Is my bucket too small?

[TalonDancer]

Will you be cutting or shaping any of those limestone rocks?

Most of the larger rocks will be freestanding. Most of the smaller rocks wiil be used to make low dry stack walls. So we will probably have to shape the unseen faces to get them to sit flat or fit into the wall. But the idea is to have the rocks appear to be completely natural

Talon Dancer

 

[crazyal]

To be honest I wish I had you bucket (and the tractor). lol. I just can't make up my mind. Do I sell my BH and get something larger (4240) or do I keep it. If I keep it I really don't need a fel but if I ever sold it or upgraded the lack of a fel would hurt value wise.

I've been look all around for nice block shaped rocks to build some retaining walls but so far all I have found are smaller round ones and large ones that I'm lucky if I can move. That rock in my avatar broke off from the ledge down near my neighbor's shop. It's the closest thing to stackable that I've seen and it weights too much. Here's a better picutre of it, mind you that it's a Case 580K and the rock goes to the bottom of the bucket.

Of course now I'm really thinking I need help. I was alright being envious of your Kubota, now I am of your rocks too.

 

[davitk]

sure hope your tractor dealer threw in a can of Kubota orange touch-up for that too small bucket of yours

 

[crazyal]

Had to find it.

 

[TalonDancer]

Had to find it.

OK I conceed. You've got bigger rocks than I do

BTW Is that a "head ache bar" on the back of the CASE bucket. It looks like it makes the bucket much larger for carrying rocks etc.

Talon Dancer

 

[Egon]

What really interests me is what kind of paint it takes to stand up to moving those rocks and not showing scratches.

Feathers and wedges can be used to make large rocks smaller!

 

[mikim]

The Texas Hill Country is a large area West of I 35 ....I've always found it interesting how much the ground changes from east Austin to west Austin. On the west side of the Balcones fault you have all that limestone and shrub trees and on the east side I have big trees, lots of clay and round rocks sized from baseball to basketball size .....and LOTS of 'em. Actually the ground I just bought 3 years ago is in a valley and we actually have some good dirt on top of the clay and very few rocks at all. By comparison the ground we have on "rocky hill" has so many that you can't hardly plant a wood post without using lots of concrete to hold it.

 

[TalonDancer]

What really interests me is what kind of paint it takes to stand up to moving those rocks and not showing scratches.

Limestone is actually quite soft and slightly brittle. We have to be very careful not to mar or break the rocks with the FEL or back-hoe. You can see the light colored scratches I've made with the back-hoe by accident.

FWIW The large rocks we've extracted so far are from the weathered edge of the thick dark layer. The underlying clay had been weathered away allowing the overlying limestone to tilt and shift a bit. The plants and animals (there was a small den under the two in the bucket) took advantage of these "cracks" and wore away the edges so they are slightly rounded.

I do leave paint on these rocks but only when I make a mistake or when nearly their full weight is being supported by a small area.

Feathers and wedges can be used to make large rocks smaller!

Or flowers, grasses and shrubs it just takes more time

Talon Dancer

 

[rdsaustintx]

I suspected you were in Texas when I saw the first photo. Nothing in profile, but then y'all talked it up.

Looks like Glen Rose formation (from I-35 to darn near El Paso). Alternating layers of limestone and dolomite; forms 'stairsteps' by natural weathering. You can put a six-story building on that rock outcrop.

Interesting factoid: The Glen Rose is the most stable formation in N. America. Building codes say there is ZERO seismic risk in central Texas, which is extremely rare.

(wish I knew as much about tractors as dirt)

Russell in the Fault Zone

 

[TalonDancer]

...Looks like Glen Rose formation (from I-35 to darn near El Paso). Alternating layers of limestone and dolomite; forms 'stairsteps' by natural weathering. You can put a six-story building on that rock outcrop....

That's the Upper Glen Rose to you sir.

On the crest of the ridge (roughly 200 ft up from the "quarry") we have remnants of Edwards outcropping.

Talon Dancer