Clearing land options...

[adegiulio]

Thanks again for the tips. MarkV, great point. I use my legs all the time for things! /forums/images/graemlins/smile.gif

 

[Anonymous Poster]

The chaps are a very good point. I wish I had them a couple of years ago when I tripped and landed on my bar. Took upwards of 100 stitches in the back of my leg. Missed everything important. Doctor told me I did the poor mans Liposuction. Smart Alleck

 

[Dozernut]

If those are Black Locust and are of lumber size then you potentially have a marketable tree. These are a sought after tree for lumber for cabinet and furniture making. The catch is you need enough of them to make it worth the while of the timber buyer to buy them. Check with your local USDA office and see if you can get a Forester in to grade the trees and advise you. He can also give you the names of REPUTABLE timber buyers, there are con men out there!

 

[tdenny]

adegiulio,

I would highly recommend you follow the advice given so far. We cleared about 3 acres for the house and yard etc. It was fun - I took a week off to play with the guys who were doing the clearing. Anybody who mentions using a track hoe gets an A. This worked super well. the track hoe can push over trees then pick them up so you can cut the tops off and then also take off all the limbs. Then the trac just stacks the trees nicely in a pile. Another good thing about having the track is that if you are going to burn the hoe can easily put stuff on the fire pile as well as "stoke" the fire each morning when the crew gets back to work. We ended up selling 5 grand in lumber and paid 6 or so for all the clearing. Well worth it in my opinion.

I've had my compact tractor for over a year and haven't really found that it can function in a clearing capacity unless you are just getting rid of brush. My land is covered with trees (huge trees). Good luck.

 

[Trev]

Speaking of Track Hoes, you folks might find this, um.. interesting.... /forums/images/graemlins/shocked.gif

http://www.goingfaster.com/shadow/MDOThyundai.html

Best,
Bob

 

[Chief]

I work in partnership with a friend and we clear wooded areas for landscaping, lumber and firewood. Whenever possible, we push the entire tree down with the dozer and then cut the tree as close as possible to the root ball. This maximizes the amount of wood and minimizes the amount of root balls to be burned. We then push the root balls up into a pile to dry, add oil, diesel, JP-8 if you can get it, and let her rip! If you have really large trees, you will need a really large dower. The dozer we use is around 19,000 lbs. Some trees may be too large to push over, so they will have to be cut. Either burn the stump or rent a stump grinder. When all is done, smooth out with the dozer and then landscape rake it. Just my 2 cents worth. /forums/images/graemlins/smirk.gif