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Tractor Talk Discussion Forum

Clearing brush. I might have OCD.

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Slofr8

09-29-2006 05:55:17




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Hi everyone,
bought some land 4 years ago and just moved into the house I've been building for about a year and a half. The view out back is a, roughly, 15 acre field and then woods. My land. 57 acres. Used to be potato fields but previous owner let brush take over about 7 acres in the middle. 20 year growth of two to six inch junk wood. If it were any kind of decent trees I could live with it. Soft wood, poplar, whatever, but mister, I'm talking some ugly crap here. I cleared and burned an acre or so with a chain saw but was left with the stumps and it's hard to mow with my 63 year old JD B. I tried a JD 1010 crawler that was for sale. Guy brought it right over for me to try. Turns out the size of the 1010 is ample but it burned a LOT of oil and thru the right track a few times so I passed on the deal. I'm looking at another one that appears to be in a lot better shape. Thing is, when I look at the brush I pushed up with the 1010, I can't see how I would ever burn that pile. I was careful not to get too much dirt in the pile but it still did.
Question is, do I pile it up and just keep turning the piles, shaking out the dirt, and burning? Do I just pay someone to haul it off? It would be a heck of a lot off hauling off, let me tell you. Someone suggested burying the piles but that would take some huge holes.
Hiring a dozer is an option but after I clear the field I can see where I could use a crawler around here. It would also increase my cylinder count by 4. We are judged by our cylinder count right?
Maybe I should just let what's growing there grow there. It's just that I hate the looks of it and besides, about a hundred years ago someone took the time and effort to clear it and might not be to happy about the way it's looking lately.
Any way, if you had to deal with this at your place let me know what you did or would do.
Thanks, Dan.

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phil lowe

09-29-2006 20:36:01




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 Re: Clearing brush. I might have OCD. in reply to Slofr8, 09-29-2006 05:55:17  
not sure in maine you are but just across the border I know where there was a couple dozers that were gonna be fer sale ,,e-mail me @ phil.lowe@ns.sympatico.ca ..I'll see if there still around ,,,old guy died and girls didn't have a clue what to do with his gear ,,too far for me to bring anything back ,,,,, but sure wish they were closer cause he had LOTS gear!!!



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John A.

09-29-2006 10:59:32




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 Re: Clearing brush. I might have OCD. in reply to Slofr8, 09-29-2006 05:55:17  
Slofr8, Here in the last 2 months we have had the oppertunity to rent a dozer for our place, twice!.
We got a Case 650k dozer. Rent for 40 hours,.... rent,taxas, permits/delivered/picked up... + - $1900. comes out to $47.50/hr. not counting your time. You should be able to push and pile 15 acres easy in a weeks time. If you just push and pile you can burn and stir the piles around with your tractor and loader. You can do this it isn't hard to do, just aukward at first, we all have to learn some where. OBTW....Rent of equipment can be taken off your taxes.
Later,
John A.

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Jerry/MT

09-29-2006 10:25:05




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 Re: Clearing brush. I might have OCD. in reply to Slofr8, 09-29-2006 05:55:17  
For what you are doing, you need what we call "clearing forks" that either is a stand alone attachment in place of the blade or mounts over the blade. It allows you to get the stumps and roots( rocks too) without having too much soil. When you get a stump up, if it has a lot of dirt on it, let it sit and dry for a week or so, than bang into to knock as much dirt off as possible. You can then put it in the burn pile.

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the tractor vet

09-29-2006 09:23:41




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 Re: Clearing brush. I might have OCD. in reply to Slofr8, 09-29-2006 05:55:17  
Well unless ya have a root rake or realy a good experanced operator then yes you do end up with a bunch of dirt doing it with a dozer and realy ya need something a bit larger then a 1010 . But that costs more something like a 450 C with 6 way blade or larger depending on the size of what you are tryen to clear . Loaders do not have the cleted tracks and do not give the traction for the most part but here again if it has a root rake and grozer tracks then it will do nicely and will stack better . Track hoes do and excelent job on stumps and if done wright ya get vary littel dirt . Land clearing is no easy job .

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Mike (WA)

09-29-2006 08:16:38




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 Re: Clearing brush. I might have OCD. in reply to Slofr8, 09-29-2006 05:55:17  
Sounds like you can afford a crawler, so I"d look for a crawler loader with Drott "4 in 1" bucket. I cleared several acres of brush with one, and it was the slickest thing going. You can loosen up around the roots with the teeth of the bucket, then push it out- then open the clamshell, grab the tree, give the roots a good shake to get rid of the dirt, and place it on the pile, dirt free. I just don"t like cuttin" em off at ground level and leaving the stumps- just isn"t right, somehow- and the stumps will still bust up your mower occassionally, no matter how careful you are.

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Brian in Ohio

09-29-2006 07:11:21




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 Re: Clearing brush. I might have OCD. in reply to Slofr8, 09-29-2006 05:55:17  
I don"t know if this would be a viable option, but why not advertise that you have free firewood, and cut it dow just enough that they can bring their chainsaws to get it in manageable pieces. They haul it off, you load is lightened, life is good...



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Slofr8

09-29-2006 07:35:17




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 Re: Clearing brush. I might have OCD. in reply to Brian in Ohio, 09-29-2006 07:11:21  
Brian,
people here are quite particular about thier fire wood. No lack of trees here in northen Maine yet. Allthough the outdoor boiler crowd might go for that. I'll ask around. If it was any good, heck, I'd burn it myself but brother, this is some nasty stuff. I actualy don't mind burning the piles. I'll wait for a rain or first snow and the kids and I make an afternoon of it. Used my four wheeler as a "skider" and would just keep hauling brush to a roaring fire. Still have the stumps to deal with tho. Wife says it's just an excuse to buy a dozer. Imagine!!

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Fluggie in IA

09-29-2006 07:03:42




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 Re: Clearing brush. I might have OCD. in reply to Slofr8, 09-29-2006 05:55:17  
Don't know where you're at, Slofr8, but, if your north far enough to where the ground freezes in winter, hire a dozer right after the ground gets hard to about 1 foot and he can "shave" the trees off at ground level leaving you with a nice mowable area and a non-dirt filled pile of brush. Done this a few times and sure is a lot neater than doing the cleaning in the summer. If you need the stumps out, then do the disc method later like Bill says. works here in north Iowa!

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Slofr8

09-29-2006 07:19:07




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 Re: Clearing brush. I might have OCD. in reply to Fluggie in IA, 09-29-2006 07:03:42  
Hi Flggie.
Yea, I'm up north. Very, very top of Maine. Frozen ground we have, and lots of it. If I get that 1010 I will give that a shot on some of the areas with smaller stuff. Great replies, all!



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Bill in NorthCentral Pa

09-29-2006 06:40:44




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 Re: Clearing brush. I might have OCD. in reply to Slofr8, 09-29-2006 05:55:17  
How about cutting the stuff down, piling with loader and burning. Mow high for one to two years depending on density of the stumps then disc with the discs in a straight set-up? Has worked for me on quite a few fields. by the way, cuttingand piling by hand for an acre or two is required first to fully appreciate the loader. The loader seems slow, but it really is faster than by hand and can be done with normally available equipment.

Best of luck,

Bill

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dej(JED)

09-29-2006 06:35:52




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 Re: Clearing brush. I might have OCD. in reply to Slofr8, 09-29-2006 05:55:17  
I bought an abandoned nursery about 6 years ago. It amounted to 58 acres of tightly planted things that had been let grow for 15 years. There is one 5 acre stand of schrubs that are now 15 feet high. A man can't get trough them , but deer can. I uprooted a lot of trees, about 15 acres I guess, with and old Farmall M and loader. I then burnt piles and surprisingly the remains rotted up well in a couple of years. It looks better now, but I know darn well that mother nature can take it all back in a few years.

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jmixigo

09-29-2006 06:15:09




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 Re: Clearing brush. I might have OCD. in reply to Slofr8, 09-29-2006 05:55:17  
I bought a place that had sat vacant for 11 years, an I know just what you mean. This here was pasture left untended all that while. We even moved into the 100 yr old house that sat vacant fer 11 years. I'll chainsaw, pile, and burn for a while then hire a dozier to come do 8 hours work. It usually takes me bout a month to get up the dozier's mess cleaned up and get grass started good. Then back through the same cycle again.
I've learned two things. First, a back pack type leaf blower will REALLY fan up a good flame. Two, I must be doing this wrong cause it is hard work and a slow go.
Sure looks a lot better here tho.

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Bill shaver

09-29-2006 18:03:48




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 Re: Clearing brush. I might have OCD. in reply to jmixigo, 09-29-2006 06:15:09  
try a hakemet merri crusher, its a 5ft stump grinder that can go 9-10 inches into the soil 7 througly mulch every thing including the roots1 look it up, it costs but all is cleared at the end!



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