Rake Brush rake

   / Brush rake #1  

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I really need a brush rake to move piles of brush for burning and to shake the dirt off some brush that's already been uproooted. I've been hiring/renting a big Cat 416C with a serious rake to actually get the stuff out of the ground, but it's too expensive for the smaller work. Plus, it's so big there are still plenty of saplings that have to be rooted out, located where it's much easier for my compact to get at them (Brazilian pepper trees will spring right back if cut out).

Attachment shows the rake we've been using. (continued)
 

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   / Brush rake
  • Thread Starter
#2  
But, most of the "real" rakes are far too heavy-duty - and just plain too heavy - for my TC18. The 12LA loader has a capacity of 1090# at the pivots, a working capacity of about 750#. I finally found this Worksaver rake (attachment) @ 432# that is tougher than it needs to be and still leaves me with enough capacity to do what I need to do.

It's 62" wide, and comes with some universal loader brackets that will work with my 12LA.

The problem is, they want $1045 for it. I need it, and I have the $$$, but I just can't get my tongue around paying that much for what is actually a pretty simple implement.

I've got 3 choices I can see. (1) Pony up, pay the price and get to work. (2) Keep on looking in an almost fruitless search to find a less expensive one. (3) Make my own. It doesn't have to be as tough as the one they show - I don't have enough power to bend or break something even half that tough.

I know the tractor can do the work - I've flipped saplings out with my bucket, but the rake teeth would be much more efficient. Bucket teeth would help, but then when I try to pick up a part of a pile, the brush won't cradle in the bucket, and just slides off.

So, I'm posting this in the hope that someone may have a better idea, or that someone might know where there's a used one, or whatever.


PS - I've searched the forum, and have seen some well-contructed brush rakes, but all I have found have flat forks like multiple pallet forks, and that just won't work as well for digging into roots.
 

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   / Brush rake #3  
I know its not quite a brush rake. Wouldn't a bolt on tooth bar work? I haven't used mine a lot for brush work but the few times I did it seems to work well for what its multi-uses are intended for. Also you can use it for other things as well. Especially if you plan on doing a lot of dirt work with your loader.
 
   / Brush rake #4  
OkeeDon,

Can't you get a local welding shop to make up a 'toothbar' similar to the common style except with extended shank mounts? I wouldn't want to go too long but if you get 10" - 12" of extension, you should be able to pluck out the roots. This can probably be had for a few hundred $.

You'd have to peel the roots up in short 'lifts' to avoid overstressing the bucket ( unless you have really loose soil ). Also, work when the soil is as dry as possible. Less root capture of the soil and the roots rip out much easier.

As for the dirt, I have found that letting the pile dry out well, then rolling it around a few times with the loader does a decent job knocking off the dirt. It's not perfect, but it works well enough to burn off the pile.
 
   / Brush rake
  • Thread Starter
#5  
I may have confused things by describing two tasks in the same post, and not describing the differences well enough.

(a) Digging out small trash trees/vines/shrubs. A standard tooth bar would certainly work a lot better than the bucket cutting edge, and I plan to get one for those quickie jobs when I don't want to change from a bucket to a rake. The wild grape vines are not very deep, and a tooth bar would be great. However, there's no easy way to shake off the dirt - with a rake, the dirt falls between the tines. An extended tooth bar is a very interesting idea - more about that below.

(b) "transporting" the brush. That's where the rake shines, and the bucket, even with teeth, is a lot less efficient. The curved shape of the rake, without sides, "cradles" the brush, while the sides of the bucket really limit how much can be carried. Even with a standard tooth bar, when the brush (which always is wider than the bucket /forums/images/graemlins/frown.gif ) hits the sides of the bucket, it just slides off.

I still plan to get a tooth bar, because when the pile burns down, a bucket with teeth is probably the best way to attack the remnants that didn't burn, and spread the ashes (my CFO heard that asparagus grows best where there has been a fire - if this is so we're going to have some bumper crops /forums/images/graemlins/smile.gif ).

The extended tooth bar takes care of the ripping part - digging up the roots. If I get the angles right, it will also be better than nothing for transporting. Out comes the legal pad, soon to be filled with scribbles meaningless to anyone but me, visualizing the possibilities. I'm already thinking of some of the better clamp-on pallet forks I've seen in the archives, except with multiple curved forks. I've been intrigued with the idea of using scarifier tines for the teeth - the shanks may be long enough. The angles are not quite right, but again, better than nothing.

Good suggestions. Causing me to look for my Clever Cap. Florida soil is certainly loose - nothing but sand - and if it's wet, just wait a minute until it percs and dries. Having lived Up North many years ago and having dug some holes, I can tell you that digging in Florida is one of the things that Yankees really can't believe - my adopted Greyhound can dig a 3' deep hole, 4' long, in about 20 minutes, to lay in and keep cool.

Can scarifier tines, like the ones in scarifiers or box blades, be bought separately? Are they available with different length shanks? Hmmm - and maybe some sort of clamp-on grid for the top of the bucket, to complete the "cradle", and keep the brush from falling back on the tractor (and me /forums/images/graemlins/crazy.gif )...it will probably be faster to clamp on the additions to the bucket than to exchange the bucket with a rake...forgive me for thinking out loud. I may have to move this to the "build it yourself" discussion.
 
   / Brush rake #6  
OkeeDon,
A couple years ago in Projects a poster named Trader Mark posted a possible solution to your problem. It was on 04/08/01 and was number 40600. I will attempt a link. <font color="blue">Brush Brute </font> The attachment was a tooth bar that attached to the 3ph to pull up saplings, etc.. I remember it as I was thinking of building it and kept the specs.
Bill
 
   / Brush rake #7  
Okay OkeeDon....me again.

What I've been working on for a while is a bucket attachable brush carrying cradle thingy. This won't address the ripping out part, but will surely help move the remnants.

My thoughts, in very simple terms are as follows:

Span the bucket floor with a piece of 2" X 2" tube steel ( right to left ). From the front of the tube steel I'd weld several 1" pipes about 36" - 48" long ( these will sit on the floor of the bucket ). From the top of the tube steel I'd do the same vertically ( these will rest on the top edge of the bucket ). Fab up some sort of pin attachment so that the cross beam ( 2" x 2" ) can be pinned through the side wall of the bucket maybe with hitch pins and clips for easy removal. The top ( vertical section ) will be fixed to the top of the bucket by a turnbuckle or something that will allow general stabilization, but also easy removal ( maybe another pin with a swinging link ? ).

I'd probably add an angle or flat bar at each end to stiffen the legs.

This is for light duty brush carrying only. No logs or scraping the ground here !!

I hope to have the prototype done soon. When possible, I post a pic or two.
 
   / Brush rake #8  
I use this rock picker bucket

Combining a toothbar and rock sifting, this bucket was first used to clean up after a de-stumping operation to restore an old pasture (roots and rocks but leave the dirt), but has now proved that it is also great for loading/unloading log piles (kind of like a forklift). Only thing I wish it had was a grapple. So again, there is no such thing as a perfect implement for every job (dang).
 
   / Brush rake
  • Thread Starter
#9  
Re: I use this rock picker bucket

Kent - what's interesting about that one is that the center is so light-duty, which is a good idea - it doesn't have to be as strong as the ends or the digging teeth. Of course, $1,243.75 is more than I want to spend, but that picture gave me some ideas about a good brush rake for compact tractors. It's about the same size as some of the ones I've seen that weigh 1,000 pounds, but it only weights 500 pounds due to those lighter rods and angle in the center. Thanks.

TC35Dforme, we are definitely on the same wave length. One of the things I thought of was to use pins instead of bolts to make it easy to get on and off. In fact, if the frame at the sides of the bucket was square tube instead of flat stock, it would not only be stronger, it would probably be the ideal size to use top link pins. The pins would have some wobble in them, so it might be a good idea to weld a flat plate on the outside of the bucket to reinforce the hole.

On your original idea, I found a link here in the archives - I was just using the wrong keywords for a search. I found this (attachment) by using "bucket rake". It was built by, and posted by TraderMark on 3/26/01. I'd like to know where he found the scarifier tines with the shallow angle - all the ones I've seen turn 90 degrees.
 

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   / Brush rake
  • Thread Starter
#10  
Re: I use this rock picker bucket

(continuing) It would be easy to go on from that one and build the vertical grid. Here's an attachment of something that looks homemade, but is apparently actually for sale as a commercial product. I don't like the vertical "teeth", but the top part of the frame is OK to start the discussion.

Somewhere in one of the recent bucket fork discussions there was one fellow who used chain binders to hold the forks tight to the bucket. Sorry, I'm a little pressed for time right now to look it up and give the proper person credit, but I did appreciate it.

The tube across the front lip of the bucket should have a lip of it's own to go under the bucket and spread the stress.

Keep thinking and talking - we'll get this thing whipped!
 

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