[AT] Spam> Box blade tips

[Bo Hinch]

Alan , you took the words right out of my mouth . It surprises me that so
many people doesn`t know the proper way to operate a box blade . Once you
experiment a little , it becomes Soo easy and useful .

Bo Hinch in S/W louisiana


On Tue, May 14, 2013 at 3:03 PM, Alan Nadeau <ajnadeau1 at myfairpoint.net>wrote:

> I tried sending this a few days ago but my ATIS-foo was weak and it went
> into the great beyond.  Since I just had a successful test message make the
> journey I'll try it again.
>
>
> ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
>
> There is a fairly steep learning curve involved in getting a box blade to
> work efficiently.  The top link is your friend in this.  Every box blade I
> have seen has had two blades, back to back.  The rear blade acts as a depth
> gauge for the front one.
>
> If you have a concrete floor you can start on, adjust the center link so
> both blades touch the concrete.  Now lengthen the link and you will see how
> the front blade comes off the ground.
>
> With the front blade raised, in varying amounts you can cut the top off
> high
> spots and spread the material in the low ones, on the go.  Very nice for
> filling potholes in the spring, when the gravel is mushy as the frost is
> coming out.  Moisture content is important for that process and what is
> best
> varies with the type of gravel, it a learning process all by itself.
>
> As you shorten the center link from "level" the front blade becomes more
> aggressive,  it will keep going down as there is nothing for the rear blade
> to ride on.   Then you raise the 3 pt. just enough to take the slack out of
> the linkage.  It takes a while to get the knack of it but it works.
>
> If you're trying to cut a flat across a slope or put a crown on a road you
> use the adjustment built into the 3 pt arms on one side, I think it's
> normally the right one that has the adjustment crank.
>
> If the blade isn't doing what you want, or you're not getting the desired
> results, CHANGE SOMETHING.  I watched one bozo trying to grade a gravel
> parking lot and after two hours he hadn't accomplished anything.  He was
> griping about how the blade was no good or needed some sort of skid shoes.
> I watched him quite a bit as I was working across the street and he never
> once got off the tractor to adjust anything.  At that time I had never used
> a BB and had nothing to offer, not sure I would have tried to help him
> anyhow, the man was a total klutz and unable to understand just about
> everything concerning machine operation.
>
> If your tractor has remote outlets, and you do quite a bit of BB work, and
> you can afford a couple hundred dollars, get a hydraulic center link.  It's
> an absolutely Cadillac accessory for any sort of 3 pt mounted grading
> equipment.  It makes it possible to change how aggressive the blade, or a
> landscape rake, is, on the go.
>
> I had to make a hydraulic link for my Cat "0" tractor with a 5' rake.  I
> use
> it for just about everything on the 3 pt now.  Even the garden plow, where
> the suck of the share can be changed to very aggressive to get the plow in
> the ground and then backed off to lighten the draft once it is riding on
> the
> gauge wheel.
>
> The Ford 4000 at our shooting club doesn't have a free rear outlet, both
> valves are tied up with the loader.  At some point I'm going to try to get
> the money for a diverter and hyd. center link.  It is a major PITA grading
> almost a half mile of entrance road and two parking areas having to stop
> every few minutes to tweak the center link as conditions change.
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