Good idea? Bad idea? Buy it or make one myself?

[Dougster]

Removing a tree in our Florida sand is easy, tie it high and push or pull it over roots and all like our hurricanes do I remember our Maine soil well, it would hold a tree real good and you living in Ma. it must be close Have fun
Jim

To be truthful, I think I'm just looking for my first major implement design & welding project... and this one looks doable, interesting, semi-useful and easy!

Dougster

 

[EddieWalker]

The problem you'll have is that you will have a very expensive, heavey tool that wont give you any more pulling power than you alread have in your loader. It looks morel like a gimick with fancy looks and no practical value.

Look up a poster named Nat and PM for pics of his tree puller. You will get maximum power out of your hydralics and be able to build one for a hundred bucks, give or take.

You can also build a V out of flat stock or cut one out of flat stock and bolt it to your front bucket. Push the V around the tree until it gets caught in the smaller part of the V and lift. If you really want to get fancy, cut the V to it's got a chisel edge and is wider at the top than at the bottom.

When you slide it around the tree, it will also cut into the tree a small amount. Then when you lift it out, the edge will dig into the tree and really hold it.

Then you just drive to where you want to ger rid of the tree, lower your bucket until the bottom of the tree is on the ground and drive backwards. The tree willl fall out.

No hydralics, nothing fancy. This is how guys have been doing it for decades.

Good luck,
Eddie

 

[Dougster]

Look up a poster named Nat and PM for pics of his tree puller. You will get maximum power out of your hydralics and be able to build one for a hundred bucks, give or take.

Searched the archives and found a photo of Nat's puller here:

Looks quite powerful (using the 3 pt hitch), effective and safe... I agree.

No hydralics, nothing fancy. This is how guys have been doing it for decades. Good luck, Eddie

Eddie, for goodness sakes... you are ruining all my fun! It's time for me to build something hydraulic and this is the simplest and cheapest something I've found! Have a little compassion man!

Besides, everyone should have at least 6 ways to pull a tree!!!

Dougster

 

[ns_in_tex]

I have been cleaning up about seven acres after having timber clear cut and are using our homemade treegetter for pulling them up by the roots. I think it would be a lot faster than the hydraulic one you displayed as well as can get more prying leverage. It will also dig and break roots to loosen up the larger trees, then can drag dirt for backfilling any holes. We probably average 2 to 4 trees per minute. If they are small you can get several at once.
one picture

one picture from a thread we posted about this some time ago.

When you are ready to build something with hydraulics, just change the teeth on your picture to knifes along with larger cylinder & you have a tree shear for the large trees.

 

[Dougster]

I have been cleaning up about seven acres after having timber clear cut and are using our homemade treegetter for pulling them up by the roots. I think it would be a lot faster than the hydraulic one you displayed as well as can get more prying leverage. It will also dig and break roots to loosen up the larger trees, then can drag dirt for backfilling any holes. We probably average 2 to 4 trees per minute. If they are small you can get several at once.

I admit, that is quite an effective looking tool you've got there. But, as usual, I am still thinking 90 degree (turned sideways) grapple and selective pruning capability (as opposed to clearing/clear cutting). Might end up being totally ineffective and a very bad idea, but at least I get the nagging concept out of my mind for relatively cheap bucks.

When you are ready to build something with hydraulics, just change the teeth on your picture to knifes along with larger cylinder & you have a tree shear for the large trees.

Well, now you are thinking along the lines of my "new & improved" model. I was thinking dual cylinders with interchangeable curved teeth and knives... not meeting at a point but slightly staggered... two on one side, one or two on the other side... to grip or cut any smaller-sized tree. Now that would be nice!

Perhaps a little ambitious for right now however...

Dougster

 

[AlanB]

If you already had the grapple (I think you said you did) why not just make some mounts so you can pull your existing grapple, lay it on sideways, repin it in place, and put an opposing jaw that would also pin in place to work against?

If I am reading correctly, you are doing this on the tractor.

The one I have been thinking about is what wroghtn harv had for the SS that was just an L on the top of the bucket to pull posts (kind of a refined tree in my mind)

Curl way down, drive the foot of the L just past desired tree, pivot steer to put tree in the base, curl up to wedge tree between L and lip of bucket and then rock and lift to remove.

I think I have a bunch of little stuff to get out on this new property if I cannot afford the mulching. Turn my 10 year old loose on the bobcat and say "go get it son"

 

[Dougster]

If you already had the grapple (I think you said you did) why not just make some mounts so you can pull your existing grapple, lay it on sideways, repin it in place, and put an opposing jaw that would also pin in place to work against?

Oh, don't think I haven't thought about that. It would look (and work) kinda funny with my current root/rock grapple, but there are other grapple designs out there where such an approach wouldn't look or work half bad... maybe like the WR Long grapples. And to be really slick, I'd want the 90 degree tilt to be hydraulic too... although manual would be much cheaper. I've actually sketched out a few design ideas... but building such a device would be another matter. Lots of ugly stresses to handle in such an "FEL quick attach to two-way grapple" interface device. In the end, a separate device is still likely to be more user friendly and sensible.

Just thank God I don't weld or you'd probably be looking at my finished project on-line right now!!!

Dougster

 

[Smithla]

I installed a tooth bar on my FEL, and reach up about 4 feet, push the tree over, then back up put the tooth bar in the root ball and push /lift at the same time and up comes the root ball. I've found that I can handle 8-12 inch pines and poplar trees with out much trouble. I have handled hundreds, maybe thousands that way, and still have thousands to go.

Best of Luck,

Les