Rake mesquite rake

russellh · Sep 17, 2004

Hello , can anyone help me I live in New Zealand and we have GORSE!!!! I have heard there is a scrub plant called mesquite in Texas which is similar to our gorse. To cut and pull it out, tap root and all, there is an attacment designed to fit a digger which has a cutter blade and rake.
If anyone knows of this attachment and its size and use I would appreciate a message. Russ

jinman · Sep 17, 2004

( there is an attacment designed to fit a digger which has a cutter blade and rake. )

Russ, I'm not sure what kind of "digger" you mean? Is it a 3-point hitch implement or does it fit on a FEL? There are several implements that are designed to cut mesquite or similar small bushes below the ground, but none of those fit your description of including a rake that I'm familiar with. Maybe someone else will respond who knows the tool.

BTW- The mesquite is actually a tree. If left alone it grows from a single trunk and can become quite large. They only look like brush when people cut them repeatedly and they come back with multiple stems. Cattle eat the seed pods and then deposit them in their manure so that they spread like weeds. Mesquite and poverty bush (poverty weed) do quite well in low nitrogen poor soils. If you increase the quality of the soil, you lower the number of mesquites.

Taylortractornut · Sep 18, 2004

Russ I saw your other post that mentioned you wanted it on a Komatsu Mini excavator. I have a PC 50uu-1 that i use in my excavation service. Im building a thumb for it, I have one on m loader backhoe and i use it to pull up Privet hedge and other scrub bushes.. I have seen a dozer attachment that went on the ripper bar to ride under the ground and sear the roots off in a horizontal plane but i have also seen what you mentioned with a cutter and rake. It had the horizontal cutter barr and perpendiculare to that it had about 5 rake teeth that ended up in a parabolic curve. You curled it in to use the shear and pulled it to the machine under the ground then when that pass was done you just uncurl the bucket controlle and the rake was then positioned perpendicularaly to the ground for raking. Its hard explain but it was a very simple concept.

txdon · Sep 18, 2004

"New Zealand ... we have GORSE!!!!" 

Attached is a photo of our Mesquite in Texas, Is it Gorse?

I had about 8 acres root plowed with a dozer. The dozer pulled a blade that goes about two feet underground.

Taylortractornut any pictures or web sites of the device you are describing?

Russellh, is this mesquite terminator you envision?

russellh · Sep 19, 2004

G'day Jim, thanks for the reply and notes. It does sound as if Mesquite is as bad a weed as gorse. Gorse has to be either sprayed or dug. If the tap root is not cut thru under the ground then mowing or topping it is just an interim measure and it will re-grow. I made a device for my PC Komatsu tracked digger using my small trenching bucket. I bolted a bar across the bottom and fixed another bar to meet it when the bucket curled, bolted to the backof the crowd arm. This works by gripping the plant beteen them and yanking it out, tap root and all. Quite effective but on hearing about this 'mesquite ' puller/cutter I wanted to know more. The way I see it is as a sort of horizonatl 12 in blade attached to the bucket curl and you dig into the ground behind the palnt.. force it down 6 ins and pull it thru,cutting the roots and leaving the plant unsuported and fee to be lifted clear or left to windrow and burn later. If you see my thoughts on this .. its like a trenching bucket without a back to it so it leaves the soils only partly disturbed and the gorse plant cut.
I would like your thoughts on this. Russ
attched is a pic of my ship.. I built her and sailed her around the world..

russellh · Sep 19, 2004

Hello and thanks for the reply. Yes the desrption yoiu give does sound very much as if it would do the job. I have a very old Komatsu PC 40 digger, but very useful around the place and have tried making a grab which I put over the gorse plant and yank it out of the ground. It works sorta kinda ok , but he device you mention sounds much better to me.. Is there any way I can see a pic of this device or find a manufacturer who could supply.
Attached, my real life.. the ship I built and work as a tourist operation here and around the world.
Thanks, Russ.

russellh · Sep 19, 2004

Thanks Don for the reply. Gorse is much more bushy and just all prickles!!.. and can gow thu pasture land I will try to get a pic of it here for you..

Jim_Fisher · Sep 19, 2004

Russellh,

( Gorse is much more bushy and just all prickles!!.. and can gow thu pasture land )

Is it anything like Multiflora Rose?

russellh · Sep 19, 2004

pic of gorse attached

txdon · Sep 19, 2004

Russelh, That gorse looks pretty bad. Does it puncture tractor tires like mesquite?

As we in Texas would say you have one nice bass boat there. WOW!!!!! /forums/images/graemlins/shocked.gif

Your web page is impressive also.

jinman · Sep 19, 2004

Russell, what a great looking ship and a fantastic adventure that must have been to build and sail around the world. I've been around the world, but my ship had screws instead of sails and was painted grey. I bet your voyage was much more fun than any of mine. /forums/images/graemlins/smile.gif

I don't know much about excavator attachments or grubbing attachments for that type of equipment, but I've located a couple of quick links about grose.

Gorse link 1

Gorse link 2

That looks like some pretty nasty stuff. /forums/images/graemlins/tongue.gif I guess it grows mostly in our northwestern states here in the USA.

russellh · Sep 20, 2004

G'day Taylor, and thanks for the info. I think I replied to someone else when I meant to talk to you. Your descrption of a cutter rake on a digger to pull thru and under mesquite seems to be what I want to know about. Do you have a contact manufacturer or know anyone I can contact for a pic? Myt digger is ancient but if I nurse her along she seems to be ok. Attached is a pic of me real life and work. I built this chooner 19 yrs ago and work her in tourism here and around the Pacific. Russ.

MarkV · Sep 20, 2004

Russell, not to side track the tread from the information you are looking for but I’ve got to ask, you built that schooner from scratch? /forums/images/graemlins/shocked.gif Man that must have been one heck of a project. How does one even know how to build something like that? Maybe when you have the time you could start another thread and give us some details about the schooner. I’d sure enjoy hearing about the specifications, materials, building process and your adventures after finishing.

MarkV

russellh · Sep 20, 2004

Mark, just a quick note on the ship.. go look at the web site, www.tucker.co.nz.. there is some info there..sometimes I wonder myself how we did it...
Russ

txdon · Sep 20, 2004

Russellh, your web page at the listed address did not work but this russellh's web page is working, and so is this history page.

Taylortractornut · Sep 21, 2004

Russel thats a great project. I dont think I could built a schooner, I like sttel too much. I talked to the hauling company that trans ported the machine they didnt have any pictures, bbut said it was made by a small machine shop about 300 miles from here. Im gonna try to draw a picture of it later and cut out a pattern of it.
He said they made 3 for that company and they had been designed by the owners of the clearing company.