5614 Tec Drive Avon, NY 14414
(585) 226-9680
Open tomorrow at 7:30am
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      Sunday Closed all day
4540 W. Saile Dr Batavia, NY 14020
(585) 948-5261
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      Sunday Closed all day
7689 Ridge Road West Brockport, NY 14420
(585) 637-3700
Open tomorrow at 8am
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    • Monday 8am to 5pm
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110 Summer Lane Centre Hall, PA 16828
(814) 364-1421
Open tomorrow at 8am
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9570 County Rd Clarence Center, NY 14032
(716) 741-9115
Open tomorrow at 8:30am
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      Sunday Closed all day
8926 W. Main Street Clymer, NY 14724
(716) 355-4236
Open tomorrow at 8am
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49290 State Route 14 East Palestine, OH 44413
(330) 426-2166
Open tomorrow at 8am
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    • Monday 8am to 5pm
      Tuesday 8am to 5pm
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13521 Cambridge Springs Rd. Edinboro, PA 16412
(814) 734-1552
Open tomorrow at 8am
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7852 RT 66 Fairmount City, PA 16224
(814) 764-5159
Open tomorrow at 8am
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1756 Lindquist Drive Falconer, NY 14733-9720
(716) 665-3110
Open tomorrow at 8am
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817 Tobias Road Halifax, PA 17032
(717) 362-3132
Open tomorrow at 7:30am
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4751 County Road 5 Hall, NY 14463
(585) 526-6325
Open tomorrow at 7:30am
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      Sunday Closed all day
8011 Paxton St. Harrisburg, PA 17111
(717) 583-2101
Open tomorrow at 8am
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185 Route 31F Macedon, NY 14502
(585) 425-4428
Open tomorrow at 8am
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5809 William Penn Highway Mifflintown, PA 17059
(717) 436-5553
Open tomorrow at 8am
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13330 Rt.31 Savannah, NY 13146
(315) 594-0115
Open tomorrow at 8am
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336 Vaughn Street Springville, NY 14141
(716) 592-4058
Open tomorrow at 8am
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4488 Greenville-Sandy Lake Rd. Stoneboro, PA 16153
(724) 376-3740
Open tomorrow at 8am
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    • Monday 7:30am to 5pm
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141 Byers Lane Watsontown, PA 17777
(570) 538-3557
Open tomorrow at 7:30am
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      Sunday Closed all day
3907 Route 19 Silver Springs, NY 14550
(585) 591-1670
Open on Monday at 8am
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    • Monday 8am to 5pm
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      Saturday Closed all day
      Sunday Closed all day
LandPro Equipment; NY, OH & PA

How to use a box blade: The basics

4255352 boxblade 835x500How to use a box blade: The basics.

Along with a loader bucket and rear blade, a box blade (US CA) with scarifiers is one of the most versatile and fundamental implements to have in your machine shed. Fundamental, because of its very simple, straightforward design. Versatile, because you’ll find so many applications for it once you get the hang of using it.

A box blade with scarifiers is basically a 3-sided metal box, with front and rear scraping blades that sit across the bottom of the rear panel. It’s used primarily for spreading material like soil or gravel, and for grading, leveling, or backfilling an expansive area of land for a driveway, lawn, garden, building site, etc. Scarifiers are angled metal teeth, mounted in a row on a crossbeam across the upper width of the box blade. They’re often available with replaceable steel tips. When locked down in operating position, they dig into and break up hard ground so it can be shaped to your need.

The key to becoming skilled at using your box blade is practice, practice, practice. You’ll probably start out being a bit awkward, but after a few projects, you’ll soon gain skill and confidence. So start with something simple that doesn’t require the use of the scarifiers, spreading out a pile of dirt or gravel. Then you’ll be ready to break up some uneven ground with the scarifiers, scraping and moving the soil around, spreading it out, until the area is level or sloped for drainage, depending on your needs.

Here are a few basic tips to keep in mind:

  • Always read the Operator’s Manual before operating any piece of equipment and follow all operating and safety instructions.
  • For scraping, adjust your top link so the front and rear cutting blades are just touching the ground. That will provide a basic scraping and smoothing action. For a more aggressive scrape, shorten the top link so the box blade is angled forward a bit.
  • Use the scarifiers to break up any ground you want to flatten. It could be a bump in your long driveway, a larger hump in an area you want flattened, or perhaps a hardpan area that isn’t draining properly. Go over it with the scarifiers in the down and locked position and your box blade angled forward slightly by shortening the top link. Work over the area well, thoroughly breaking up the soil. Then move the scarifiers into their up position, level the box blade, and work over the loose soil to level or shape as necessary.
  • For smoothing an area you’ve worked, make sure your box blade is on the ground and level from side to side, then extend the top link so the box blade is angled slightly up. Then set your 3-point in “float” position. Since the 3-point doesn’t exert any down pressure, your box blade will now float along the surface of the ground. With it angled slightly upward, the inside blade will not engage the ground, and the rear blade will smooth the soil as you run over it.
  • Anytime you’ve filled in low spots or holes with loose soil, you’ll need to compact it. Running your rear tractor wheels over the area a few times should do the trick. Then add and compress more soil as necessary.
  • Your Operator’s Manual is a great reference tool for how to do these basic box blade jobs.