Which Landscape Rake?

[longrangelarry]

Hmmm.. I admit I am having doubts. Having read many posts about these rakes, I am not sure there's any good way to do what I need, which is to eliminate a good number of rocks with each pass or each year, such that in a few years they are much less of a problem. Man, I hate picking them by hand! But in the first years of the new, larger plots, I am not sure the rake will help much, and some of my old plots seem to be more rock than soil.The other crucial thing I forgot is that I bought the last shared implement, so it's my buddy's turn, and he's not going to pop for a new ETA that costs 3 times what I paid for the cultivator! Oh well, I guess we all have to live with some degree of implement envy! If I do get a used one locally, I think I may try removing every other tine and see what that does. As well, on the new plots I will not be using the tiller, which is a big part of my concern over rocks, so maybe they can just stay awhile? Based on another thread, I will be plowing this winter, then cultivating in spring, then maybe discing (my disc is small & light, even with blocks on it, so it can't be the main weapon.) I certainly appreciate all the help and advice.

 

[sixdogs]

Those things you want to do--plow, cultivate and disc--just pull UP rocks. You can pick up the few big ones and then BURY the remaining ones with a big rototiller. I do it all the time on lots of acres.

First, break the ground with a cultivator or something to make it easier on the tiller. Pick up the softball sized rocks by hand. Then rototill at 540PTO with the slowest speed of the tractor. The rocks will then not be visible. And they will stay buried if you then pack the ground with some sort of packer. If you just use a packer on soft ground you will leave tire tracks so pack multiple times.

Now, here's where that rock rake would come in since here is the time to use it. The ground is hard and flat, the rocks buried and you can just slightly skim the hard surface. That's all there is to it and it's that easy. :dog:


EDIT--I just read your concern over rocks. Relax, I often bury many rocks and have even rototilled up a 300 ft driveway and moved the gravel and rocks. No problem.

 

[dragoneggs]

On my last property I had a guy come in and work about 3/4acre with a 'rock rake' I think that is what he called it, attached to a little bobcat. It picked up rocks from cantaloupe size down to egg sized pretty well, sifting the dirt. He then dumped them along the side of my property making a sort of dry creek bed. I bought a LP1560 in hopes to remove rocks on my new property but haven't done much with it yet. The little I have done has left me wondering if I will really get much use out of the thing. I am using a 6ft Rankin back blade mostly now to do some terracing work along with the FEL. Unfortunately having to move way too many rocks by hand. I am hoping the rake will come in handy for final dressing and prep for grass.

 

[longrangelarry]

Well Six, I admit I am astounded. I have been tilling with a Cub Cadet 8 HP 2pt tiller for several seasons, and the rocks were really beating it up. It is so light it bounces badly and I am concerned about shaking it to pieces, not to mention tine wear. Of course, these are small tines with shallow bite. But it exposes rocks well. I can see how a big tiller might powder up the ground and allow me to bury rocks- I mean, if you've done it, there's no way to argue with that. And I do have an 8 foot cultipacker with a big weight I usually don't even need. But I suspect I have too little soil to bury the rocks. I mean, when I am done tilling it looks like I was digging potatoes! I understand that most food plot crops grow very shallow (except for those new radishes) but I can't visualize it working for me. And then there those rocks are, sitting on top just begging to be removed. Some way. Now, a real rotary rock picker would do it for sure, tilling or no tilling, but I have never seen one in my area, much less for rent. On the other hand, I'm no farmer, so why would I? I'll just have to look.

I don't want to hijack the thread so I'll just let it go with the general conclusion that heavy is better if you can lift it, and if not, go with special compact rakes. But I can't get that image of the round-tine rake out of my head. Too bad I don't weld. A 3 foot prototype would probably answer the question. Say 1/4-3/8 diameter teeth, about 10 inches long, only slightly curved, maybe spring loaded? Yes it would fill up fast but I bet it would collect those rocks!

Dragoneggs, I bet the rake will work great for what you want to do next. From those videos it looks like they dress ground pretty nice. They should probably call them "ground rakes" or something instead of rock rakes. As other threads point out, I bet of the flat tines were replaced with healthy thick round spring tines, like overgrown dethatchers, that would actually work on rocks.

 

[sixdogs]

With a big tiller, too fast of a ground speed will pop up rocks so you have to creep along. Also, if the ground is too hard it is harder on the tiller. I rip the ground with cultivators before tilling and have had way better results.

 

[TomSeller]

I watched a video online from everything attachments where they showed the leinbach rake and it looked like a good one. The guy on there said they used the highest quality Italian tines they could get as Indian and Chinese ones are too brittle and tend to break

Actually the site now says they are not selling the Leinbach rake currently.

http://www.everythingattachments.co...oot-Rake-Rock-Rake-York-p/lb-root-rake-rr.htm

The comment in the video Ted made on their own Ver3 rake is one place he says they use the Italian tines.

http://www.everythingattachments.com/Everything-Attachments-Landscape-Rake-Root-Rake-p/etalr-iii.htm

I really like the Ver3 rake and am considering it. The top link float slot would be very useful when using the gauge wheels for drag leveling soil and for branch cleanup after storms where you want the rake tracking just over the grass. I don't know if the gauge wheels can work when the rake is flipped backwards and used when backing up, or if they have to come off then.

 

[Thomabear]

The ETA Extreme Duty rake is a very tough piece of equipment. I recently put one through the paces cleaning 10 acres that was freshly dozed. I punished this rake for several days and only bent a couple of tines. There's no way my old rake would have handled this kind of abuse.

 

[TomSeller]

The ETA Extreme Duty rake is a very tough piece of equipment. I recently put one through the paces cleaning 10 acres that was freshly dozed. I punished this rake for several days and only bent a couple of tines. There's no way my old rake would have handled this kind of abuse.

That is good to know, I understand the ver3 is even heavier duty?

 

[MHarryE]

I didn't think I would have much use for a rake but I had some cleanup work to do so I bought the low cost King Kutter from Fleet Farm and have done a surprising amount of work with it and haven't broke anything yet. I never thought of it for winter use but my yard and driveway could use some grooving in the hard pack snow and the rake us buried under 3 feet of snow now - next year if I remember. But - KK does have some very poor welders and they do not stand behind their product. When I had a part break off one of their Professional line back blades and lost it in a snow bank, they said tough, they would only sell me a new blade even though I sent them detailed pictures showing zero weld penetration over 270 degrees of a 360 degree weld. Fortunately I found the part when the snow melted and welded it back properly.

 

[blucoondawg]

I didn't think I would have much use for a rake but I had some cleanup work to do so I bought the low cost King Kutter from Fleet Farm and have done a surprising amount of work with it and haven't broke anything yet. I never thought of it for winter use but my yard and driveway could use some grooving in the hard pack snow and the rake us buried under 3 feet of snow now - next year if I remember. But - KK does have some very poor welders and they do not stand behind their product. When I had a part break off one of their Professional line back blades and lost it in a snow bank, they said tough, they would only sell me a new blade even though I sent them detailed pictures showing zero weld penetration over 270 degrees of a 360 degree weld. Fortunately I found the part when the snow melted and welded it back properly.

This is exactly why I won't buy a King Kutter anything, my Dad was a welder all his life and he used to look at that equipment when we went to Fleet Farm when I was a kid and he would always point out all the horrid looking weld on those blades