Clearing Logging Debris

[MattAL]

I recently purchased a tractor and a bushhog. I am using it to clean up 40 acres of former timber. The loggers cut most of the stumps to ground level or so. The problem is the left over logs and branches that are everywhere. A few of them are as big as railroad ties. Needless to say this does not make bushhogging fun. The grass and weeds are up to 5' tall so I have to bushhog before I can find all the debris. What kind of implement would pick up all the trash once I have it cut? Would a landscape rake work? I have even thought about pulling a wagon and just loading the stuff by hand but there is literally thousands of these things. Appreciate any help you can give.

[hbarski]

I have a similar situation with 80 acres that has been selective cut. I ended up with a ford 3930 with a front end loader. I can use the loader to move and scoot most of the brush to burn piles. I also added a set of bolt on forks to the bucket and I can move more brush quicker. It is a job that seems never ending. Be careful about bushhogging without doing a ground scout first. I ripped off the end of my mower blades by hitting a hidden 6" log buried in the grass. Those Woods blades cost me $75. I also invested in some logging tongs. Makes dragging the bigger stuff easier.

[gmsssi]

I feel your pain. After having select cut and a gas well drilling, I have a very similar situation. Take a look at some of the mess I have on the following thread!

Free firewood thread

The company that drilled the well is to make all downed timber accessable by truck, trailer and tractor when they finish dressing.

Still have lots to do, need some firewood....... [img]/forums/images/graemlins/smirk.gif[/img]

[MMM]

You're lucky stumps are ground level. I hung my drawbar mount on a stump and sheared bolts off. I suggest a controlled burn before you venture in there with a cutter or you'll tear something up.. Burn will take care of all but the largest stuff and you can pile unburned logs into rows or piles for another burn. Talk to your forestry service.
I think the tool you'll need most is a front end loader with forks or grapple after the burn..

[Mavrik02]

Logging can be one of the most difficult messes to clean up. If you have 40 acres of land to clear after logging...wow! You may want to hire a bulldozer to come in and do the rough work (clear the land, pile the junk, pile the good stuff). Burn what you don't want and break out the chain saw to carve away what you do. Then use the tractor to haul around the cut and trimmed trees. Up here in Western PA I would wait until the undergrowth dies for the winter before I ran my tractor into the mess.

However...I could be way off in my thoughts. The type of tractor you have and a picture of the land might help.

[RonMar]

Do you have a FEL? I am doing the same thing right now, trying to clear around stumps and piles. I made the bucket in the attached picture. I run it along the ground ahead of me and brushhog VERY slowly. It catches under logs and other debris and allows me to lift it up out of the bushes to evaluate it . If it is small or rotten enough, I dump it and run over it so the hog can chew it up. If it is too large, I re-position it out of my way. If I run the bucket tines into an immovable object such as a stump, rock or dirt pile, the wheels start to dig in and I stop the tractor and pick another route.

Since it was logged, be on the lookout for non wood debris. I found a 50' length of 1" dia steel logging cable the other night. I ran over the end of the cable and it didn't get caught in the bucket tines. I got lucky and only about 4' of it got up into the cutter blade and slowed it down untill I lifted it off. I was able to stop the blade and back away without it getting tangled.

[MattAL]

No FEL. But it is not as bad as that picture. The previous owner piled up a lot into windrows and halfway burned it. They did leave alot though. I was hoping for some kind of miracle 3pt implement [img]/forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif[/img]

[wksinatl]

NAPALM!!! [img]/forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif[/img] (Sorry, couldn't resist)

Keith

[MMM]

Man , that looks like a park compare to what loggers left me.

</font><font color="blue" class="small">( Do you have a FEL?)</font>

I've got 2 7/8 heavy drill stem on sides of bucket for log forks . I'm going to turn an old SuperC dozer blade into brush fork similar to yours, after I rebuild my shed, put new flooring in kitchen,,clean out the barn.............

[RonMar]

That was an after picture, It was the only one I had handy with a reasonable piture of the fork bucket in it. What I am clearing now has brush(Salal, Balckberries, scotch broom, vine maple sapings, ect) that is mostly taller than the ROPS on the tractor. It is like driving into a wall. I cycle the FEL up and down to follow the ground contour as it changes and to sometimes push down the brush. I have found 3 slash piles that I never even knew existed because the brush covered them so completely.