Rake Is A Rake the right tool ?

[Ray_G]

I have a few acres of rough woods in the back. I want to clean up some of the leaves and other stuff laying on the ground from many years. I already used the FEL to get rid of the larger logs and rocks but I wanted a cleaner look. I have a box blade on my B7500 but that will dig/scrape too much. Is the cost of a rake worth it ? I will need a small one 4-5 footer since I will be running around the woods with it.
Also can I use it on the lawn or will it make it what lawn ?
Thanks in advance for any advice or recommendations

 

[Youare]

A rake should work well for the woods cleaning job you want to do, but you may not be pleased with the agressive results if you tried to rake the lawn with it.

I have a light duty york rake that works great for smoothing and cleaning up areas you may want to turn into lawn someday. There are several different makes available in the width you are looking at. I bought my 6 foot York, it was a dealer demo one year old for $500.00.

The rakes with a set of height adjusting wheels will give you better results than those without.

Randy

 

[rdln]

I run my rake under a willow tree every spring to clean up twigs and does a nice job without buggering up grass, just dont make sharp turns.

a five or six footer sounds good for the woods.

you will find that debris doesn't stay just in front of the teeth but will get woven between them and reduced the efficiency requiring you clean frequently.

 

[cisco]

There are 2 basic kinds of rakes, one with tines about the thickness of a pencil, & usually with a coil somewhere in the shaft to make the tines kind of springy - these are meant for leaves on a lawn, etc., and the other type which uses 1/2 to 3/4 inch rigid tines - these are meant for heavier stuff and are frequently called root rakes (small roots, large dirt clods, major debris, scarifying a dirt surface prior to seeding, etc - do not use on a lawn). It helps if the tines are readily removable, not just in case you break one, but also to vary with the particular job - closely spaced tines will pick up a bunch of debris & frequent tractor stops to clean such are necessary.
I've a Howse 72" heavy duty rake (tines of 3/4 inch, spaced about 1 1/2 inches apart, and removable) - paid $375; Leinbach was about $475. Good luck.

 

[rdln]

I was talking about a landscape rake, aka "york rake",aka "harps rake"

Never thought about taking out every other tine if I found a big job I might do just that thanks.

 

[jima1]

Ray,

Bought a LP1560 rake a few years ago for much the same purpose you describe. Works great for the clean-up, but the only regular use I've found for it since is raking the gravel driveway once in a while. Since you've already got the box that can do that, it sounds like a waste, IMHO. The other problem was getting rid of the pile of junk. Possibly a rotary cutter might have been a better choice for me, I guess it depends on how clean you want it.

Jim

 

[WALT]

Ray:

One of the few 3-point implements availible for rent in my area (Northern CT) are Landscape ("york") rakes. It might make sense to rent one vs. buying one, especially if you would seldom use it.
Also, as mentioned in a previous post, using a rake with gauge wheels, while floating your 3-pt. hitch, allows the rake to follow the ground semi-independent of the tractor. That would work well for your task on uneven ground.
A rake without gauge wheels = one sore neck & arm while trying to maintain the desired rake position.

WALT

 

[Anonymous Poster]

I am also looking for a rake of some sorts to use in the forest, I would like it to just rake the loose litter and not the dirt , do you know the make or name of the "springy rake" ? I can't really think of what will do a better job, any suggestions?

 

[Ray_G]

Thanks everyone for their suggestions. I think I will try to rent one to see how it works. I think they only rent larget 6-8 ft ones. I will call around to see if someone else rents the smaller ones.