What CK20's with new grapples eat for breakfast?

[IslandTractor]

Re: What CK20\'s with new grapples eat for breakfast?

Good points Joe. For someone starting a project they would be well served to follow your advice.

In my case I was dealing with a massive tangle of briar and 2-4 inch trash trees we call choke cherry as well as the occasional larger tree over grown with vines that in turn served as climbing points for the briar. I experimented with numerous ways to attack it and did a portion of the work before I had my tractor and brush hog. It was toe to toe combat with Mother Nature and not a pretty sight. As such there was not much of a system involved and my brush piles were composed of everything from big wads of briar to stumps. If I had to do it all over again the two tools I would have used would be the brush hog and the grapple. A bucket grapple with toothbar would have been adequate but the real grapple is way more capable and versatile. I still have a couple of acres to go so may try to be a bit more organized now that I finally have the right tools for the job at hand. I am laughing now at my intial efforts which involved driving my poor Craftsman mower backwards kamakaze style into the briar. I looked worse than the briar did at the end of each day. /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif

 

[Highbeam]

Re: What CK20\'s with new grapples eat for breakfast?

My humble pretractor beginnings....

 

[IslandTractor]

Re: What CK20\'s with new grapples eat for breakfast?

My progression was:

Craftsman riding mower
Poulan weedwacker (!! What was I thinking??)
Serious blade for weedwacker (still delusional)
Hedge trimmer attachment (don't laugh, great on vines)
Toro sickle bar mower (not even maybe)
DR Mower (great but not for 4 acres)
Kioti TLB with Bush Hog
Toothbar (big help)
Millonzi Grapple (nirvana)
B52 airstrike is next on my brush clearing list

 

[Highbeam]

Re: What CK20\'s with new grapples eat for breakfast?

Mine was:

-Lawn mower and other assorted household tools to see and make a parking area.
-Bulldozer to see what I had and clear little roads and some brush. Messy and made more work with the mud filled piles of slash.
-surveyor to keep me from destroying more of neighbor's land.
-logger with excavator to do what a dozer can't and burn my piles of slash. Highly recommended.
-tractor to maintain and to continue clearing.

My dilusion was that I can do anything without heavy equipment that it would just take longer. I now know to limit the machinery use to jobs that are reasonable for the equipment. Everybody is happier and the cost is lower.