tree grower
Silver Member
- Joined
- Dec 29, 2007
- Messages
- 208
- Location
- Cuttingsville, VT
- Tractor
- Ford 1210, Bobcat 742B, John Deere 1050
Greetings all, from a new guy on the site. I am a Christmas tree grower, and find that I fabricate as many attachment as I buy. My current need is for a stump puller which attaches to my Bobcat 742B. I have rented a small Kobelco excavator with thumb several times, but it digs too much dirt, and the thumb doesn't have enough travel. There are several manufacturers of root grapples for skid steers, but they are designed for picking up debris which is mostly on top of the ground. I have Googled and researched for two years, and concluded that what I need isn't made commercially, so let's fire up the torches and welder!
I envision a mechanism which looks like a cross between a root grapple and a log loader grapple. The purpose is to extricate a single Christmas tree stump with minimal soil excavation. This will be fabricated as a universal skid steer mount using heavy channel and angle iron, not a full-face plate--I need to see through it. I am thinking of using box blade shanks (AgriSupply), two on the mounting plate and three arranged to act as a thumb. Max width for the three tines is 12" (6" apart), and travel so that they by-pass a little when closed. The mounting plate has 117 degrees of travel from -8 @ full roll-back to 109 @ full roll-out. I plan to mount the grapple assembly (think ice tongs) so it 'hangs' plumb when the mounting plate is rolled out @ 45 degrees. This will maximize my travel options.
I picture the operation as follows: approach a stump with the plate rolled out to 45 degrees, and the opposing tines (thumb) fully retracted. Dive in under the stump with the tines on the plate, roll back a little to get under it, then activate the thumb to clamp the stump. With a little forward-and-back with the machine, and some roll-back and roll-out with the mount, the stump is loosed and can be lifted up easily. Only 587 more to go!
This all sounds too easy, so I need some feedback to identify flaws in my design. Thanks in advance
I envision a mechanism which looks like a cross between a root grapple and a log loader grapple. The purpose is to extricate a single Christmas tree stump with minimal soil excavation. This will be fabricated as a universal skid steer mount using heavy channel and angle iron, not a full-face plate--I need to see through it. I am thinking of using box blade shanks (AgriSupply), two on the mounting plate and three arranged to act as a thumb. Max width for the three tines is 12" (6" apart), and travel so that they by-pass a little when closed. The mounting plate has 117 degrees of travel from -8 @ full roll-back to 109 @ full roll-out. I plan to mount the grapple assembly (think ice tongs) so it 'hangs' plumb when the mounting plate is rolled out @ 45 degrees. This will maximize my travel options.
I picture the operation as follows: approach a stump with the plate rolled out to 45 degrees, and the opposing tines (thumb) fully retracted. Dive in under the stump with the tines on the plate, roll back a little to get under it, then activate the thumb to clamp the stump. With a little forward-and-back with the machine, and some roll-back and roll-out with the mount, the stump is loosed and can be lifted up easily. Only 587 more to go!
This all sounds too easy, so I need some feedback to identify flaws in my design. Thanks in advance