rock removal ideas?

[gerard]

Anyone have any tried true methods for picking up the millions of small (golf ball size) and med (orange/grapefruit size) rocks left after leveling a dirt area? We just cleared and leveled a 160x 200 area with a dozer prepping for a horse arena and before the sand footing is put down the rocks have to be picked up. I tried windrowing with a york rake with limited success as I didn't want too much down pressure since that would dig into the surface and we want to keep it compacted. Help requested from the omnisicient and benevolent tractor gods!

 

[Billc]

Gerald,

You won't like what I have to say. We've been clearing sections of our land for 1.5 years. We've had lots of rock, everything from golf ball size to one bolder I've been working on since last fall, it's a monster. I bought a root rake. My plan was to use it to gather all the rocks into a pile. It didn't work. The only method that's been effective is walking in a line with a 5 gallon bucket and picking them up. When the bucket is full dump it into the loader. When the loader if full dump it in the pit at the back of the property.

Hope someone knows of a better way. I've never seen a rock rake in action, wonder if it will do the job?

Bill Cook

 

[RobS]

I haven't been at rock picking as long as Bill, but in my limited experience I'd have to agree. Pretty much got to do it by hand, and several times as the rocks seem to "grow" out of the ground over time. My wife and I take turns driving the tractor along slow while the other half and kids toss rocks into the FEL bucket. Good family project /w3tcompact/icons/smile.gif

 

[cowboydoc]

We've done everything for it too Bill and there is not other way that we've found besides the one mentioned. Five gallon buckets.

 

[gerard]

Thanx all - had a feeling that was going to be ther answer but had to ask. My last hope is a screen set up my brother in law made from concrete mesh and angle iron - he says it works well for collecting rocks - I'll post if it does! (Supposed to drag it like a screed, the rocks kick up above the mesh and collect at the back while the dirt passes through - guess you periodically dump the rocks to make room for more - we'll see!)

 

[Anonymous Poster]

I like this message board. The 5 gal buckets mentioned are OK but I've had an easier time using a "rock" rake (hand operated) and raking rocks into piles then with a rented loader drop the bucket and push the rocks into the bucket.. move to the next pile and ... good luck with your clearing.
Hope to have my own loader one of these days.

 

[Billc]

Richard, I was sure that you would be "in the know" about some way or the other to get rocks up the easy way! Boy, you let the air out of my balloon. I'd write more but I have a date with a 5 gallon bucket.

Oh, at the end of last year we were clearing an area to turn into pasture. My wife was walking along mumbling to her self. I couldn't hear what she was saying. The area we were working was red GA clay that had turned to red GA dust...lots and lots of dust. We had gone about all summer with no rain. It was 95 degrees with lots of humidity. We had just gotten back from your area of the country (Montana), where it was 55 at night and 72 during the day....they must have outlawed humidity some years back, because there was none. Anyway, I asked my wife what she was mumbling. She looked at me with a surprised look on her face. She asked, "Was I talking out loud?". "Yes." I said. She said, "Each time I see a rock I say, 'Grass don't grow under rocks.' and I pick it up.".

Bill Cook

 

[cowboydoc]

Hahaha Bill,
That's a pretty good one. Well sorry to let the air out but believe me as you've seen the country back there there are alot of rocks. We have used every device imaginable to try and pick up rocks. My uncle's place up in Northern Idaho has alot of rocks. The last thing that he had tried was a contraption that LOOKED pretty slick. It was a hydraulic rock picker upper that picked up rocks and then put them in a basket and then you pulled a lever and it dumped them in a bin. No luck. It only picked up rocks that were on the top or the big rocks. To get the bigger rocks was no go. He welded to together I don't even know how many different rock rakes. If they were big enough to let the dirt through it didn't pick up the smaller rocks. If it was smaller it did like you said and just raked a pile of dirt and rock. When I was a kid I used to get paid by the five gallon bucket for picking up rocks. I think it was .25 a bucket. Whenever Grandpa and I would go up there to help with cattle or deliver horses or cattle I'd spend hours picking up rocks for him and go home with a pocket full of change. I really wish there was an easier way but haven't found one.

As far as humidity goes boy are you right!!! I didn't even know what humidity was until I came out to the midwest in '89 to go to medical school at Iowa. I came out in the middle of august and remember getting off the plane and just getting hit with this wall of hot stale air and immediately began to sweat!! That was a real experience. I had always heard of humidity but never really knew what it was until I came out east! I remember after my first year of school I missed my horses so much that my grandparents told me to find a place to keep them. Well I found an old ranch house on about 350 acres that a farmer farmed. He said if I wanted to fix up the old barn and put up fence I could bring my horses too. Well my grandparents and brothers came out and helped me get it done and brought a couple of my horses out. That was in the spring when it's not too bad. That first summer I remember coming home when it was hot and the horses were out in the pasture sweating. I thought gosh dang someone is out here chasing the horses. I called the guy that I rented the place from and he started laughing at me. He said no they sweat just standing there in the summer. After he said that I felt really dumb but I'd never seen horses sweat just standing around. I could sure do without the humidity that's for sure, but at least you don't have to irrigate everything. That's another eyeopener story.

 

[Billc]

Good story, Rich.

I remember the first time we went to Wyoming for the rodeo. I was setting up the camper. No big deal. My wife came back from the r.v. office and asked, "Guess how hot it is?" I answered, "About 78?" Rich, it was 97 degress! I couldn't believe it. I was working and not a drop of sweat!

Bill Cook

 

[WVBill]

Richard:

I had a similar introduction to humidity. Grew up in Southern California and went to Navy flight school in Pensacola Florida in the summer of '69. I remember thinking, while walking down the jetway off the airplane: "I wonder why they've got the heat blasting in the middle of the summer." It only lasted a second because we were quickly inside the air conditioned terminal. It wasn't until I picked up my luggage and walked out the front of the terminal that I realized what we were in for.

Another humidity story: While in training in Pensacola we had a rifle inspection one day. Dilligently cleaned our rifles in our air conditioned dorm then fell out for inspection. Discoverd a few minutes later when we came to port arms for inspection that the humid air had condensed all over the cold steel of our rifles. Failed the inspection. Learned to pre-warm our rifles - attention to detail..... drop and give me fifty.... Aye Aye Sir!