Looking for advice for moving large granite block

[pmsmechanic]

I don't know if your on soft dirt or grass. On method I've used on grass is to put the weight on a 2x12 plank and then lift it a bit with the three pint hitch and pull. Having an assistant walk along and wettig the grass in front of the plank makes it slide easy on grass.

 

[oldpilgrim]

I've rolled them if I couldn't pick one up. Even if they're not round you can sometimes get the bucket under an edge, lift and push.

 

[Wagtail]

BUT, where do you get that many slaves today???

SR

It's not the number of 'indentured' workers, per se, but the right overseer to 'direct & motivate' them.

 

[Wagtail]

Good pic on link below, takes less tractor with a stone boat than to move it with a loader. Work the corners with leverage to shift it.
View attachment 431118View attachment 431119

http://www.mytractorforum.com/71-ford-post-1990-new-holland/153532-homemade-stone-boat.html

A very good method and one that I'd recommend.

They have Work Horse Sledge Driving competitions at the Royal Shows (State Fairs?) here in Aus. That first picture is how it's done with one or two 'heavy' horses.

 

[AxleHub]

NHhomstead, I see numerous responses to your question . . . but you don't explain where this piece of granite is (inside or outside). Or if it is on dirt or a hard surface. Or if it is high or low.

How far do you need to move it? Etc. Etc..

before machines . . our ancestors used various combinations of weight to move weight combined with leverage and friction reduction.



If your only option is dragging . . Then that needs to be with rigid support because granite is hard . . but subject to directional cracking.

 

[tcreeley]

Sounds like a block of granite used for an old foundation. We get them around here in that size from time to time -old barns that have rotted away. A man in Albion, ME sells blocks that are in his pasture. I'd love to have them - but transport to and on the highway is something I don't want to deal with. - I used to have a student who scouted them out for quick money. -Used a pick up and jury rigged ramp to get them in the truck.

 

[timster2]

Find yourself an old car engine hood roll the rock on top attach a chain to the hood and drag away....A little dish soap on some wet grass and it will slide along quickly. Over some rougher terrain or pavement you don't want to rough up lay some pipes or small logs down as rollers, just be careful the rock doesn't pass you by.

 

[oldpilgrim]

You could try any of the ideas above or you could just say to heck with it like I did.

 

[AxleHub]

You could try any of the ideas above or you could just say to heck with it like I did.

Makes sense. When you see how tiny your tractor looks in comparison to that rock . . It looks a whole lot more than just 2 feet longer than your tractor is wide.

Good grief . . At the same time . . Leaving it there sure does lend itself to useful land space lol.

 

[oldpilgrim]

I measured it ..sorta... and it's about 9 feet by 5 feet by maybe 3 feet thick. I couldn't tell the thickness as I couldn't get all the way under it. You never know how big a rock will be, based on what is sticking out of the ground.

I have moved a couple of others that were 3x3x3 or so with the rolling method I mentioned above.

The tractor is a Mahindra 3016, which is by no means a large tractor, but it's no toy, and it's certainly bigger than it looks in the pic.