Box blade "floater"

[kpinnc 12,012]

My box blade is one of my best toys. I made it years ago from a 42 inch dozer blade, and have used it alot. The trouble is, it's not good for light grading. It's great for filling holes and such, but lightly smoothing just don't work. 

 

So- I'm making an adjustable wheel set to ride behind it to hold the cutting depth, and it will use the factory holes for adjustment. I'm also removing my solid lift links from the three point to allow proper float. I'm gonna just use a pair of chains. 

 

Hope to do some testing tomorrow. I just want to barely scrape the top of the gravel in my driveway. More to come...

 

 

[SylvanLakeWH 25,547]

 

Nice!

 

Just a thought... maybe use a pin to attach adjustment arm to the blade to allow quick changes to grade level? 

 

[Pullstart 62,840]

Awesome tool you got right there!

[kpinnc 12,012]

3 hours ago, SylvanLakeWH said:

Just a thought... maybe use a pin to attach adjustment arm to the blade to allow quick changes to grade level? 

 

Yep, using a solid 1/2-inch pin across the top. The bolt is just temp for "shop stare and thunk" purposes.

[Handy Don 12,216]

If doing light grading only, you might consider a way to lock it at a 3 or 4º tilt to put a crown on the driveway.

[kpinnc 12,012]

10 minutes ago, Handy Don said:

If doing light grading only, you might consider a way to lock it at a 3 or 4º tilt to put a crown on the driveway.

 

I have a thought on that. Not yet in the pictures....

Edited August 24, 2023 by kpinnc

[gt14rider 758]

Great job, would you take some more pictures , how does the plow attach to the frame. 

[kpinnc 12,012]

13 minutes ago, gt14rider said:

Great job, would you take some more pictures , how does the plow attach to the frame. 

 

If you're asking about the blade itself to the box frame, it's welded. Wear bar can be replaced.

[ebinmaine 67,454]

Neat lookin' rig.  

[kpinnc 12,012]

Wanted to work on this over the weekend, but it didn't happen. Hopefully I'll have more time this week to finish it up. 

 

As with most of my projects, this one is many years old. Not unusual at all for me to get them to a usable point and not 100% finished until much later. 

 

Anyway I got the chains and clevises set up so she truly floats now. Removed the solid links that provide down pressure (highly overated on a 500lb machine), and they will be used as needed. 

 

Hopefully will get to some testing this week.

 

 

[peter lena 8,618]

@kpinnc love the overbuilding strength  detailing !  nice set up , Pete 

[SylvanLakeWH 25,547]

[ebinmaine 67,454]

2 hours ago, peter lena said:

@kpinnc love the overbuilding strength  detailing !  nice set up , Pete 

Agreed.  

 

Excellent work.  

[19richie66 17,500]

Nice design. I like how the hydraulic cylinder is in the middle of the lift arms. I have wanted to move the cylinder to the middle on my gt14. I have seen the rear lift arms break off the pivot bar and I believe (my opinion) that it is because it lifts from one side. Seems like that would put torsional strain on the upper lift assembly. I am not an engineer but just my thoughts. Seems like it would work better with the forces that are present being applied evenly across the upper arms. I plan on doing it one day as I have an extra upper & lower bracket to experiment with. Your attention to detail is very nice.

Edited August 30, 2023 by 19richie66

[kpinnc 12,012]

Finally got to do some testing. And the verdict is: Needs some tweaking, but works very well. The trailing wheels still need more adjustable range. They do the trick, but I need some fine adjustment to set how deep the blade's cut is currently. The two lowest settings are too low and too high- so I need something in the middle. 

 

But, it does work. Vast improvement over using solid links. I can fill the box to the top and the old Bronco begrudgingly just keeps on pulling. Before when the box was full, the tiniest bump would result in wheel spin. No longer an issue.

 

And the box is very heavy. Even with over 100lbs of weights up front, the front wheels occasionally slide in a turn when the box is lifted. Big block Kohler + extra weight still not enough... 

 

I noticed some of these style setups utilize lifting at the wheels themselves. Makes sense, and something like a linear actuator may be better suited for adjusting and lifting while in use. 

 

 

Edited August 31, 2023 by kpinnc

[19richie66 17,500]

Nice! Linear actuator would be a nice addition. More adjustability. 

[kpinnc 12,012]

5 hours ago, 19richie66 said:

Nice! Linear actuator would be a nice addition. More adjustability. 

 

Well, if the actuator just pushed the drag wheels just a little, it might be easier to make slight adjustments. The hydraulic lift obviously will pick the blade up and down, but it defeats the "floating" if there is tension applied up or down. 

[Lee1977 6,657]

1 hour ago, kpinnc said:

 

Well, if the actuator just pushed the drag wheels just a little, it might be easier to make slight adjustments. The hydraulic lift obviously will pick the blade up and down, but it defeats the "floating" if there is tension applied up or down. 

A small trailer jack hinged both ends with a arm off the wheel bracket could slow it down for a fine adjustment are a large adjustment and could pick the wheels up when not needed.

[kpinnc 12,012]

46 minutes ago, Lee1977 said:

A small trailer jack hinged both ends with a arm off the wheel bracket could slow it down for a fine adjustment are a large adjustment and could pick the wheels up when not needed.

 

Definitely not a bad idea Don. Fine adjustment is what I need. The hydraulics just move too much to "feather" the depth of cut. Of course much of this is due to my own lack of experience using this thing. 

[Handy Don 12,216]

This Penn State Center for Dirt and Grave Roads website has led to me learning A LOT about how to maintain non-paved roadways. Crowns, swales, coarse vs. fine composition and much more. IMHO worth a read, especially if you have something longer or more complicated that a 50’ flat driveway!

[sjoemie himself 3,068]

Nice setup on the blade. Getting stuff like this riding just right can be quite an exercise.

A linear actuator could work although setting the same height every time might be a challenge without somekind of gauge. Unless ofcourse you plan to 'set and forget' it.

 

 

[kpinnc 12,012]

1 hour ago, Handy Don said:

IMHO worth a read,

 

Thanks Don, I'll check it out!

[kpinnc 12,012]

1 hour ago, sjoemie himself said:

Nice setup on the blade. Getting stuff like this riding just right can be quite an exercise.

A linear actuator could work although setting the same height every time might be a challenge without somekind of gauge. Unless ofcourse you plan to 'set and forget' it.

 

Thanks!

 

Definitely going to require constant feathering. My driveway has several hundred feet that I share with my neighbor. As such, there are parts that have deep gravel (6+ inches), and parts that are compacted to the point they seem very shallow. I built my blade with slots for 6 scarifiers, but i think I'll likely set up something else with many more than that. 

 

My neighbor occasionally drags his cultivator out to loosen it up, and it works well. Looks like I might need to modify mine for the same purpose. Then the box can equally distribute from high to low spots easier.

[sjoemie himself 3,068]

About equally distributing the gravel, I've seen some setups that use a double V setup.

One V with the point of the V pointing forward and the other point of the other V pointing backwards if that makes sense.

 

For my girlfriends paddock I made somekind of cultivator/rake/leveler all in one.

Same problems arose as what you're describing, despite a different surface, still tinkering away at it.

 

[kpinnc 12,012]

10 hours ago, sjoemie himself said:

still tinkering away at it.

 

Very nice! Looks like you made that similar to what I'm trying to do so far as adjusting.