Rake Rake Confusion

[farmyid]

I need help figuring out what kind of rake I need to rent or buy. I am clearing another acre of forest around my place here in the rocky hills of Western Massachusetts. I will be hiring a dozer to push out the stumps and the4 bigger rocks which will leave roots (including some big ones) and rocks, lots of rocks! I have a 40 horse 4wd trctor which weighs 6500lbs. Also a definition of which type of rake is best for which job would be helpful. Should I also be looking for a box blade with rippers to help smooth things out? (have FEL) Thanks, Mark

 

[Soundguy]

A box with the teeth down might not be a bad idea. A drag harrow also comes to mind.. if not a disc harrow.. depends on how 'devastated' the dozers leave the land.

I doubt you will be happy with a landscape rake ( yourk rake ) for this situation.. etc..


Soundguy

 

[PineRidge]

You'll destroy a York Rake quickly with the mess that you describe. I'de stick with a box blade w/rippers they are designed for the tough stuff.

 

[Junkman]

I had my land cleared in Northeastern CT and it is very similar type as yours in Western MA...... I strongly suggest that you have the bulldozer operator do the bulk of the work and remove any stumps and bocks that you want gone and leave you with a level playing field. I know how long it took to do my project and that was with 2 experienced operators.. one on a bulldozer and the other using a excavator. There is no way that I could do in 2 days what they did in one hour. How do I know this????? I tried for years to clean up stumps and remove rocks with my backhoe which was up to the job, but still took more time to do. I finally decided that if the project of landscaping around the house was to be done properly, that I had to have the right sized machines to do it... then there was the cost factor.... in the end it was faster, less expensive and better to have it done by a contractor. Know your limitations when it comes to New England rocks...... some are so large that the average person will not be able to handle them properly and runs the risk of damaging the machine or getting hurt in the process. Depending on the scope of the work that you are planning on doing, will determine how much it will cost. I had them here for 12 days once I saw how it was coming along and realized that it was better to complete the total clearing, stumping, and rock removal of a larger area at once. I was able to York rake it over a 2 week period and then planted grass. The contractor that did the clearing said that my grass planted in gravel is as good as his grass planted in loam... the miracle of fertilizer.....

 

[farmyid]

"I was able to York rake it over a 2 week period" and what were you pulling out with the rake? Or was it just declumping and smoothing for a seed bed? Did you have a spreader for the seed and fertilizer? Also i am trying to reclaim another pasture which is being taken over by young pine trees and ferns. - more work for a box blade and occasional backhoe? Mark

 

[Junkman]

I was thinking more along the lines of bigger trees and rocks. One rock here was larger than a car and all we could do was to dig along side of it and roll it into a deeper hole. It took two weeks of York raking because of all the rocks that were on the surface and it seemed that they kept coming up at a faster rate than I could handle them. I was also using a small garden tractor because my bh didn't have a 3 point hitch. I have since upgraded and downsized with a Kubota BX 22. The old machine was a Minneapolis Moline with a 14 foot reach and a 4 cylinder gas engine. It was a great digging machine, but the gearing wasn't properly matched, so it wasn't good for much pulling.. I bought a tow behind spreader that works well for fertilizer and seed, but now wish I had a 3 point one instead. One problem that I found is that you have to reach back and open and close the hopper and that can be a pain from the drivers seat. The 3 point would be a closer reach. Wish they made one that was solenoid operated..... Where in Western MA are you??????