Building Rock Walls - Forks or Bucket?

[rmonio]

Ok folks... I have a running debate with my father-in-law who is looking at building two rock retaining walls (actually, they are boulders - 24-30" diameter) in his yard. He says we should use the forks on my tractor (JD4600 w/ 460FEL) and I say use the bucket since the rocks are small and the bucket will get us up close and tight so we can "drop" in the rock and set it.

What are your opinions on this? I know it's a loaded question to ask the experts on TBN, but I figure what the heck! /forums/images/graemlins/wink.gif

Thanks in advance!

-Bob

 

[beenthere]

Why not try each and decide what works best, assuming you have both? You can quickly switch back and forth, and some may work better with one tool compared to the other.

I have both and I would opt for the forks, as long as the boulders can be picked up with the forks. I use mine that way, and while not near as handy as a skidsteer with the forks, I find the 4300 manuevers pretty well to place the rocks gently in place, and not dropped in (where they might just roll away). I definitely find that picking rock up is easier with the forks.

Hope you let us know. Keep the FIL happy too. /forums/images/graemlins/wink.gif Never know what he might have in store for you.

I'd mention also that I don't use the set screws to hold my forks in place, as it takes too long to slide them to a new position. I have short plastic pipe spacers that I snap on and off the heavy steel bar that the forks move across. I cut plastic pipe in 3" lengths, and sawed out about 10-15° out of one side such that they snap on and off. Real handy and they keep the forks from sliding on their own while moving about.

 

[SteveV]

For 24-30" rocks, not even a contest.
Bucket: load rock and dirt, dump, all without seeing anything.
Forks: flip, turn, orient, slide, nudge, set, all in full view, operator in seat, helper checking wall alignment!
It's still work. SteveV

 

[rcrcomputing]

We do, of course, expect pictures of the project!

 

[rmonio]

I will try both - but I like your idea of the plastic spacers. I was trying to figure out the best way to do that since my forks are also not secured. Is this just PVC pipe that you're using then? I can understand the notching idea... that makes sense... but how do they stay attached? If I can get mine to stay secure that way - if not, I could use a bungee cord to help it along.

All good feedback, folks! Thanks! I will have to post pictures - and perhaps keeping the FIL happy is a good idea. He said something about buying my daughter's their horses.... .

-Bob

 

[rmonio]

Hmm. After re-reading your post, I now understand better where your spacers are going. They are not actually on the forks themselves - but rather back at the brace area where they attach to the FEL. Is this strong enough to keep the forks from moving very much at all? I was thinking about something actually attached to the forks themselves... but maybe I won't need that. I'll have to try it either way.

Thanks again!

-Bob

 

[CuLayTur]

When we build rock walls for customers, we actually use both on our bobcat. The forks are great for setting the base boulders (30" - 36"). But when we use the forks on the second course, the forks has a tendecy to pull the bottom course out of alignment when pulling the forks out from under the second course boulders. We use a landscape bucket with a long lip to hold the rock. We did the above because the 30 - 36" boulders are about a ton and the bucket wasn't rated for that capacity.


Curt

 

[rmonio]

Well, we ended up building 4 large walls with 24-30" boulders and using both the forks and the bucket. We ended up moving the forks inside of the set rails and I put a 2x10" block of wood in between and rachetted it together to keep the forks tight. This worked pretty well - I think I'm going to talk to my friendly neighborhood welder to make me a part that I can lock in place on the forks (top and bottom) for any future projects.

I hope to have some pictures soon (didn't have a camera with me when we did it) - but for 3 rookies working together, I think we did a pretty nice job...! Between the boulder walls, 20 yards of river rock, and all the fill I moved, the JD4600 definitely earned it's keep... .

Thanks again for your insight and help!

-Bob

 

[beenthere]

Glad to hear you have the wall done, and that the forks et al worked for you. I missed your response to my use of the plastic pipe spacers. That was when the forum was lagging way behind on logging posts in under the members names.

I think you have the picture of my fork spacers, as they just snap onto the round steel bar that the forks move across on, and they do hold the forks in place very well, even when a big rock is cradled or wedged between them.

I could post a picture if interested.

Your idea of a steel piece to hold the forks fixed sounds good too.

Looking forward to pics of the wall.

 

[rmonio]

Beenthere.... I'd like to see a picture of your configuration - if possible. I figured a welded piece between the two would be the right way to go. The 2x10" was ok, but the rachet straps kept breaking when rocks would hit them and either the rachet would get smashed or the strap would rub enough to snap. Fortunately the rachet straps I used were old - I went through 4-5 of them over the course of 3 days. /forums/images/graemlins/crazy.gif

Thanks and I'll post when I can!

-Bob