Best attachment for digging out rocks?

[johncanfield]

Before I bought my excavator I used my WR Long grapple to dig up and move rocks which worked quite well for relatively isolated rocks. My excavator with a 12" trenching bucket and thumb makes short work of digging rocks or anything else for that matter.

 

[Mat4644]

Stump bucket - near the price of bucket spade and won't tear up your bucket. Keeps force centered on loader.

 

[Bullwinkle123]

I'm new to this rock digging thing, and have been surprised at how _ineffective_ my grapple is at getting rocks out. Not boulders either, just big flat schist rocks lightly embedded in the field. The act of grasping the rock seems to work, but it won't lift out. Dunno yet what that's about since I'm new to this tractor stuff. I have an LA1065 loader (the 1065 is a Kilogram indicator), should be plenty of power.

What worked _much_ better on them was my combo bucket spade attached to my pallet forks. The pallet forks alone probably would have sufficed too, I just happened to have the bucket spade on them. Pried those rocks out easy as pie where the grapple would not lift them, and the bucket spade on forks must be 6 feet from the loader pin in terms of where the load is being applied. Same loader, completely different results. Losing net hydraulic energy by closing the grapple? No idea. Love the grapple, but I am repeatedly surprised how ... weak ... it is in some lifting chores. Same with turning compost heaps with my forks, though there I figure I'm just digging a little too deep.

 

[Old Guy in Tenn]

I dug a huge rock out from my driveway. Used the post-hole digger to dig around it and loosen the soil, then used the pallet forks to pop it out. Were some smaller (basketball) rocks around it that popped out easily with forks so I could get at the big one.

 

[WranglerX]

Every time I see the thread title I want to respond with "C4"... There I have said it, so sue me.... I'm out of here....

Dale

 

[Mat4644]

We still have rocks behind the barn where there are drill holes on the side. They were hand drilled with a hammer and cross point bit. Stick of dynamite to split and hauled out with draft horses. Any farmer back then could go to hardware store and buy explosives.

 

[Rebeldad1]

2 16 year old teenagers

 

[compact]

I have tried;

Single shank subsoiler on 3 point, drive over, catch a rock edge, lift. You can get a pretty good rock up this way, faster than a bucket.

Bucket: ok once the rock is up and loose but it痴 slow

EA root grapple: much better than bucket. Will not loosen big rocks as well as subsoiler but is really good at picking up. Pretty good at digging them out.

5 Ton mini ex with thumb: In a class by itself compared to a tractor regardless of attachment, easily digs 2,000 lb rocks out of hard glacial till, twice that size is about the limit.

 

[Newby first timer]

Backhoe with an Hydraulic Thumb worked GREAT for me
I dug out some big rocks digging a new Leach field for my home.

 

[Dataway]

Backhoe with a thumb ... or .. I once built a rock "grabazoid" ... not sure what they are called, but it's a scissor device that you drop over the rock, and the harder you pull the harder it grabs, quite amazing what this thing would pick up with just the most tenuous of grips. Basically an "X" with the bottom side of the X some fingers, and the top side hooked up to chains ... as you pull up the X closes on the rock, the harder you pull, the harder it grabs. I ended up building a few for local contractors that needed to lift blocks of cut stone, the mechanics are somewhat counter intuitive .... but the lifting force ends up being multiplied by the chains hooked up to the top of the X and exerts tremendous pressure on the object being lifted. Not useful for digging the rock out .. but way less frustrating than trying to grab a rock with a thumb.

 

[Frankenkubota]

Backhoe with a thumb ... or .. I once built a rock "grabazoid" ... not sure what they are called, but it's a scissor device that you drop over the rock, and the harder you pull the harder it grabs, quite amazing what this thing would pick up with just the most tenuous of grips. Basically an "X" with the bottom side of the X some fingers, and the top side hooked up to chains ... as you pull up the X closes on the rock, the harder you pull, the harder it grabs. I ended up building a few for local contractors that needed to lift blocks of cut stone, the mechanics are somewhat counter intuitive .... but the lifting force ends up being multiplied by the chains hooked up to the top of the X and exerts tremendous pressure on the object being lifted. Not useful for digging the rock out .. but way less frustrating than trying to grab a rock with a thumb.

That’s a good idea! Like one of those Chinese finger traps.

 

[Dataway]

Yep, that's the idea. The first prototype was attached to an engine hoist that fit in a socket on the chassis of a stripped Toyota Land Cruiser. I was flabbergasted how well it would grab things. I'd dig the rocks enough with the BH to get a grip on them, then I could pick them up and carry them with the Toyota creation ... then set it down where you want it, have someone pull the "fingers" apart to release them, also very easy. Then started making some for local stone workers .. with pivoting "shoes" on the lower fingers that had hard rubber riveted to them ... they were picking up 1000 lb pieces of cut stone with them.

The chain length between the top legs is the key ... the shorter it is, the more clamping force is created, but the less throat width you can have as the lower fingers won't open up as much. If you can get the fingers under the rock you can get away with a longer chain. With a short chain I'd lift stuff that would swear the fingers would slip off of ... but no, I could bound across the property with the rock dangling and it would stay put.

Pretty easy to build ... use two or three angled fingers on the bottom of the X like you were building a grapple ... hinge in the middle can be a bit more trouble as it should be a centered hinge not two adjacent bars with a pin through them, top arms of the X about 18" long with provisions to hook up a chain. Not sure what I did with mine .... probably cut it up to build something else. Biggest pain was moving it around .... you'd be dragging it somewhere and it would stop you short as it tried to grab anything in reach and hold on.

 

[civilian]

Backhoe with an Hydraulic Thumb worked GREAT for meView attachment 666734View attachment 666735
I dug out some big rocks digging a new Leach field for my home.

Been there, done that like your first picture. One had the front wheels of the B26TLB off the ground trying to lift it. Had to finally skid it out of the hole. Only the top of the rock showed up in the driveway. Dug it out before spreading gravel. Jon

 

[RSR]

Update:

I ended up buying a subsoiler from everything attachments. It has worked extremely well at loosening up the rock-ridden clay soil so that it can be dug up.

I have to make multiple passes, from multiple directions, but it loosens everything up enough that I can come back with the grapple to pick out the larger rocks, and then dig out the soil and smaller rocks.

 

[dickhob]

Stump bucket - near the price of bucket spade and won't tear up your bucket. Keeps force centered on loader.

View attachment 665275

How do you like this bucket? I don't have a need to get out large stumps. I mostly want to transplant saplings under 6" and dig out 2x basketball rocks. i've been looking at the Titan bucket which I think might be a bit sturdier.

I would appreciate your comments.

Dick