A box blade is an incredibly useful and versatile piece of equipment. Its primary function is to level out uneven ground, including holes, lumps, and other irregular patches of soil that are too much to even out by hand. A box scraper is adjustable to your needs. It has rear blades that allow for quick penetration into the soil and shanks that feature steel teeth to break up hard, compacted soil, making it much easier to level. Highly valuable in numerous agricultural tasks and jobs, the box blade disperses materials such as soil, gravel, and dirt evenly, which is great if you’re working on driveways, fields, or construction.
What is a Box Blade?
These devices are simple and very easy to attach to the back of a tractor. A box blade is a rectangular, three sided, metal apparatus with front and rear scraping blades located on the bottoms of the rear panel. Box Blades also have scarifying teeth which are located across the middle of the box, these teeth break up and loosen hard soil as you maneuver. Box blades have a variety of applications, such as leveling ground for farming, gardening, or even lawn care, which makes it a versatile implement to own.
When a box blade is needed for a job, make sure you have the correct one for your task; it should be suitable for the size and power of your tractor.
Safety First
Although a box blade is a fairly simple piece of equipment to use, improper use is unproductive and can be dangerous, so it is important to understand how to use one. Always start by reading up on the correct procedures in the operator’s manual.
With any 3-point attachment, the most common danger is entanglement. Operators are frequently injured when fingers or loose hair or clothing gets caught in the moving parts or attach points. When using any kind of attachment, wear close-fitting clothes, tie back long hair, and be careful where you put your hands to avoid pinch injuries.
How to Use a Box Blade
The operator’s manual will explain how to adjust the tool for your specific job. Beginning with the top link, adjust it to where the front and rear cutting blades touch the ground. This position provides the basic scraping and smoothing action to level the ground underneath. If you are scraping tougher ground, you will need to angle the blades forward by shortening the top link to scratch the soil more aggressively, allowing you to smooth out tougher terrain.
To adjust the scarifiers, lock them into position, then angle the box blade forward. With the box blade facing a forward angle, the scarifiers will be able to break up any bumps in the ground. This will make leveling out your surface and smoothing the soil much easier. Once all bumps have been taken out of your path, pull the scarifiers up and level out the box blade on both sides. Extend the top link to angle both the front and rear blades upwards and set the blade to the float position. After you make these adjustments, you can drag the box blade over the area to smooth out the ground.
When leveling out a surface with a box blade attachment, holes are filled with the loose material the scarifiers scrape up. Make sure to maneuver over the holes multiple times after they are filled to pack the material down. If there are any remaining holes, you may have to add extra soil or gravel to add and compress into the holes to make the surface completely even.
These steps will allow you to properly and safely smooth out surfaces using a box blade tool. Whether your job is lawn, garden, field, road, or construction, you can cover a large amount of area in a small amount of time.
Images source: Deere.com
