Rake Purpose of York Rake (trying to avoid improper use)

   / Purpose of York Rake (trying to avoid improper use) #1  

justin caise

New member
Joined
Aug 19, 2007
Messages
7
Location
So New Hampshire, USA
Tractor
searching
Sorry if this multi-part question is in the wrong area, but this attachments section seemed best.
Homeowner - non-tractor-owner seeking suggestions and advice about rental equipment for a specific task.

I'm intending on using a bush hog and then York rake (rental equipment) to clear out the brush, weeds, and major portions of moss which have taken over my 2 acre lawn. I'm concerned though that the york rake my not be up to this kind of work. Will this level out the soil and remove debris enough for seeding? Or is it really just for spreading gravel and dethatching? I asked the owner who's renting me the equipment and he says "Sure it'll be fine" but he's bia$. If not adequate I'll have to rent yet another piece of equipment ($) (Harley rake? Power rake?) and tractor from someone else because of attachment compatability issues. Of course I'm aware that I'll also have to do some soil ammendments; lime, seed fertilizer etc. afterwards.
I'm not attempting to get a golf course lawn, I just want to get it back to a decent field. Also will the FEL of the 23HP MF I'm renting be adequate to pull stumps from less than 2" seedlings?
Even the salesman at the local tractor place advised that with only 2 acres I don't really NEED a tractor - not that I don't want one, mind you.
Any advise is greatly appreciated...
would a picture of the turf (before) help any?

Thanks, JC
 
   / Purpose of York Rake (trying to avoid improper use) #2  
short answer - yes it will work.
You will be stopping a lot and unpluging the rake but you should be able to "sweep" things up.

I'm curious how you plan on pulling the seedling stumps? What are you going to hold on to it with?

Have you considered renting a tiller? Mow the lot first then till it up and start over. maybe more expense than you wanted to get into though.
 
   / Purpose of York Rake (trying to avoid improper use) #3  
Rock rakes pick up a lot of brush trash and plug the teeth so you have to get off the tractor and pull stuff out. Very frustrating.
I use my rock rake for lawns and even some farm fields as a leveling tool and if I have the tractor in "draft control" can have a fields smooth as a pancake. I also use the rake as a snowplow but that's another story.

First, I rip out the stumps and stuff and then use a wide rototiller to rough things up and sort-of smooth the dirt out. Then I use an old set of spike cultivators or disk arrow to "get the air---fluff-- out" of the tilled soil and pack it a harder to settle it down . A packer or roller would work. Or you could wait for it to get rained on. Point is you have it firmed up or it will settle unevenly
Then I repeatedlly rock rake it until compacted and universally smooth. Weed, water or rain and it's Miller time.
 
   / Purpose of York Rake (trying to avoid improper use) #4  
How well it will work will depend greatly on whether it is a true heavy duty York Type rake (typically $1500 to $2500) or a light duty rake (typ $400 to $800). A heavy duty rake will do the tasks you describe very well while the light duty one may just laugh at you. I've been doing the tasks you describe with an 8 foot very heavy rake for over 20 years and have yet to replace a tine. I also very rarely have to get off to knock stuff out of it. I just back up and let the rake down and the tined bounce around and drop there junk. Perhaps not recommended in the owners manual, and certainly not recommended for light duty rakes where some tines would bend over and not spring back.

Andy
 
   / Purpose of York Rake (trying to avoid improper use) #5  
How well it will work will depend greatly on whether it is a true heavy duty York Type rake (typically $1500 to $2500) or a light duty rake (typ $400 to $800). A heavy duty rake will do the tasks you describe very well while the light duty one may just laugh at you. I've been doing the tasks you describe with an 8 foot very heavy rake for over 20 years and have yet to replace a tine. I also very rarely have to get off to knock stuff out of it. I just back up and let the rake down and the tined bounce around and drop there junk. Perhaps not recommended in the owners manual, and certainly not recommended for light duty rakes where some tines would bend over and not spring back.

Andy

The tines will bend on any of them. Ask me how I know...
The good news is that replacement tines for a york rake (RW model) are only $13.00 plus shipping.
There are some deals on rakes that seem to be a good bargan. One that I can vouch for is the leinbach rake. After using a friends York Rake for a tough job of clearing junk from a construction site. I bought the leinbach and it is doing the job just as well as the york for the same stuff.
The price of a York is kind of tricky because on the $$$$ WR model it's more than just a rake. It has fold down scarifiers and a fold down blade.
 
 
 
Top