Clearing woods, building a pond
- Thread starter mkane09
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Well, fellas, here we go... I took my Kubota to the land yesterday, started clearing small trees. Before I go any further, let me state that I have never ran large equipment before, other than a few small Bobcats. I had trouble pushing trees over with the Kubota, they would bend down, but just pop back up. Probably my technique...
I went back today and my neighbor met me in my drive. He walked out to the woods with me, saw what I had done in 4-5 hours on Sunday and said "I think I have something you need". He brought back a Mustang skidsteer with a pretty good sized bucket with toothbar. About 40 hp. In 20 minutes, he cleared more than I had the previous day. He would start with the bucket up about 3 feet, ram the tree and simultaneously raise the bucket. The trees would rip out, roots and all. He got off, said "you want to use it?" Does a bear ***** in the woods? So, I got to work clearing. I've got it to use tomorrow, too. I had some trouble getting the hang of picking trees up (25-30 feet long!) and moving them to the burn pile, but I'm learning. I'm reasonable sure I could take out all the smaller trees with something similar, fairly time effectively. I cannot work on the land every day, probably only 1-2 days a week, so rental is not very attractive. He mentioned that he is probably going to sell the Mustang: around $7k. It has about 2800 hours, Yanmar diesel, good hydraulics, and a set of forks that go with it, too. How does this sound, pricewise?
I'll try to post some pics in the next day or two. Don't expect daily updates, cause I won't get to work on it that often. One other thing: the pond will be located further up the drainage from where I'm clearing right now. We've had nearly record rain the last 30 days and there is very good flow still coming off the ridge at the back of the property. I'm certain I'll have no trouble filling a 90' x 300' x 8-10' pond. I'm trying to post some pics, but they won't load. Too big? I'm using photobucket and haven't had this problem before....
Mike
I went back today and my neighbor met me in my drive. He walked out to the woods with me, saw what I had done in 4-5 hours on Sunday and said "I think I have something you need". He brought back a Mustang skidsteer with a pretty good sized bucket with toothbar. About 40 hp. In 20 minutes, he cleared more than I had the previous day. He would start with the bucket up about 3 feet, ram the tree and simultaneously raise the bucket. The trees would rip out, roots and all. He got off, said "you want to use it?" Does a bear ***** in the woods? So, I got to work clearing. I've got it to use tomorrow, too. I had some trouble getting the hang of picking trees up (25-30 feet long!) and moving them to the burn pile, but I'm learning. I'm reasonable sure I could take out all the smaller trees with something similar, fairly time effectively. I cannot work on the land every day, probably only 1-2 days a week, so rental is not very attractive. He mentioned that he is probably going to sell the Mustang: around $7k. It has about 2800 hours, Yanmar diesel, good hydraulics, and a set of forks that go with it, too. How does this sound, pricewise?
I'll try to post some pics in the next day or two. Don't expect daily updates, cause I won't get to work on it that often. One other thing: the pond will be located further up the drainage from where I'm clearing right now. We've had nearly record rain the last 30 days and there is very good flow still coming off the ridge at the back of the property. I'm certain I'll have no trouble filling a 90' x 300' x 8-10' pond. I'm trying to post some pics, but they won't load. Too big? I'm using photobucket and haven't had this problem before....
Mike
Well, I hired a man to clear the land. Hopefully, I'll be able to attach some pics, but in 2 and a half days, he cleared about 4 acres, most of it at least partially sloped. He used a 953B Highlift with rippers for most of it and had a helper feeding the fire with a big Case excavator with thumb. It is amazing how different the land looks. He felt we needed to wait for the dry season (next summer) to dig the pond, but felt I had a very do-able plan for the pasture, homesite, and pond. He took down everything small and left the white and red oaks, some maples, some poplars. I'll now try to attach some pictures.....
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