Root rake grapple for FW log harvest?

These types of grapples are of great use for everything you describe and more. There are much better places to buy them as well. Take a look at tractorbynet.com where a very common discussion item is the purchase, installation, and use of a grapple such as this.

Highbeam said:

These types of grapples are of great use for everything you describe and more. There are much better places to buy them as well. Take a look at tractorbynet.com where a very common discussion item is the purchase, installation, and use of a grapple such as this.

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I agree,

http://www.bluediamondattachments.com/catalog_c317169.html

I bought mine here .
As stated there are so many uses.
I bought bigger than I thought I wood need and glad. The one I bought could be bigger but it works fine.
Go look at the one you want to buy if you can. Make sure it opens wide enough and is deep enough.
Also let them no what your loader quick connects are before ordering. M/M F/F M/F

Of course you know that these grapples don't turn your loader into a bulldozer with a rake. After stump removal and prior to plowing you would want to drag something to gather and pile the roots and sticks. This large area raking is where a subsoiler, boxblade, or a ripper bar is useful. Trying to use the bottom teeth of your grapple for this is not what your loader was designed for. Picking up and removing the piles of woody debris is where the loader/grapple will shine.

I like the Markham/gator grapple for my 30 HP machine. Just about 1000$ with SS style quick attachment.

If you only need to do this once, another consideration might be renting a backhoe. Sunbelt here rents a 4wd 8 ton Case for $1500/month. Probably 2K after pickup/drop off and taxes. After the backhoe is done, whatever is left is pretty easy for even a small tractor with a box blade with rippers and a rake to finish.

Are your tires really that weak or are the thorns really that bad? With the brush mower, if I can drive over it it becomes brown dirt and that includes anything smaller than my wrist. Even root rakes on dozers cant't really collect this small stuff without also collecting lots of dirt. The rakes and grapples are much better at the larger material, this larger material can be piled in burnable piles.

So your debate is between the clamshell style grapple and the flat bottom style. I like the flat bottom that doesn't really look like a root rake. The reason is that you can load a lot more slash on the flat bottom grapples and when you close the jaws the top jaw doesn't push the slash towards your radiator. Once you collect the big stuff my favorite tool for converting logged and grubbed areas into pasture was the box blade. First you go around and fill the stump holes and rough grade to make the land the right shape, then you lower the scarifiers and collect sticks into piles, then you collect piles, then you regrade as needed with the box. Then drag something to smooth, then plant grass. There is no need to moldboard plow a converted forest. There is no sod to flip.

Thank goodness we don't have the thornapples here. Those sound awful.

I've got about 1000 hours on my industrial R4 tires and I've had two flats up front. One I plugged with a plug kit from the outside and the other one was slow and I fixed it with slime. I am a fan of slime now and if I lived in an area with nail like thorns, I would have it in all four tires. It is supposed to seal punctures up to 1/4" or 1/8" I forget.

If you could drive over is then I would suggest a disc at this point.

They are a very handy attachment, I use one on my Bobcat, for picking up whole logs when clear cutting, makes it easier to limb the tree, loading logs into a trailer, picking up blocks and moving them to a central location to split. Also use it for sorting logs and loading of my processors. There is a guy I do business with that will custom build one for half the price of what "quick attach" charges for their attachments. He is located just west of syracuse.

I think they work very well for the task you describe. I have a Markham/Gator grapple, 72" wide, with extra tines welded into the bottom to prevent split wood from falling through.

I use mine often to scoop up cut firewood...


and to move logs around the yard


-Mark

ISeeDeadBTUs said:

Nice machine, Mark! I have the 5040.

Question on the Markham . . . what spacing are the original tines, and can you show a pic of the ones you welded in?

General question for anyone thats used one of these . . . every use it as a 'rock bucket'?

Jimbo

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Jimbo,

The original ones are approximately 8" spacing...I had Markham weld in additional tines I think for about $100 upcharge. Don't quote me on that....but it was less than I thought it would be and less than doing it locally. This cut the spacing down to approximately 4"...which is good for medium rocks and boulders. I often use it as a rock bucket when doing land preparation...we have VERY rock soil in these parts.

mark

I own a markham toothbar for my bucket. The Markhams are no longer involved as they have been bought out by the Gator implement folks. This really only means that the level of service from the Markaham family, which was excellent, may not be available. The markham design should be still sold though through gator and that grapple is highly praised.