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Equipment advice sought re brush / small tree clearing

Started by scsmith42, March 15, 2013, 10:21:43 AM

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scsmith42

On part of my farm I have a 40 some odd acre uneven stand woodlot with around 15 - 20 years growth on 75% of it.  A forester recently reviewed the stand and advised me to clear out the brush and small trees, moving to a 12' - 20' spacing.

Most of what needs to be removed is not marketable.

I would like to clear out the brush, but don't have the time or inclination to do it by hand.  If I use my dozer and root rake I'm afraid that I'll damage the root systems for the trees that I want to remain.

I am wondering if there are any attachments available for a skidsteer or backhoe that would serve as a feller-buncher type of attachment.  My backhoe is a Cat integrated toolchange type with auxilliary hydraulics (such as to run a 4-in 1 bucket, broom, etc).

Or, are there alternative equipment accessories that I should consider?

Thanks.

Scott
Peterson 10" WPF with 65' of track
Smith - Gallagher dedicated slabber
Tom's 3638D Baker band mill
and a mix of log handling heavy equipment.

ET

Scott, great topic. I have the same problem. My forester found lots of invasives and would like the brush removed and a thinning as well. I have one section with about 15 acres that needs attention. I also could use some advise on clearing all that thick brush. I feel if I just wack it off at ground level, it will just grow back. I also have a backhoe.  This is a lot of work and time taking me away from more important work, but I know for the health of my trees this has to be done.  Using equipment vs doing it by hand would be a godsend.
Ernie
Lucas 1030, Slabber attachment, Husky 550XP, Ford 555B hoe, Blaze King Ultra, Vermeer chipper, 70 acres with 40 acres Woods.

moosehunter

I spoke with the Bobcat people at the NYS Farm show a few weeks ago. Bobcat has a unit with a "Forestry" package the includes many forest application safety features and a grinder for chewing up trees, brush , what have you.
You can see the unit on the Bobcat web site. The Syracuse branch has one set up that they will rent out. I do not remember the hourly rate but it seemed reasonable for the amount of work you could do with one. Check with your local Bobcat dealer.
Strangely enough I can remember the price to buy a new one. 105k  :o :o
That made the hourly rate they quoted me seem pretty reasonable!
"And the days that I keep my gratitude
Higher than my expectations
Well, I have really good days".    Ray Wylie Hubbard

okmulch

Grace manufacturing out of Missouri makes a tree terminator shear. They have several different models/sizes to choose from and the have a grapple on them also. That is what we use to cut cedar. 

 
It works really well when we are clearing cedar around hardwoods. We can remove the cedar with minimal damage if any to large hardwoods
Rotochopper b66 track, #2 Rotochopper b66 track, woodmizer lt40, CAT 277b, CAT 268b, CAT 287c, CAT 277c, CAT299d2, CAT299d3, CAT 299d3, Volvo 70e,volvo70f, volvo90f

Claybraker

What kind of brush and/or invasives? The reason I ask, the last thing you want to do with sweetgum, privet, etc. is cut it. First thing you want to do is kill it, usually with herbicide.

okmulch

The tree terminators have a spraying device also that can be attached, so the stumps can be sprayed once cut.
Rotochopper b66 track, #2 Rotochopper b66 track, woodmizer lt40, CAT 277b, CAT 268b, CAT 287c, CAT 277c, CAT299d2, CAT299d3, CAT 299d3, Volvo 70e,volvo70f, volvo90f

DaleK

Look up a Brush Brute style bucket, it might work for you
Hud-Son Oscar 330
Wallenstein FX110
Echo chainsaws and a whole bunch of tractors

Ed_K

Talk with your forester,the feds have cost sharing programs.Then hire someone who does Timber Stand Improvement to do the work and spray the stumps to keep them from sucker sprouting.
Ed K

WDH

I am with Clay.  You could hack-n-squirt and let nature take its course.
Woodmizer LT40HDD35, John Deere 2155, Kubota M5-111, Kubota L2501, Nyle L53 Dehumidification Kiln, and a passion for all things with leafs, twigs, and bark.  hamsleyhardwood.com

Grunex

I've been finding on my sites for timber stand improvements that a berlon Skidloader skeleton bucket works really well for popping up small trees up to about three inches.  After that a tree shears works well and can readily be rented instead of buying. 
www.grunexlandclearing.com
Maintaining America's Heartland one acre at a time.

chain

I've owned a "Turbo saw 3200" for a few years. It has the 32" Cutting Disc with grapple; hitches to CAT I or II three point hitch, can be used on 28hp to 120hp tractors. A powerful, tough, machine, will cut up to a 10" diameter tree in a zip. It is designed for ground level cutting, the blade weighs more than 65lbs.

I've never used the implement in rocky areas but carbide teeth are replacable,  There's a video available.

www.doughertysaw@yahoo.com

WDH

Herbicides are not nearly as cool as that tree terminator shear  ;D.
Woodmizer LT40HDD35, John Deere 2155, Kubota M5-111, Kubota L2501, Nyle L53 Dehumidification Kiln, and a passion for all things with leafs, twigs, and bark.  hamsleyhardwood.com

SwampDonkey

If it were mine and I wanted to select crop trees to leave with the least damage, provided the diameter was under 6" at the but end, I would get myself a clearing saw and do a pre-commercial thinning. But down your way I would get on it in the cold months because it's too hard for me to cut brush in your summers. Anytime it's been tried up this way with a machine operated from seat it does a lot of damage to the crop trees. Another method like WDH suggests may be the traditional way to do it in your region. There are also herbicide applicators on brush saws. We don't bother up here, because with the proper timing of the treatment the cut stuff is shaded out enough that it's of no consequence. But if you have some nasty invasives you want to control, the herbicide treatments might be the best way. We don't get that up here much, they usually can not compete.

Clearing land is one thing, and doing a quality thinning job is another. ;)
"No amount of belief makes something a fact." James Randi

1 Thessalonians 5:21

2020 Polaris Ranger 570 to forward firewood, Husqvarna 555 XT Pro, Stihl FS560 clearing saw and continuously thinning my ground, on the side. Grow them trees. (((o)))

ET

Thanks Claymaker and everyone else for all those suggestions.
I have made a note of every one.
I primarily have prickly ash, dogwood, and honeysuckle.   Since I'm still moving very slow from my fall in January I will give my forester a call and see if they have any cost share programs available for this type of work.  I'm scheduled for an MRI tomorrow and hope they find what's wrong. The work is piling up, not even counting this thinning project.
Lucas 1030, Slabber attachment, Husky 550XP, Ford 555B hoe, Blaze King Ultra, Vermeer chipper, 70 acres with 40 acres Woods.

scsmith42

Thanks all for the feedback.  Most of what I'll be removing is gum, small pines, and some small oak.  What I'd like to do is first use a mechanical means to clear, and then probably maintain with either a bush-hog or Danny's famous "hack and squirt".
Peterson 10" WPF with 65' of track
Smith - Gallagher dedicated slabber
Tom's 3638D Baker band mill
and a mix of log handling heavy equipment.

Holmes

I bought a very heavy duty 5' bush hog to reclaim some fields.  I backed into and pushed over and mowed the pines up to 5" diameter and hardwoods up to 3" with a 50 hp tractor. It was a noisy job but the cab on the tractor helped with the noise and protection.  The pines pushed over quite easily and I would go back and forth to chop it all up.  I mowed hundreds of trees this way, but like I said it is a very heavy duty bush hog.
Think like a farmer.

SwampDonkey

The original post suggested thinning not clearing. Now your clearing. That's ok, thoughts change. ;D
"No amount of belief makes something a fact." James Randi

1 Thessalonians 5:21

2020 Polaris Ranger 570 to forward firewood, Husqvarna 555 XT Pro, Stihl FS560 clearing saw and continuously thinning my ground, on the side. Grow them trees. (((o)))

scsmith42

Quote from: SwampDonkey on March 19, 2013, 02:22:04 PM
The original post suggested thinning not clearing. Now your clearing. That's ok, thoughts change. ;D

Picky, picky....   :D

Probably a poor choice of words on my part.  I need to remove a lot of scrub trees and brush and leave the good trees behind, probably 12' - 20' clearance between them depending upon their size and species.

A lot of what needs to be removed is so dense (but small diameter) that you can't even walk through it.  Plus, there are a lot of thorny vines in places.

So, would this be considered to be "thinning" or "Clearing", or both?
Peterson 10" WPF with 65' of track
Smith - Gallagher dedicated slabber
Tom's 3638D Baker band mill
and a mix of log handling heavy equipment.

pasbuild

If it can't be nailed or glued then screw it

beenthere

But thinning would be most definitive. .  IMO ;D
south central Wisconsin
It may be that my sole purpose in life is simply to serve as a warning to others

SwampDonkey

We use clearing saws to thin. ;D I just want to strap a FS560 on ya so you know what it's like to be a thinner, not an old softie in a skid steer with air conditioning. :D :D
"No amount of belief makes something a fact." James Randi

1 Thessalonians 5:21

2020 Polaris Ranger 570 to forward firewood, Husqvarna 555 XT Pro, Stihl FS560 clearing saw and continuously thinning my ground, on the side. Grow them trees. (((o)))

scsmith42

Quote from: SwampDonkey on March 19, 2013, 04:35:10 PM
We use clearing saws to thin. ;D I just want to strap a FS560 on ya so you know what it's like to be a thinner, not an old softie in a skid steer with air conditioning. :D :D

:D  I have a smaller version of the FS560; I don't think that I'd want to thin 43 acres with it.

Besides, my skid steer doesn't have air conditioning so I'll be toughing it a little....   :D
Peterson 10" WPF with 65' of track
Smith - Gallagher dedicated slabber
Tom's 3638D Baker band mill
and a mix of log handling heavy equipment.

SwampDonkey

Can't blame ya, because when it gets hot down there, it won't be fun. But 43 acres would break you in pretty good as a thinner. Somehow I read that there was 75% of that area. ;) I think though after the 5th morning that skid steer would feel nice. ;D 20 feet is quite wide for an initial thinning though, if they are skinny and real tall, the trunk can collapse when the sap flows.
"No amount of belief makes something a fact." James Randi

1 Thessalonians 5:21

2020 Polaris Ranger 570 to forward firewood, Husqvarna 555 XT Pro, Stihl FS560 clearing saw and continuously thinning my ground, on the side. Grow them trees. (((o)))

Claybraker

Just a thought, and pictures of the stand would be handy, but would wind throw be a potential issue?

Norm

I do the same as Holmes does. I have a heavy duty flail mower that will cut up to at least a 3" tree. You do have to back up and you better have a decent size tractor to run it. I've often thought a small sprayer mounted on the back you turn on going forward with some glysophate in it would really be effective.

Anything bigger than that though you'd be better off with the skid steer attachment, plus it looks like a fun toy (tool) to run.  :D

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