rswyan
Super Star Member
- Joined
- May 12, 2004
- Messages
- 11,241
- Location
- Northeast Ohio
- Tractor
- Kubota B2910, Cub Cadet Pro Z 154S, Simplicity 18 CFC, Cub Cadet 782
I'm planning on building a grapple to use with our Kubota B2910 ... in fact, I've started. The intended use will mostly be debris clean up (logs, brush, etc.) and, to a much lesser extent, actual brush removal. There are only two areas where I need to do actual brush removal:
1. Roughly a 10' to 15' swath that runs 600' along a fence line. The previous neighbor used to keep this mowed and the brush beaten back (he installed the fence) ... but he sold the property and the new neighbor isn't interested ... don't blame him (it's my property, not his) This area is completely overgrown ... the brush (multiflora rose and who-knows-what) is probably 7' tall at this point and incredibly dense ... you can't even walk the fence line on my side of the fence.
2. Another 360' that is owned by someone other than myself (city, county, etc.) along the "road" that runs to our house. This one has become my headache basically because we are the only people that have an address on this "road" (it's really just our driveway ... and the road didn't even exist until Pops cut it in and graveled it) and the utilities (electric & phone) to our home run down the right of way. I usually keep about 10' - 15' of it that is in grass mowed, although the city has started to mow it occasionally (not often enough to suit me) but the area underneath the poles has gotten out of hand (it was never grass AFAIK) and has become totally overgrown, with trees and vines growing up into the wires (including vines on the top power wire)
Trying to get the utility companies to do anything about it is fruitless ... the phone company won't touch it, because they are the power company's poles ... and the power company - who I've contacted repeatedly over the years - usually says it's on the upcoming schedule. Then the derelicts that they subcontract the work to come out and do a minimal amount of work, leaving it in a condition that it's sure to be a problem again within the next 12 months ... if they even do enough to actually handle what is currently a problem. They were here some time earlier this year ... still had grapevine growing over my phone wires - and, if memory serves - vines growing into the top wires on at least one pole after they left. I've sprayed the grapevine since and the portion of it that was on my phone lines is largely dead ... but there is plenty more that was right behind it that is headed up towards the phone wires.
I'm going to tear the brush out under the poles, maybe spray anything that's left, then grade it and seed it ... and keep it mowed after that.
The style of grapple I am building is a root rake "clamshell" type. I haven't totally finalized all aspects of the plans yet, but it's modeled after WR Long's RGB2-48 grapple ... with a couple design changes and modifications. Two of the primary ones being cylinder sizing and placement.
The picture below is of TBN member NHBotanut's RGB2-48 mounted on his B7610 (which is the next size smaller tractor than mine), and who has helpfully provided me with some basic dimensional info on his unit:
1. Roughly a 10' to 15' swath that runs 600' along a fence line. The previous neighbor used to keep this mowed and the brush beaten back (he installed the fence) ... but he sold the property and the new neighbor isn't interested ... don't blame him (it's my property, not his) This area is completely overgrown ... the brush (multiflora rose and who-knows-what) is probably 7' tall at this point and incredibly dense ... you can't even walk the fence line on my side of the fence.
2. Another 360' that is owned by someone other than myself (city, county, etc.) along the "road" that runs to our house. This one has become my headache basically because we are the only people that have an address on this "road" (it's really just our driveway ... and the road didn't even exist until Pops cut it in and graveled it) and the utilities (electric & phone) to our home run down the right of way. I usually keep about 10' - 15' of it that is in grass mowed, although the city has started to mow it occasionally (not often enough to suit me) but the area underneath the poles has gotten out of hand (it was never grass AFAIK) and has become totally overgrown, with trees and vines growing up into the wires (including vines on the top power wire)
Trying to get the utility companies to do anything about it is fruitless ... the phone company won't touch it, because they are the power company's poles ... and the power company - who I've contacted repeatedly over the years - usually says it's on the upcoming schedule. Then the derelicts that they subcontract the work to come out and do a minimal amount of work, leaving it in a condition that it's sure to be a problem again within the next 12 months ... if they even do enough to actually handle what is currently a problem. They were here some time earlier this year ... still had grapevine growing over my phone wires - and, if memory serves - vines growing into the top wires on at least one pole after they left. I've sprayed the grapevine since and the portion of it that was on my phone lines is largely dead ... but there is plenty more that was right behind it that is headed up towards the phone wires.
I'm going to tear the brush out under the poles, maybe spray anything that's left, then grade it and seed it ... and keep it mowed after that.
The style of grapple I am building is a root rake "clamshell" type. I haven't totally finalized all aspects of the plans yet, but it's modeled after WR Long's RGB2-48 grapple ... with a couple design changes and modifications. Two of the primary ones being cylinder sizing and placement.
The picture below is of TBN member NHBotanut's RGB2-48 mounted on his B7610 (which is the next size smaller tractor than mine), and who has helpfully provided me with some basic dimensional info on his unit:
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