york rake

[kaiser 100]

excuse my complete "noobness" when it comes to implements. i guess i'm just a city slicker that only knows mowing.

 

i'll give you an idea of what i'm working with and maybe y'all can suggest the proper implement.

 

i have an area, about 1/2 acre, that was over run by thorne bushes / prickers /brambles (or whatever you would like to call them).

i cut them all down using a brushcutter blade on my weed wacker. now that i have them down and chopped up i need to rake them up.

to make matters worse there looks to be a few years worth of them (and weeds) already down on the ground. so there is a thick layer of this junk on the ground.

 

i also have an acre or so where they just let the grass grow and fall, grow and fall. so there is a thick layer of grass/weeds on the ground is this area as well.

 

what would be the best way to put my horse to work here? i'm thinking york rake but i'm not sure. i can't even find a york rake that's small enough for my horse(gt1600) right now.

i wonder if the rental center had garden tractor sized rakes. the only thing i have found is the york ta1 and that bad boy is 600 bucks!

 

does anyone have any ideas, advice?

[diesel cowboy 263]

For the thorn bushes you would probably want to use something like a snow plow to push them up instead of driving over them towing a york rake as they could poke holes in the tires.  For the few years worth of dead grass a tow behind dethatcher should work depending on how bad it is and how much other brush is mixed in with it.  Hope this helps.   Stewart

[SousaKerry 500]

Possibly a de-thatcher may work the kind that has basically long fingered springs bolted to a plate

 

something like this

 

 

http://www.homedepot.com/p/t/100663183?productId=100663183&storeId=10051&langId=-1&catalogId=10053&ci_sku=100663183&ci_kw={keyword}&kwd={keyword}&cm_mmc=shopping-_-googleads-_-pla-_-100663183&ci_gpa=pla#.UVCfc1c7rng

[kaiser 100]

thanks Stewart.

 

you should see the pile of tree branches and other junk i pulled out hiding under all these thorn bushes and weeds, whole limbs, tree trunks, all sorts of pallets. i got all of that stuff out by hand.

 

just when you think winter is over i need a snow plow. lol

 

i don't think the thorns are big enough to puncture the tires, but now that you mentioned it i'm nervous to drive over them.

[Iggy68 28]

The plow/dozer blade would work very well for the first go around. I did the same thing a few years back, push it all into a pile and somehow, not sure how but the pile caught on fire! Oops!

[kaiser 100]

i can see into the future and the same will happen to my pile. i don't want those thorns anywhere near my dump pile or compost.

[GlenPettit 1,714]

I solved it with a controlled burn, with permission of the Fire Dept., we're in the country but still have houses around.

Let the neighbors know and even had three help me, we all had 2 gal sprayers with water and a rake.  No wind day, 

cleaned up a 3 acre field staying 3-4 away from the fences.  Everything worked fine,  but it was iffy and with lots of luck.

 

I would suggest you to just keep mowing the stuff, start very high in a raised-travel position, then shorter and shorter each time until it disappears on its own, over a 3-4 week period, it turns into a good mulch, then you can over seed on the mulch.  Actually this is the least amount of work and effort, just gas.  Best on drier days, your mower will even chop small branches, 1/2", but keep the blades sharp.  More likely the thorns will puncture the sidewalls rather than up thru the treads. 

 

You have so much "thatch", that even tractor raking would be almost endless work, mine clumps up very quickly.  

Sounds like we all may have a hot and dry summer again this year.  

[kaiser 100]

thats what my initail plan was glen, cut it down to stubbs and keep it mowed. i really don't think the thorns are all that bad, i mean i survived. i think the tractor tires would be ok....

[sorekiwi 761]

These look to be very cool, and I have heard from a few people who have owned them that they work well.

 

http://www.yorkmodern.com/catalog/model-mt24-landscape-rake-p-126.html

 

One day I will get around to building a copy, unless I can find an affordable used one.

[953 nut 51,762]

I have a York 3 point cat 0 that came with my GT-14, it has a small grader blade built in that flips down for finish work or up to use the rake only. If you have a 3 point this is the way to go. I also have a three foot rake I made years back that fits the sleve hitch and uses rake spring tines I bough from Agri Supply. It is a little too heavy for the cable that goes to the lift and without hydralics on the 1055 it will give you a work out, but it will move a lot of brush. Good luck with wour clean up.

   

These look to be very cool, and I have heard from a few people who have owned them that they work well.

 

http://www.yorkmodern.com/catalog/model-mt24-landscape-rake-p-126.html

 

One day I will get around to building a copy, unless I can find an affordable used one.

[coolhandblack 45]

I can't take credit for building this as it came with my tractor. I have used it and it does pretty good detaching a gathering sticks and such. I need to repair and add some more teeth though

 

[kaiser 100]

something like that would work pretty well, thanks for the idea coolhand.

time to break out the welder...

 

the small york linked above would be ideal, but that's alot of $$ for something i may use only a few times.

[Don1977 604]

I can't take credit for building this as it came with my tractor. I have used it and it does pretty good detaching a gathering sticks and such. I need to repair and add some more teeth though

 

 

That could be made with a lot with less metal. Just the T shaped with a couple angled brace rods to the hitch.

[IthacaJeff 151]

 If it was not thorns I would mow the heck out of it again and again. Turn everything into mulch and let

mother nature take care of it.  If you are confident the thorns are too small to harm your tires, then

I would mow. Otherwise, I would use the dozer blade. My experience with a York rake is not a good

one, and with thick stuff like you mention the rake will clog rapidly and it will work more like a back blade.

 

If the remaining stubble is too woody to mow then it probably won't respond well to the dozer blade either.

The rake may then be your best choice. You should be able to rent one for about $30 or so.

 

Jeff

[Tankman 3,515]

Slow, as mentioned above, mowing....lower.......mowing.....lower. Keep mowin' discharging to the side you won't mind such a build up. Mow dry.

Or, Sunoco, regular should work.

I wondering how a Billy Goat blower would work? I had a Billy Goat with bag, removed the bag and flipped the blower to its' horizontal position. Worked great but, sounds like you have lots to move, too much.

All ahead, steady as she goes. :smile:

[kaiser 100]

Thanks for all the suggestions. I'll beat those prickers!

[Forest Road 594]

I've rented 5' York rakes to use with my horse. It won't work for land clearing. I used it for road grading. Plowing is probably your best bet. Followed by a controlled burn. Last year I cleared a large area. Towed all the trees and brush to an area and continuously plowed them into a large pile. It's was one heck of a fire. If you're confident the thorns won't be a problem go for it.

[tommyg 152]

I like the idea of gradually lowering the blade as well. But rather than discharge it, why not block the chute so it acts as more of a mulcher and let the blade chew it up a bit more. If you really want to pick it up then, I'd use a pull behind vacuum system that would suck up all the weed seeds and mulched debris. My Cyclone Rake is awesome for projects like this. Don't know if you can rent a pull behind vacuum or not.

[JUSS10 250]

I'll chime in on this. the first implement i had for my wheel horses (besides a mower) was a homemade spike tooth harrow (essentially a big rake with tines) I just made a "T" frame out of 1.5" square tubing and on the back used some 1/2" round stock that i cut to around 6 inches and welded them to the frame every 3-4". works great! I've used it to rake gravel driveways, pull up ivy, drag brush. Its probably the piece i use the most. Let me see if i can find a picture of it....

 

Justin

[kaiser 100]

I'll chime in on this. the first implement i had for my wheel horses (besides a mower) was a homemade spike tooth harrow (essentially a big rake with tines) I just made a "T" frame out of 1.5" square tubing and on the back used some 1/2" round stock that i cut to around 6 inches and welded them to the frame every 3-4". works great! I've used it to rake gravel driveways, pull up ivy, drag brush. Its probably the piece i use the most. Let me see if i can find a picture of it....

 

Justin

 

I'd love to see a picture of that justin. i have plenty of raw materials to use up.

[JUSS10 250]

Ok, i couldn't find any good pictures of my newest one i built but I'm pretty sure its something like this. I quick drew this up in cad. I'll give you the rough dimensions. The length of tube from the crossbar in the back to the hitch is 24" and its 1.5" tubing (could possibly use 1") The tongue that is welded to it that slides in the hitch is 1/2" bar stock that is 2" wide and has a 3/8" hole 3" from the front. The rear cross bar is 36" long and 1.5" square tubing. The spikes are 1/2" diameter (I've built one with 3/4" as well, that may be a better option.) and they are 6" long. i have them on a 3.5" on center spacing in this model but something to think about, less spikes equals more pressure on each when the rake is weighted. too many spikes and you would get as much dig. same thing goes with spike diameter. I don't have the right answer, just something to think about. Finally, i added a plywood shelf that i bolted to the steel frame to hold a few cinder blocks of any weight of your choosing to help it dig down. On one i built, i welded a piece of black pipe so it was vertical which allowed me to stack lifting weights on it. 

 

here is the picture. hope this helps!

 

 

 

Justin

[kaiser 100]

that helps a ton, i'm gonna build one!

 

thanks so much!

[coolhandblack 45]

make sure to post some pics when you get it built. Its always good to get some new ideas!

[kaiser 100]

will do, just need to find the time.

[JUSS10 250]

here is a picture of the first one i built. it was built out of scrap angle iron so its not real pretty but it sure worked great