs.

http://www.armstrongag.com/Prodimages/DBG.pdf?#view=Fit

That is a really robust unit, I looked at Land Pride and they are considerably lighter even with scarifiers.

 

[helomech]

That is a really robust unit, I looked at Land Pride and they are considerably lighter even with scarifiers.

I wanted a very heavy duty one. I made sure it had the mount like it does instead of the pin that goes into the arm of the 3 point. Not sure what they are called.

 

[TripleR]

I wanted a very heavy duty one. I made sure it had the mount like it does instead of the pin that goes into the arm of the 3 point. Not sure what they are called.

I am pretty sure it's called a clevis hitch and that is the only kind I buy as well.

 

[helomech]

I am pretty sure it's called a clevis hitch and that is the only kind I buy as well.

Cool thanks. Never did know what it was called.

 

[Bulldog]

Name something you can do with a box blade that this can't do, and I'll post a pic of me doing.

I'm not getting in a pissing match with you but since you asked I'll say moving and leveling large truck loads of dirt. I moved a leveled over 1000 loads behind my house where I built my shed.

I to have a fairly long driveway. Takes me 3 or 4 passes and the reason for the extra is due to the width of the road. I have a few spots that is wider than what I can cover with 2 passes.

Not saying your land plane doesn't work but for me the box scrape is much better.

 

[helomech]

I'm not getting in a pissing match with you but since you asked I'll say moving and leveling large truck loads of dirt. I moved a leveled over 1000 loads behind my house where I built my shed.

This comment shows me you have not used a grader. My 6 foot grader will drag way more dirt around than my 6 foot box blade can. Don't believe me I can get a pic for you.

I to have a fairly long driveway. Takes me 3 or 4 passes and the reason for the extra is due to the width of the road. I have a few spots that is wider than what I can cover with 2 passes.

Not saying your land plane doesn't work but for me the box scrape is much better.

The grader will do the same thing. I dug out a hole 100 feet long by 30 feet wide and at the deepest point 9 feet deep. And moved all that dirt around and leveled it with the grader. Used it to move many loads of rocks and dirt. Use it to break up ground and so on.

The pissing match started with this comment, this is the comment that turned it from talking to insulting. I can run a box blade just fine, I just don't think it makes sense to use an inferior tool to do that job. Same reason I don't use chinese tools I use snapon. This is the kind of comment that someone makes when they have nothing worthwhile to add. I will not stoop to that level.

A land plane is about the same as a "T" in baseball. It lets everyone play the game including the ones who can't operate a box scrape properly.

.

Have you ever used a grader behind your tractor? If not you don't know if a box blade works better for you. Heck I can fix my road with a heavy weight drug behind my truck, but that does not mean it is the best tool for the job.