My New Ripper tooth

[bx24]

Iron Horse

It looks cool, but how would you rate it's performance? Do you think you are getting the desired result because of the machines capacity, or because of a better design? Both of your guys hooks look like they would work great for demo work, but they seem to rely more on brute strength than cutting or tearing action.

I only say this because my machine has much less oomf (thats a technical term by the way) and I am looking for a way to overcome it's lack of power.

I used to use full size BH loaders to dig pits but when the ground froze to more than a couple of feet, it was like digging in concrete. I was always amazed that the larger excavators could still work, but there was no comparison in HP.

That said, you guys did a nice job .... there is just something about a good "hook"!

[wedge40]

Paul I have agree. I think Iron Horse's look like it would take a pretty stout backhoe to work.

I'm in the same boat as you and use the bucket curl to me work. what I have found though is with the tooth as you apply force with curl instead of it applying force on the root most of that force causes the tooth to sink in the soil along th back side. (does this make sense?) I was wondering if you put a plate about 6 or 8 inches wide along the backside if this would give more leverage?

I have used the tooth at the end to chip at some bigger roots. Not very productive.. I'm waiting till have the time to spend more time in the seat. I'm traveling the next 4 or 6 weeks and will only have weekends to play/work.

Wedge

[Iron Horse]

bx24// I love it when you post , the smile on that little girls face melts me . I think my ripper is better than a standard curved one in the sense that it will catch on the stump and not slide around it . As wedge40 has found , the slippery root and the curvature of the tyne forces the crowd ram back and blows the relief valve as you loose purchase when the root gets to the bottom of the tyne or as you curl in the tyne rolls under the root . If it's a matter of "oomf" it's a simple matter to down size the tearing tooth . My machine can break a 3" root so thats what i based the size on . If i strike say a 6" root it tears off a 3" chunk and gets the rest on the second bite . If your hoe can only break a 1 1/2" root make the tooth that size , it will then do a 3" root in the same fashion that mine does a 6" . The secret is to keep the root high on the tyne where your purchase is greatest , that's what the hook does . You could try sharpening the hook but i think by the way the stumps twist whilst im tearing at them it realy does help to loosen them , rather than quietly slicing the roots and still having the tap root firmly planted . Once you have have found it is still tight in the ground and you have sliced off all your hold points what would you do then ?

[jcav44]

I think I need a little more time behind the controls before I make any more comments. If I find I need some kind of tooth in the hook I'll cut a quarter moon shape from some half inch stock, bandsaw some teeth on it and weld it in place.

[bx24]

Iron Horse

Thanks for the nice comment about Samantha ... its amazing to think someone as nice as her came from a putz like me! .... The good parts obviously came from the other half of the gene sample.

I did not think about the greater leverage you would get from a "closer" bite and that makes sense to me.

Can you fault a guy for wanting to put some teeth on things!

[EnviroEd]

That sure looks like it'd be fun to play with, wish I had a backhoe. I've been thinking about one of those rippers for my 3ph to help roll big buried rocks out.

[Redbug]

Hey EnviroEd...Why not get a subsoiler? Drop it down, snag whatever it is, slowly drive forward while raising the lift arms. Works pretty good for small stumps. Just do it slowly...

[EnviroEd]

Redbug, that's what I was thinking about I'm kinda worried about the rock getting stuck between the sub-soiler and the tractor, have you had any problems like that? If I could extend it back farther from the tires I sure would feel better. Thanks for the help!

[RonMar]

The problem with extending it back is that you loose lift force on the 3PH with longer lift arms...

[Redbug]

EnviroEd, I'm not quite sure about the problem of getting a rock stuck between the subsoiler and tractor. On a stump that is stuck, I go slowly and feel my way with the tractor and back off when the tires begin to spin. I do things slowly to avoid bending or breaking something on the tractor. If you approch the stump from another direction sometimes you can get it to move. I guess a rock can be like that, although I have never tried.