BX2370 Claw? - Custom Implement 2

[mikester]

The smaller BXs just don't have the weight / hydraulic down force in any 3-point hitch mounted implement I know of to dig out rocks / stumps / buried pipe / etc.

You answered your own question

 

[Samwise]

Few comments: there is no downward hydraulic force with your 3 pt (unless you are using something like a backhoe attachment. ) A subsoiler is one big spike used for digging very deep and narrow trenches. A typical subsoiler stuck in the ground will make a great anchor for your BX and it won't go anywhere. I doubt that anyone uses a BX for subsoiling -- really the territory for large tractors intending to break up soil down under the surface , hence the name of the thing. None of the above (BX nor subsoiler) are the right tools for stumps either. That leaves dislodging rocks in your list of things to do. So I will obey your request and not mention that you need a bigger tractor, a lot bigger.

Most of the implements mentioned in this thread are really for 'tillage' which I don't do with a tractor hence why I didn't know they existed (our garden is all in planter boxes). What fits my project description better is a single tine 'ripper' that fits my cat 1 3-point hitch. I see I missed the 'compact' page in the Bush Hog catalog so they do have a smaller subsoiler (SS1). I also see in this family of implements online rippers / middle busters that have interchangeable blades not to mention rippers that fit receiver hitches etc so I think I'm on the right track now that the forum has helped define what this is properly called.

Anything the BX can't do I hire the neighbor for. I seem to have 4-8 hours of work for him every year but that is not enough to warrant a larger tractor that doesn't have a belly mower and I can't maneuver in the obstacle course we call a yard. I have moved quite large logs with the BX and pulled out many smaller stumps with a trailer hitch, clevis, and chain so the goal is to optimize its utility. I have multiple semi buried piles of old iron, rocks and other stuff left by previous owners all the way back to the early 1900s and I don't want to dig all that out by hand. The suggestions on how to add weight are also appreciated. So its a 3-tiered approach: commercial equipment if needed; the BX for all it can get; and finally by hand to finish up.

 

[CliffordK]

I saw a thread recently about using old wheel rims to pull small trees and shrubs. Interesting concept. I haven't used one, but I have used a 2x4 with a winch to create short term lifting force, and not worrying when it eventually fell over.