Land clearing part 3

[dmccarty]

fishman,

I'm pretty sure the blades are from Echo. I'll see if I can get a part number tonight. I went to the Echo website and they did not list the blades. I got mine at Ace hardware, a local hardware store that has been in business for a couple of generations, and my Stihl dealer. Like I said you can sharpen it with a flat file real easy so that should help in getting the right blade.

I'm very impressed by the 46. When I was clearing the road last spring and then clearing my house lot of the trees downed by hurricanes and snow storms that 46 was a blessing. It still whipped my fanny though. I eventually got into good enough condition that I could run it for about 5 tanks of fuel before the 46 and the heat would wear me down. My property is full of ticks and chiggers during the spring/summer/fall and you must wear long pants and long sleave shirts to keep them off. I'm hoping the work I've been doing will open the land up to direct sun light and move the little buggers away. I also wear safety chaps. All the clothes plus chaps plus heat plus humidity made Dan one tired little puppy! /w3tcompact/icons/smile.gif

I really would like to get a 029 saw for topping off trees but I can't justify spending the money. Well I can but the wife ain't buying it! /w3tcompact/icons/smile.gif What is bad is that I will end up with a second chainsaw. I think we are going to get a chainsaw sawmill. I saw one working at the Farm Show and it worked better than I thought. And the price is right. BUT, you have to have a hefty saw. The mill I'm looking at comes with a Stihl 066! /w3tcompact/icons/smile.gif I really want a lighter saw not a heavier one! /w3tcompact/icons/smile.gif

You did hit on the one bad thing about a Stihl. Its Orange, instead of The True Color. JD Green! /w3tcompact/icons/smile.gif

Later....
Dan

 

[shade2u2]

I've found a set of old used 36" forklift forks that I considered having welded up to mount on my bucket. These equipment salvage folks still want $150 just for these old forks, but it still may be a savings over the unit like Carver has. The Beaver Blade (chainsaw-like) is the name ;-) & works very well for me on the Stihl FS85- much better than the saw blade. It cuts the small stuff without getting tangled up. The best way to clear is with the loader & box blade pushing the brush out of the way, but I still need a better way to gather, pick up & pile it... I've considered a 3 pt chipper that I could take along to the brush & just mulch it up where it lays, but they seem expensive...

 

[Bird]

<font color=blue>I've considered a 3 pt chipper that I could take along to the brush & just mulch it up where it lays, but they seem expensive</font color=blue>

That's the only reason I don't have one./w3tcompact/icons/frown.gif

Bird

 

[dmccarty]

Fishman,

The blades I have been sharpening are called brush cutter blades. I have one from Stihl and Echo. The part number for the Stihl is S 4001 713 3803. I also had a couple of the Stihl blades you were talking about that needed a round file.

I DONT think this blade can really handle the 3-5 inch hardwoods. 5 inch hardwood was really to hard on the FS80 anyway. The blade works well on grass and small stuff up to 2-3 inches. But it can be sharpened. What I was doing at the end of the project was to use the brushcutter to remove all the small stuff and then move in with the chainsaw to get down the bigger saplings.

I think I have about 10 blades in my work box. All of them are all used up! I just can't stand to throw them out since they cost so much money! /w3tcompact/icons/smile.gif

Bird mentioned the Beaver Blade that has the chain saw on the edge of the disk. I saw one of these in a hardware store and almost bought one. For some reason I did not think it would fit the FS80. If it had fit I think it would do a good job on the bigger saplings. If I have to cut as many big saplings again I might try a Beaver Blade.

Hope this helps...
Dan McCarty

 

[cowboydoc]

Shade,
As far as your multiflora rose problem use a good brush killer on them before you mow them. You have to be very liberal with it. I use crossbow and it works very well but is expensive. Then you have to let it die before you cut it off. Also spray when there is moisture not when it's dry. When it's dryer the root system shuts down and doesn't get the spray to the roots. After the plant is dead then mow them. I usually go out a week or two before I'm going to mow the pastures and spray them. By the time I mow they're already dead. I had them thick as anything when I first got my place and at the advice of my uncle did it that way and haven't had a problem with them for the last few years. It took me about three years though of constantly spraying and mowing to get rid of them but it is rare that I find one now.

 

[shade2u2]

Cowboy,
Thanx for the advise. I will probably start giving that a try in the spring. I have alot of downed timber throughout alot of this so I will be pulling alot of it out, but will try the spray because I know that it will be growing back...

 

[fishman]

dmmcarty,

5 tanks of fuel in the summer!/w3tcompact/icons/shocked.gif/w3tcompact/icons/shocked.gif That's Death Wish IV material!/w3tcompact/icons/wink.gif You might look at an 025 for smaller work. They are about $40 cheaper than an 029, and three lbs lighter. That would be a welcome break, especially compared to an 046!

Thanks for the info on the blades. I agree, they are very expensive (at least til you start looking a tractor payments /w3tcompact/icons/frown.gif). When the two I have wear out, I think I'll look for the Beaver Blade. I'm also going to get one of those resharpenable blades you suggested for the small stuff.

 

[dmccarty]

Shade2u2,

I missed your post. So here is my belated two cents.....

I cut the saplings growing in my road with the Stihl 80 and 046. The mistake I made but did not realize at the time was to pile everything in on long pile. Really made it hard to pick up with the 4n1. Even in the piles that were separate piles the 4n1 may not be the most efficient way to pick up the stull. Pallet forks or some of the brush grabbers would work better. But I could not justify the cost for a one time job. Mine is all but cleaned up at this point.

Getting rid of the stuff. This is the hard part.

I wanted a chipper. But a chipper costs dollars that I don't have. PLUS its a lot more physical work for me. This was my origional plan to clean up the mess.

What I have ended up doing is burning. It sure is cheap! /w3tcompact/icons/smile.gif Its taken two burns and I'll need one more finish up. This is the stuff from about 1600 feet of road. I don't really like burning. I'm afraid it will get out of control but I keep the burn pile small and I wait for rain a day or two before I burn to get the ground good and wet.

I don't have a supply of water so to put out the fire took abit of thought. I have a bunch of stumps to burn on a different part of the property from where I'm burning. But I had two stumps at the burn site that I took out because they were in the way, they would give me some stumps to burn experimentally, would give me a pile of dirt, and leave me a hole. Got more than one bird with that stone. /w3tcompact/icons/smile.gif

What I ended up doing is piling the wood to be burned over the stump hole. When the wood burns it fall into the hole which keeps the fire from spreading as well as keeping the heat concentrated. When I need to put the fire out, I use the dirt from the hole to smother the fire. This has worked our real well so far. The hole is about 6 feet wide 2-3 feet deep and maybe 6 feet long.

The fire is cheap but requires the right weather conditions and I'm still nervous about burning. As soon as I get caught up I'm going to send a note to the forest ranger who's office is about a mile from my property explaining what I'm doing and see if he has any comments on how to do things better. My experience so far is that the worse part of the burn is within the first 30-60 minutes. The flames get high as the small stuff burns and you get large ash/cinders. They don't fly far since they are large but they are HOT. I think this is the major fire risk.

But using the tractor to move the brush and then burning is very easy to do with the tractor. A chipper is going to be more labor intensive and time consuming...... Which is better? Your opinion is as good as mine! /w3tcompact/icons/smile.gif

Hope this helps...
Dan McCarty

 

[DaleW]

I posted this on the first land clearing thread until I saw that there were 2 more so here it is.
All amatures should stay away from any land clearing and let the professionals do it for them. Thsi is a very dangerous undertaking and as you can see from the picture even they have problems.
Dale W