Rake Question about landscape rake?

creeper · Jan 31, 2005

I am looking for the best implement to clean up a small area of pasture close to my horse barn. I have used a puverizer box in open pasture and will probably switch to a chainlink drag,this seems to work ok.
However when I use the pulveriser to push up a pile where the manure or old leftover hay is concentrated It tends to take alot more dirt & grass with it than I would like.
My goal is to be able to rake it all into a pile in a 6" x 10" Bin that I made and haul it completely out of the pasture with the FEL.Will a landscape rake do this? Is that different from a York rake? Anyone have suggestions on better way to keep it cleaned up?

Rip · Jan 31, 2005

York is just a New York based company that makes landscape rakes (among other items). A Landscape rake usualy has flat (1" or so) spring steel tines with about 1" between tines. One way to lessen the amount of stuff they pick up is to remove every other tine or even remove two and leave one. They are usually bolted on, so you can experiment.

There are also rakes that use spring steel wire instead of flat tines that may be more what you are looking for. Even with these, you may want to remove every other tine as well.

creeper · Jan 31, 2005

Thank You for the reply.Will that rake skim across the top if angled properly? or do they dig in like a blade?I haven't found a place to rent one before buying,so just trying to get an idea of how they work. Thanks for clearing up the york thing. I will know what Im looking at when checking the local classified ads.

CTyler · Jan 31, 2005

They can dig in a little but not as much as a blade. The rake tends to drag more than it digs. Idealy you want gage wheels but they are not required. Set the rake so it just touches.

Henro · Jan 31, 2005

<font color="blue"> Idealy you want gage wheels but they are not required. Set the rake so it just touches.
</font>

Not required, but they sure do seem to increase the utility of the rake, at least in my case.

Without the gage wheels I used to drag EVERYTHING and that included a lot of soil. With the wheels I seem to be able to drag sticks and some stones, but to leave the dirt behind for the most part.

Problem with setting the 3PH so at one place the rake just touches the ground is that on an uneven surface the rake moves up and down and you can loose a lot of what you are dragging, worst case. With the gage wheels the rake follows the ground better...at least it seems to work that way for me. /forums/images/graemlins/smile.gif

Junkman · Jan 31, 2005

York Modern is the company that first invented the rake and they called it the "York Rake". Since then there have been many companies that have made similar tools. The big difference between my York Branded Rake and my Landscape Rake by Howse is the York has better quality tines and they are not as square. It does a better job also, but the Howse is better for doing the rough work. I save the York for the final finish since it seems to work better for that. My York also has a drop down scarifier and a leveling blade that also drops down. It is like having 3 tools in one.... Over all it is the difference between the two is like a fine instrument and a crude tool.

Dartagnan · Jan 31, 2005

I am still learning just what my land rake will and won't do. I have decided that when I have some pasture/lawn that needs raking it will have guage wheels on it. (still working on a bolt on cost efficient design for that tho) It's not just the rake that you have to worry about damaging you grass tho, whatever you are dragging will/can tear it up too. Unlike the hand held manual version, it won't provide any lift action to speak of.

When it gets "full" it will just roll over the load and leave it, also do the same it it hits an unmovable object like a stump.

Works great for the finishing touch on the drive, can even tilt and angle to windrow up the to the crown.

Just a note tho, you really don't want to get too active with it on bare ground until you are ready to seed, it loosens top two or three inches almost as good as a tiller if you over work it, and you will find those inches in the ditches at the bottom end of your property.

Couldn't tell you what I gave for mine, came as part of a pkg deal, is an off (no ID markings of any kind) brand but knowing what I know now, in same situation would go right out and buy another one.

ttyl
Dart

Freds · Feb 1, 2005

I've used my rake (with guage wheels) to clean up three trees worth of pears in my yard and they didn't damage the grass to where it hadn't recovered in a week. A pasture with high, thick grass, though... There's going to be a lot of drag and you may pull more grass out due to friction than the tines actually pull out by surface contact. I would definitely start by removing at least every other tine like mentioned.

Boondox · Feb 1, 2005

Ditto what Henro said. My tines skim the surface if the surface is hardish, but dig in and pull mounds of loose sand or soil. I'll use it on my meadow at the end of winter when the grass is still brown and laying flat on the ground, then broadcast grass or alfalfa seed to jump start the sheeps' grazing.

One piece of advice regarding wheels, though. I have a Woods rake with the wheels mounted on outriggers all the way at the ends of the rake. If I angle the blade those wheels stick out so far they hit buildings, stone walls, trees or drop down into ditches. Major pain. If I had it to do over again I'd find one with the wheels mounted in a bit so the tines, not the wheels, stick out when the rake is angled.

Pete