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View Full Version : Woodworking of a different kind.



Matt Meiser
04-15-2006, 9:49 PM
I spent the entire day on and off the tractor pulling these bushes that infiltrated a low area next to our yard. And I'm only about 1/3 done. :mad: According to the next door neighbors, they've grown up in the past 5 years. I believe it because we've been here 2-1/2 and the first summer I cleared an area of them using the brush hog. No way it would cut them now. I'm not sure what they are, but they have thorny branches this time of the year and I'm all scratched/poked up, not to mention tired, sore, and sunburned. The only saving grace is that for all but the biggest, I can just yank them out with a chain wrapped around the base and hooked on the loader. At least the weather was nice.

Joe Chritz
04-16-2006, 12:07 AM
If you can grab me a closer shot I may be able to ID it for you. Used to do landscaping for a living. Been a while now but only Hawthorn is coming to mind currently. Didn't think they grew that fast here though.

Barberries have thorns too but much smaller and the plants are normally small.

The boss at the landscaper loved hawthorns, I lost a fair amount of skin to them in the couple years I was there.

Joe

Ed Frie
04-18-2006, 8:13 AM
It is hard to tell from the pic, but could it be buckthorn? That is one of the most invasive bushes I have ever seen.

Jim Davenport
04-18-2006, 9:03 AM
Be ready to duck if the chain comes loose!:eek:

Doyle Alley
04-18-2006, 9:28 AM
Be ready to duck if the chain comes loose!:eek:
Actually, using chain is very safe when compaired to cable (wire rope) or a towing strap. When a chain breaks or comes loose, the links just kind of collapse against each other and fall to the ground. Wire rope, on the other hand, springs back wickedly. In the Navy, they showed us safety videos of what happens when mooring line breaks. Sailers get cut in half with that stuff.

Jim Davenport
04-18-2006, 10:02 AM
If chain is under stress, it will come back on you. :eek:
I took a class in rigging safety some years ago. Wire rope is actually safer than chain. wire will usually give a warning when it's getting ready to part. The wire strands will fray.
Chain just lets go with no warning.
I saw a video years ago, where an anchor chain parted, and nearly wiped out the forcastle crew.

Joe Pelonio
04-18-2006, 10:17 AM
When we cleared a 1/3 acre of blackberries we chopped a "U" shape with a machete, then ran a wire rope around it, attached that to a chain, the other end onto the trailer hitch. It worked great but now I'm not sure I want to do it again after the stories.

Jim Becker
04-18-2006, 11:21 AM
I find that putting the backhoe on the Kubota really makes pulling this kind of stuff out a lot easier. :D But even with the power inherent in the bucket curl, the way the roots are "designed" makes a big difference. If you have a nasty tap-root, it can take a lot of effort to remove something.

Kevin Herber
04-18-2006, 12:17 PM
I've seen folks lay a big heavy blanket over the chain to absorb some of the energy if it gives way.

Stu Ablett in Tokyo Japan
04-18-2006, 12:50 PM
All of these stories make like the nylon tow straps, more and more. They are rated for a lot of pull, 5000 lbs to 40,000 lbs if you needed it. If and when they snap (I've never seen it, except for a damaged one) they weigh next to nothing, so they have very little energy (compared to a chain or wire rope!) to do catastrophic damage.

Get the looped ones, and loop it though it self, that way you don't have a heavy hook on the end either, but if you have to hook it, don't use an open hook, but a shackle, as I've seen hooks break and slip off too.

36789

I've seen chain and wire rope snap, the chain went right through, and I mean THROUGH the side of a pickup and the wire rope did a nice number on the back cab of another truck.

Got to be careful. :eek:

The nylon strap is also nice, IMHO as you don't get slivers like with the wire rope, and it don't rust like chain, and it is light weight too, hit it with the hose after use and put in back behind the seat for next time.

Jim Davenport
04-18-2006, 1:56 PM
All of these stories make like the nylon tow straps, more and more. They are rated for a lot of pull, 5000 lbs to 40,000 lbs if you needed it. If and when they snap (I've never seen it, except for a damaged one) they weigh next to nothing, so they have very little energy (compared to a chain or wire rope!) to do catastrophic damage.

Get the looped ones, and loop it though it self, that way you don't have a heavy hook on the end either, but if you have to hook it, don't use an open hook, but a shackle, as I've seen hooks break and slip off too.

36789

I've seen chain and wire rope snap, the chain went right through, and I mean THROUGH the side of a pickup and the wire rope did a nice number on the back cab of another truck.

Got to be careful. :eek:

The nylon strap is also nice, IMHO as you don't get slivers like with the wire rope, and it don't rust like chain, and it is light weight too, hit it with the hose after use and put in back behind the seat for next time.

Those slivers are affectionly called "Fish hooks". They will Hook you.
I carry about 200' of nylon strap in my 4X4 Dodge Ram. I use that along with a "Hi-lift" farm jack to winch out of bad places. If you get nylon, get the the ones with eyes in each end, and use shackles to connect them. Don't get the ones with open hooks. Those are very very dangerous, the hooks will open up.

Matt Meiser
04-18-2006, 8:56 PM
I have a couple to pull from the ditch, and then they are all removed. All that's left is cleanup, a few hours grading with the box blade. I piled a bunch on the next door neighbor's burn piles from clearing for their house and I have to decent sized burn piles of my own. I would have liked to take at least some of them to the back of our property for the dear, rabbits, etc., but when I drove back there today I got the truck stuck. Luckily the neighbor has 4wd and pulled me out pretty easily. Our lot is 1/4 mile deep and I was stuck almost at the back :eek:

On the way back I saw something lying in the path that I keep mowed. I first thought it was a branch, but it was too white. I stopped and found a 4pt deer antler. My wife says I should hang it in the shop as a coat rack.

Using the chain, most of the force is pulling up, not towards me. Since that motion will tend to pull the back wheels off the ground, I usually put some tension on the chain and rock the bush back and forth to loosen it. Then once I get it free I shake the dirt from the roots. I'm using 3/8 chain so I feel pretty safe. I like the tow straps better, but the problem with them for this type of work is that they tend to cinch up and make a knot that is much harder to undo than chain. Haven't been able to convince my wife that I need the backhoe attachment.

Jim Becker
04-18-2006, 9:51 PM
Haven't been able to convince my wife that I need the backhoe attachment.

Yea, you do... :D I tell you, I don't use it all that often, but it really does come in handy a lot more than I would have imagined. It's also great for weight in the winter when pushing snow...hee hee...

Matt Meiser
04-18-2006, 9:56 PM
Yea, you do... :D I tell you, I don't use it all that often, but it really does come in handy a lot more than I would have imagined. It's also great for weight in the winter when pushing snow...hee hee...

I am really glad you and others convinced me to get the loader. I can't believe how much we use that.

George Sanders
04-19-2006, 4:49 AM
You might consider renting a piece of equipment for a day or two. I think a skidsteer would make short work of those things.

Stu Ablett in Tokyo Japan
04-19-2006, 5:15 AM
Couple of sticks of dynamite would do it too :D:D

Frank Fusco
04-19-2006, 10:40 AM
Reading this thread, it was a relief to find that you are doing the pulling with a front loader. Pulling trees, stumps or whatever with a tractor is dangerous business. When the front wheels lift you have only a fraction of a second to hit the clutch or the front end power flips backwards and a funeral for the operator follows. I know, I got lucky --- once. Cautious after that.

Marty Walsh
04-20-2006, 10:29 PM
Reading this thread, it was a relief to find that you are doing the pulling with a front loader. Pulling trees, stumps or whatever with a tractor is dangerous business. When the front wheels lift you have only a fraction of a second to hit the clutch or the front end power flips backwards and a funeral for the operator follows. I know, I got lucky --- once. Cautious after that.

Frank,

I have to agree, but I couldn't convince LOML when she was on the tractor helping me clear the land for my shop. She actually ENJOYED the wheelies! Luckily the box blade is sort of like a wheelie bar, and keeps the tractor from going too far up/over!
36931

- Marty -

Matt Meiser
04-21-2006, 8:09 AM
Reading this thread, it was a relief to find that you are doing the pulling with a front loader. Pulling trees, stumps or whatever with a tractor is dangerous business. When the front wheels lift you have only a fraction of a second to hit the clutch or the front end power flips backwards and a funeral for the operator follows. I know, I got lucky --- once. Cautious after that.

There was an accident similar to what you described last weekend near here. Not that I'd want to test it, but my tractor is only a couple years old so it has a good ROPS system. A few people told me I should buy an old tractor, but for general work around the yard, I like the safety features of the new one. Plus I have a hydrostatic transmission with cruise control with is REALLY nice when mowing.

Jim Becker
04-21-2006, 10:22 AM
The hydrostatic transmission will likely "stall" before you'd flip over, too...it's both a maddening and wonderful feature of many of these machines! The grip with 4wd also helps keep things moving smoothly on tough tasks.

I'm glad you went with a newer machine with the ROPS, Matt. It's a great safety feature, especially because so many folks can get into trouble very quickly on slopes, etc., without realizing it. (Just be sure to wear your seatbelt whenever operating the machine with the ROPS)

Matt Meiser
04-21-2006, 11:10 AM
The hydrostatic transmission will likely "stall" before you'd flip over, too...it's both a maddening and wonderful feature of many of these machines! The grip with 4wd also helps keep things moving smoothly on tough tasks.

I'm glad you went with a newer machine with the ROPS, Matt. It's a great safety feature, especially because so many folks can get into trouble very quickly on slopes, etc., without realizing it. (Just be sure to wear your seatbelt whenever operating the machine with the ROPS)

Luckily about the only slopes in SE Michigan are ditches. :D We have to pile up dirt to make sledding hills.

Jim Becker
04-21-2006, 11:13 AM
Luckily about the only slopes in SE Michigan are ditches. :D We have to pile up dirt to make sledding hills.

Well, try taking a corner "really fast" with the bucket loaded and/or a heavy implement on the 3pt...it will surely test your ROPS! (Seriously...don't!)

Frank Fusco
04-21-2006, 6:00 PM
There was an accident similar to what you described last weekend near here. Not that I'd want to test it, but my tractor is only a couple years old so it has a good ROPS system. A few people told me I should buy an old tractor, but for general work around the yard, I like the safety features of the new one. Plus I have a hydrostatic transmission with cruise control with is REALLY nice when mowing.


ROPS? Hydro-what-it transmission? My 1951 Massey-Harris 44D never heard of them. Clutch and caution does it. :)