[Jnelson]

OK. This is a question that should at the least provide a good laugh to you experienced pros.:sidelaugh I am almost embarrassed to ask it but I have run out of ideas.

I have a 6284 Cub Cadet CUT 4x4 with 28 HP diesel and hydrostatic trans. I recently bought a 3 point box grader to grade my long gravel driveway which has been in need of grooming for a long time. I hooked it up and the first few passes did a nice job of cutting down the raised center of the drive and filling the ruts. That's where everything went south for me.

While I was able to level the drive across the width it was still uneven down the length of the drive. I started working on smoothing the length of the drive and the more I worked the worse it got. My problem is that with the short wheelbase, when the front of the tractor rises on high areas the tractor squats in the rear and the box blade digs in making a low area. After a few passes there is a pattern of hills and valleys that get worse every time I go over it. After several hours of trying everything I can think of I now have a great roller coaster where my driveway used to be.

I have tried a number of things as I will describe here. At first I tried to slightly raise the blade in areas that are low to allow gravel to slip out and fill those areas. The three point just doesn't have a light enough touch to feather the blade height and I either don't raise enough to let gravel feed out or the blade rises rapidly and dumps too much gravel. I tried to use the float setting by running the PTO control all the way down but even at a float setting the box blade digs in until I have so much gravel scoops the tractor starts spins the tires and I'm just digging. I also tried working with the knives installed to try work up loose gravel and let it slip out in a smooth layer. But regardless of what I do when the front tires rise up on high areas the back end immediately squats and digs in exasperating the problem.:duh:

I know someone out there probably can tell me what I am doing wrong (if you can stop laughing long enough). Any suggestions are appreciated. My wife is not impressed with what I have done to our driveway with my new toys and she'll kill me if further attempts result in our van getting hung up on top of one of the hills.:00000060:

HELP!

Jeff

 

[tinkertoys]

Well, practice makes perfect. Play with the draft control and learn.

 

[DJ in WV]

The only suggestions that I can offer you are to first, reduce your ground speed to the point that you can start to work the rockshaft to coincide with your front end going up and down.

Second, adjust your throttle so that the rockshaft speed is at a controllable rate.

Combine these two, with a bit of trial and error on both parts, and will end up smoothing your road back out.

Try these and I would say that you will end up with an acceptable final product after gaining the experience and knowledge of the workings of a box blade. It will be a bit frustrating at first, but you will get it.

Good luck and let us know how you come out.

 

[fabforce1]

hi...

i don't know how the hydralics work on that tractor but there has to be a way of putting it into a float setting for the rear 3pt.....?

 

[music-in-a-bottle]

It takes a bit of getting used to, but I use the box scraper at first to loosen things up, then in super low gear, I use the front end bucket at about a 45 to 60 degree angle going forward to push the loose gravel in the high spots towards the low spots.The front bucket is more rigid and easier to see and micro adjustments up or down can be made by rolling the bucket either way. Then I finish by back bucketing. The trouble with the 3 point is the delay in action to the control and precise depth, because the box scraper will lift and settle. The front bucket will will not rise up and down, and a jostle of the bucket control is just way more precise. You can immediatly raise or lower a quarter inch by rolling the bucket. A good example is if you had a 2 yard pile in your road, the box scraper would simply follow the tractor up and over the pile. But by using the bucket, it acts as a dozer in a way. Your mounds are smaller than 2 yards, but you get the point! Then hit the road with your box scraper to give it that rounded drainage pitch. Good luck

 

[JDFANATIC]

Jeff,

Don't feel bad, 3PT implements sometimes try to have lives of their own. The first place you can start playing with is the top link. This adjusts the angle of "attack" and the amount the implement will dig. It is also why a hydraulic top link is the cats meow. Even still, you should be able to adjust the top link manually to where you can get your driveway squared away.

 

[tettruck]

I agree with Music. Back-bucketing is the way that I found to dress it nice. If I need to cut, I'll use the box grader and adjust the top and draft links (or is it down-link?) alot....alot. Slow ground speed is required. And, I have also found that it is more difficult to use the box grader uphill, I guess because the tractor is already positioned nose-up and is sending the 3-pt into the ground. I grade downhill as much as possible with the box, and use the FEL to dress.

Keep tryng.

 

[Ken N Tx]

Ditto on the above, also use some reverse action..:fing32:

 

[Kbeitz]

This is why road graders are built so long....

 

[wayne440]

A standard box blade is nearly useless for that sort of work, unless you have used one a lot more than I have. Here is a better solution, you could probably make a similar tailwheel for your blade...

http://www.woodsequipment.com/lands...spx?id=10045&ekmensel=41a6502d_67_377_10045_1

 

[Jnelson]

Kbeitz,

That thought struck me too. It had never occurred to me to wonder why road graders are built so long, but after this experience I can easily see why they are.

Everyone else, thanks for the great advice. After reviewing all of your suggestions I think that more than anything I need to stop thinking of box grading as a one step process. Using the FEL forward and backdragging with float I think may be the solution once the gravel and dirt have been loosened and dragged out with the box blade. It will be a few days before I get back to it, but I will let you know how I make out.

Today I am hooking up my new rotary cutter. I need to cut the power shaft to properly length to complete the hook-up and then there is a lot of long grass, weeds, and a mile of trails through our property that need cutting. Hopefully learning to work with the cutter will be easier to do. I went with a 48" deck to be maneuverable in tight areas, but I recommend everyone avoid the Southwest part of Michigan for a day or so while I get the hang of it.

Thanks all!

Jeff

Wayne,

Just checked the link you suggested. Wow, of course!:fing20: You're right, I could probably take the back wheel assembly from an old rotary cutter and beef it up and then have it attached to the back of the box blade. Now you got the wheels turning between my ears.....:thThumbsU

 

[LLigetfa]

Will your blade cut in reverse? If so, carry it high enough that it just clips the high spots and drops it in the low spots.

Ja, it takes a gentle hand on the hydraulics and a good spacial sense. The old graders were used with the operator standing up because your body's sense of balance came into to play.

I remember when I first tried my hand on the pipeline with a dozer equipped with a hydraulic tilt. The old pipeline dozer hands had a good laugh as I turned the ROW into a rollercoaster. The more I worked it, the worse it got.

It's not as easy at it looks.

 

[Dude11]

With all the above said;and good ideas grant it.The box only will follow the up and down movement of your rear tires--that's why it worst with every pass.The only way to make it smooth is to turn the attachment to an angle to the tractor.The is why a scrape blade works better for this type of work.I don't think you can angle your box.Think about how a road grader is set-up,and you'll agree.

 

[LLigetfa]

The box only will follow the up and down movement of your rear tires...

...which is why I suggested running it backwards so that it leads, not follows. On a grader, the blade is in front of the rear tires so it leads. The length of the grader is so the front wheels don't influence the blade as much.

 

[Dude11]

...which is why I suggested running it backwards so that it leads, not follows. On a grader, the blade is in front of the rear tires so it leads. The length of the grader is so the front wheels don't influence the blade as much.

What your saying looks good on paper,but have you ever tried running a blade backwards,pushing dirt or gravel,with a standard sized tractor?? I think not.IT don't work worth a toot.Only sane fix is to rough driveway with teeth of some sort,maybe a rollover.Then rev.box or blade at an "angle" and pull loose behind tractor.BTW,tractors are designed to pull,not push in reverse.
jnelson--for a really nice job,get a rock rake,turned on an angle they do a perfect job.Plus,you can put a crown on it,to shed water.I've done'um for years.

 

[LLigetfa]

The real answer is to put the blade in front of the wheels but that's not going to happen. For the record, I was not suggesting all the blade work be done in reverse but it is a way to knock off some high spots and drop it into low spots.

Box blades are generally carried forward with a load of gravel that gets dropped into small low spots like potholes. They are not good for getting out rollercoasters as they tend to make washboard.

 

[wayne440]

I use mine about as much "backwards" as forwards. I have a TC30 hydro with 4x4, whch I guess is comparable to the OP's machine. I can push or pull material till it runs over the blade top, that's enough power to suit me.

 

[LLigetfa]

BTW,tractors are designed to pull,not push in reverse.

You sound like my old pipeline foreman. He just hated seeing us back blading with the dozers. According to him if they were meant to do that, they would have put the blade on the back of the dozer so you could drive it forward.

I understand all about how the angled blade works. On pipeline construction we never saw a blade mounted square even if the dozer was designed to work that way and sometimes it even made sense to do it.

 

[DJ in WV]

They are refering to angling the blade forward or backwards in relation to the direction of travel of the tractor. Lengthening the top link, or the third arm, decreases the angle between the back of the blade and the ground, making a sharper cutting area, digging deeper.

Picture the blade as a chisel. Decreasing the angle between the handle and the surface makes it cut more.

 

[Ken N Tx]

The real answer is to put the blade in front of the wheels but that's not going to happen. For the record, I was not suggesting all the blade work be done in reverse but it is a way to knock off some high spots and drop it into low spots.

Box blades are generally carried forward with a load of gravel that gets dropped into small low spots like potholes. They are not good for getting out rollercoasters as they tend to make washboard.

:ditto: :ditto: box blades are made for forward motion..But can be used in reverse for spot grading.

My box has a cutting edge both front and back.

Trail and error, by the operator, is the key..:fing32: