How to clean a landscape rake?

[smitty9266]

Your problem is your wheels on the rake. When I rake debris I pull it to one area raise the rake and drop the majority of the load except what is stuck in the rake, drive past the pile drop the rake and backup pushing the debris into a pile. when the pile you push back contacts the larger pile raise the rake slow and keep pushing back most of the Debris will come out of the tines. this serves two purposes... cleans the tines and compresses the debris pile for easier pick-up, it will also help bring the debris up on top of and dirt you brought with it.

Jeff

PS.....I also remove every other tine

 

[woodlandfarms]

IMO, you need to take a number of the tines off... one tine left on for every three or four..

 

[Ridgewalker]

Do you have wheels on your Ridge? One could back up to a pile but lift the wheels over the pile before lowering and pushing the stuff off the tines. The pile would need to be small I guess. I don't know about Island, but I wouldn't want to take the wheels off unless I had to.

No wheels here either...I think someone up the string got it right about the wheels hindering such rough cleanup work.

 

[JoeL4330]

So, how do you get peanut butter off the roof of your mouth?

My rake has no wheels and loads up the same way ...sometimes I will reverse it of the first pass or two and that helps. If you look as York Freedom rakes (and others) you will see an option for a tilt down grader blade and I suspect that would help ...much as the flat bar solution described above, but with a better ability to "cast"...

Or, you might think of a variation on the rockhound RockHound Rake

 

[Rara Avis]

Well guys, I just went out and looked at the rake. The problem with the wire rope solution is that you'd need to figure out how to keep the wire rope from riding up past the vertical part of the rake tines as otherwise the rope would just be pulled forward tight onto the rake tine attachment points rather than down and off. It also occurs to me that once you'd successfully "dethatched" the rake that you'd need to reweave the wire rope again. Perhaps there are ways around this problem but it doesn't seem quite as good a solution as it did at 4AM.

I suppose I could just not use the rake for this application as suggested by John Bud but that would leave me trying to mow weeds in an area that still had a fair amount of wood debris and would also have stump holes that would require filling and leveling by some other method. I have thought of getting a disc to deal with the roots/canes but that won't solve all the issues. I guess I could use a box blade for leveling but I'd prefer not to leave larger chunks of wood or rock to hit with my mower.

Okay 2nd attempt...steel I-beam welded into position of about a 45 degree angle and anchored to the ground such the upper part of the I-beam will be level with the top of the landscape rake's tines when STEP 4 is executed...
1. You raise your rake
2. back up to the I-Beam frame
3. lower the rake
4. pull forward until the rake is in contact with the I-Beam
5. lift the rake - which should scrap the debris out
6. complete the lifting process so the rake is above the I-beam
7. drive away...

Significant Other cleans the debris pile away from the I-Beam scapper...

 

[IslandTractor]

Okay 2nd attempt...steel I-beam welded into position of about a 45 degree angle and anchored to the ground such the upper part of the I-beam will be level with the top of the landscape rake's tines when STEP 4 is executed...
1. You raise your rake
2. back up to the I-Beam frame
3. lower the rake
4. pull forward until the rake is in contact with the I-Beam
5. lift the rake - which should scrap the debris out
6. complete the lifting process so the rake is above the I-beam
7. drive away...

Significant Other cleans the debris pile away from the I-Beam scapper...

Nice try Paul. You forgot to add two steps: 1a) convince Sig Other to carry steel I-beam frame around whatever field you are working in and anchor it firmly in soil whenever convenient for you. And, step 8), duck while driving away as Sig Other takes aim with her favorite firearm after you point to the next location she is to move the I beam.

Other than that I'd say you've solved the problem.

 

[IslandTractor]

IMO, you need to take a number of the tines off... one tine left on for every three or four..

That would defeat the purpose of using the rake to redistribute soil displaced by pulling stumps and generally leveling the ground.

Perhaps part of the problem here is that I am trying to accomplish two things with one pass (really several passes with same implement): 1) clean up medium size debris from land clearing that I would prefer not to run over with mower, and 2) fill in holes left when stumps/trees/bushes were pulled out in earlier stage of landclearing.

If I just wanted to clean up debris I agree that removing every other tine or something like that would allow me to gather debris. If I wanted just to redistribute soil I could use a back blade or box blade. The landscape rake actually does both of these jobs quite well however as a single step. I just need to figure out how to clean it without dismounting and spending 5 minutes with my cleaning tool. I will add that I have at least found a good place to keep the 5 foot cleaning metal pipe tool as it fits nicely inside the FEL torque tube and is held in place with a bungee cord.

I have not used the rake since posting this question and I will remove the wheels before I try this task again. That, plus the backing of the rake into a debris pile to help clean it are my planned next steps.

 

[ChuckinNH]

Nice try Paul. You forgot to add two steps: 1a) convince Sig Other to carry steel I-beam frame around whatever field you are working in and anchor it firmly in soil whenever convenient for you. And, step 8), duck while driving away as Sig Other takes aim with her favorite firearm after you point to the next location she is to move the I beam.

Other than that I'd say you've solved the problem.

Perhaps you could carry the beam around while Sig other drives the tractor around until the rake is completely choked with trash?

When we raked hay with an old fashoned dump rake, we went a short distance, raised the rake, and repeated. On the next pass we would repeat the operation in the same spots. You end up with windrows of small collections of hay, or in your case roots, etc. You could then drive at 90 degrees to those piles, and use that great grapple to pick them up. Part of your problem is the quantity of junk in the rake, though I understand that even one root can become woven, or tangled in the tines sometimes. You would also then be doing the leveling with the rake, and not with the accumulated junk.

 

[tuolumne]

Island - wouldn't that jobber on the front of your tractor do a grand job of picking up the bigger stuff first? Also, I thought the flail mower pulverized stuff more than that?? Do you mow first, or are you just raking through scrub to generate that tangle? I can usually back into a pile to unclog my rake, but I do not have a gage wheel. This has certainly been an interesting discussion as usual.

 

[IslandTractor]

Island - wouldn't that jobber on the front of your tractor do a grand job of picking up the bigger stuff first? Also, I thought the flail mower pulverized stuff more than that?? Do you mow first, or are you just raking through scrub to generate that tangle? I can usually back into a pile to unclog my rake, but I do not have a gage wheel. This has certainly been an interesting discussion as usual.

Here is a photo of the type of land I am raking. I've already been through it with my grapple removing bushes and have already mowed with the flail to get the above ground plant material which is mostly briar. What you cannot see are the numerous (?innumerable ) subsurface canes from the briar. There are a few little sticks that get caught up in the mess too so the rake is full of more than just the briar roots. You can see that the land is quite uneven due to my grappling whole bushes/trees out rootball and all. The puddles are all stump holes or bush root ball holes. I had hoped they would disappear over the winter but no such luck. That is why I need to resurface the whole area so I can return to regular mowing which will in a year or two allow grasses to replace the invasives.

The more I look at these photos the more I am thinking that John Bud was right that I should just disc the area. I don't own a disc yet but this could be the excuse.

Do you guys think a DK40se could pull a 10ft JD transport disc (a used on is on sale for about $800)?

 

[ELMO67]

What about a lighter?

 

[Engine66]

I just did a similar job on several acres with a an excavator that pulled out 50+ stumps and had quite a mess to clean with my Landpride rake. I also experienced the rake getting roots, sticks, branches, etc. stuck in the tines. The backing up method into a pile worked for me inconsistently...bottom line was there are simply times when you need to hop off and pull, kick, or pry material out of your tines. When I was doing my project, I recalled a post here on TBN where someone said in essence that no matter what your attachment was when clearing land, you would need to get off your tractor and do some plain old manual labor to get the job done. Those sticks, branches, vines, etc. have an ability to work themselves into the tines in various ways...I used quite a few choice words when I did my job. Those words started with an F...but it was still a rewarding project and the rake was indispensable. Good luck...

 

[Redbug]

"Under certain circumstances, profanity provides a relief denied even to prayer."
-- *Mark Twain*

 

[Aguanga]

I've seen some gifted fabricators on this board that could take this idea and work out the geometry and materials used to make it work. Basically create a "rake cleaner" that would pivot about a fixed point (via the fixed drawbar) and use the upward motion of raising the 3 point to push down on the opposite end of the rake cleaner in order to dislodge the debris between the tines. This would eliminate the need to add additional hydraulics and keep your seat on the machine warm. If the geometry and design was right, it would also have an added benefit of making it so the rake would be more prone to slide over an obstacle you don't want to gouge or rake up when raised all of the way up in transport mode. Obviously it would involve connecting in 3 additional places each time you attached to the landscape rake in addition to the materials and time, but it's an idea.... at least it makes sense in my mind. Let me know if you guys think it would work.

 

[rayh76]

I've seen some gifted fabricators on this board that could take this idea and work out the geometry and materials used to make it work. Basically create a "rake cleaner" that would pivot about a fixed point (via the fixed drawbar) and use the upward motion of raising the 3 point to push down on the opposite end of the rake cleaner in order to dislodge the debris between the tines. This would eliminate the need to add additional hydraulics and keep your seat on the machine warm. If the geometry and design was right, it would also have an added benefit of making it so the rake would be more prone to slide over an obstacle you don't want to gouge or rake up when raised all of the way up in transport mode. Obviously it would involve connecting in 3 additional places each time you attached to the landscape rake in addition to the materials and time, but it's an idea.... at least it makes sense in my mind. Let me know if you guys think it would work.

Excellent idea and drawing. I don't know if it would work or not but thanks for putting in the thoughts and time to come up with the idea. Good job.

 

[Rara Avis]

Nice try Paul. You forgot to add two steps: 1a) convince Sig Other to carry steel I-beam frame around whatever field you are working in and anchor it firmly in soil whenever convenient for you. And, step 8), duck while driving away as Sig Other takes aim with her favorite firearm after you point to the next location she is to move the I beam.

Other than that I'd say you've solved the problem.

WHEELS!!...and a hydraulic lift like we have on pull type disc units...

No solution for #8 other than changing the combination on the gun safe...

 

[IslandTractor]

I've seen some gifted fabricators on this board

And some elegant design concepts too. Your idea is very interesting. It is well beyond my non existent fabrication skills and would undoubtedly require a bit of practical adjustment but the concept looks great. I suppose for someone with rear hydraulics it might be possible to adapt a mechanically simpler version run by a ram or two.

 

[Gittyup]

What about a lighter?

Love the Jessica Alba Avatar

 

[8NLUGNUT]

I don't have a rake but when the spring tooth harrow gets clogged up that much we kick, stomp, backup, pull and whatever but it usually just a few pieces tangling up everything so have a 18volt long bladed reciprocating saw handy, cut a few spots then raise the hitch and proceed with kick, stomp, backup, pull and whatever and it should just fall off.....

cross my fingers.

 

[IslandTractor]

Love the Jessica Alba Avatar

I thought it was his girlfriend. Now I'm not so jealous.