Box Blades & Graders in Lumberton, TX

Match the blade to your tractor's frame and weight, not just its horsepower. Three tractors can share a horsepower rating and be built for three different jobs. A heavier tractor holds a wide blade down in packed ground. A lighter one does better with a narrower blade it can pull without spinning its tires. The makers' manuals also call for a tractor with a ROPS and the seat belt fastened. Bring your tractor's make and model to our Buna store, and ask which width suits it and the work you've got.

They're the same tool under two names. Mahindra calls its box blade a box scraper. Either way, you get a frame with a cutting edge, two side walls and a back wall. The edge cuts the high spots. The walls hold the loose dirt, so you carry it to a rut instead of pushing it off the side. Many have scarifier shanks up front, too. Those rip packed ground before the edge gets to it. On red clay that's been driven on for years, you'll want the shanks down.

Yes, that's steady box blade work. You cut dirt from a high side, carry it in the box and drop it where the pad needs height. Then you back-drag across the top to smooth it. Go in thin layers, and pack each one with the tractor's tires before you add the next. Hardin County's surface soil is sandy loam over red clay, so a deep cut can bring up different dirt than what's on top. A pad that's level before the slab goes down saves you fighting it later.

Grade it before the bumps get deep. A washboard starts small, and a light pass takes it off while there's still loose gravel to move. Set the top link so the cutting edge just bites. Drive slow, since speed makes a blade bounce and lays a new washboard behind you. Then back-drag to settle the loose stone. Over Hardin County's sandy loam, you may see base showing through in the wheel tracks. Fill those first with the box, then smooth the rest of the drive.

When you need to move dirt sideways. A rear blade is a single blade with no box around it, and you can angle it. That makes it handy for shaping the crown of a lane or pulling loose material back to the middle. A box blade carries dirt; a rear blade pushes and casts it. Mahindra builds both, a rear blade and a box scraper. If your work is mostly filling ruts, the box is the tool. If it's shaping a lane's edges, you'll want to look at a rear blade.