best implement for picking up rocks, rock pickers are higher than I thought. what do most people use?
best implement for picking up rocks
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North Idaho Wolfman
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My father had the same theory.....my brother and I always dreaded one field in particular.Their kids!
That's how I got started in construction work.
We were both so happy when he seeded it back in for hay!!! WOO HOO!!
In rocky ground, a harley rake works good, but even the little 4'wide, no frills model I have are about 6 grand, now...
Hodge, i like that rock picker. It works slick.
Dave, wouldnt that be a little hard on a harley rake?
Im working on building my own version of a harley rake,self powered and set up to only take 3/4" per pass. Drum is made, frame this weekend. Mostly to make my yard a little less rough.
Dave, wouldnt that be a little hard on a harley rake?
Im working on building my own version of a harley rake,self powered and set up to only take 3/4" per pass. Drum is made, frame this weekend. Mostly to make my yard a little less rough.
Actually a HR is tougher than you may think. Has carbide tipped teeth, I use mine to grade stone roads, can't get much harder than that. Drawback is BIG rocks, any way you do them is hard...
I was going to say the neighbor kids. LOLTheir kids!
That's how I got started in construction work.
Picking rocks builds character, muscles, and callouses!
My dad and I were walking some family land, so that I would know where the corner markers are. There are numerous rock walls on the property, with one of them going in straight line, for miles, all the way to the Blue Ridge Parkway. These walls are well over 100 years old, and were used to delineate property lines, and keep livestock in or out. If you aren't familiar, they are about 3 feet wide, 3-4 feet high, and made up of stacked rock. Unless something disturbs them, they will be there until they erode away. The sides of the ridges are absolutely bare- not a rock anywhere. You can tell that at one point, the sides were cleared and farmed, with only young growth trees there, now. That would have been a LOT of rocks picked up! And, these aren't small rocks, either. It is interesting to consider the work done, and the work ethic that led to these walls.
Here's a photo of where I go to shoot- you can see one of the rock walls on the left.
My dad and I were walking some family land, so that I would know where the corner markers are. There are numerous rock walls on the property, with one of them going in straight line, for miles, all the way to the Blue Ridge Parkway. These walls are well over 100 years old, and were used to delineate property lines, and keep livestock in or out. If you aren't familiar, they are about 3 feet wide, 3-4 feet high, and made up of stacked rock. Unless something disturbs them, they will be there until they erode away. The sides of the ridges are absolutely bare- not a rock anywhere. You can tell that at one point, the sides were cleared and farmed, with only young growth trees there, now. That would have been a LOT of rocks picked up! And, these aren't small rocks, either. It is interesting to consider the work done, and the work ethic that led to these walls.
Here's a photo of where I go to shoot- you can see one of the rock walls on the left.
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And backaches! Pick up one rock. One time. Then stack it on top of another rock. Next thing you know.... Things are like crack!
Isn't it amazing, in our society people don't like to do physical labor. We've been, and continue to be, conditioned to think it's beneath our dignity.
Therefore, you can purchase a piece of property, whether it be a home, land, car, tractor at a deeply discounted price because it requires much more work then most folks wish to exert. You do the work, the politically correct term is "sweat equity" and increase the value dramatically.
In the time Hodge's rock fence was built "sweat equity" (as we call it today) was required by everyone. Those walls became pride of ownership, and still are to this day. Those fences were built for several reasons. One, to get the rocks out of the field so a crop could be planted. Second, it established an obvious boundary line. Third it contained livestock. And a serendipity of it all was it taught the kids a work ethic (which at their age and no idea what that was) because they were the ones right in there helping.
Here's a couple of fence post.
Therefore, you can purchase a piece of property, whether it be a home, land, car, tractor at a deeply discounted price because it requires much more work then most folks wish to exert. You do the work, the politically correct term is "sweat equity" and increase the value dramatically.
In the time Hodge's rock fence was built "sweat equity" (as we call it today) was required by everyone. Those walls became pride of ownership, and still are to this day. Those fences were built for several reasons. One, to get the rocks out of the field so a crop could be planted. Second, it established an obvious boundary line. Third it contained livestock. And a serendipity of it all was it taught the kids a work ethic (which at their age and no idea what that was) because they were the ones right in there helping.
Here's a couple of fence post.
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thanks for the replies, I was asking about implements not whether I was willing to sweat. I had my first real job as a cashier at the age of 12. My kids started working in my business as a regular hourly employee at the age of 12 and 13 so we know about work. I've had the labor board and parents on my butt about my kids working but since I own the business they can work at any age. Now lets get back to the implements. I own 590 acres on this section so obviously I can't pick up that many rocks in my lifetime, any automation would help a great deal.
Tell us more about your rocks.
Tennis ball size? Cantaloupe size? Watermelon size? Walrus size? Mostly rounded? Mostly flat? Mostly angular? Loose on the surface? Lots more barely underground? How many in a 10 foot square? Etc?
Bruce
Tennis ball size? Cantaloupe size? Watermelon size? Walrus size? Mostly rounded? Mostly flat? Mostly angular? Loose on the surface? Lots more barely underground? How many in a 10 foot square? Etc?
Bruce
well it is all different. some are big as a tractor tire and only 1/8th sticking up. We can pick up the ones bigger than a cantaloupe or so. Its the baseball size and smaller that I'd like to get up. When I disc it up I get more rocks.
Some ideas that may be a start.
You can buy a rock bucket like these:
Rock bucket photos
or you can make a bolt-on tooth bar with long, close teeth, more like the one shown here after 3:00 minutes.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5MXA38XUXjg
or maybe a landscape rake would make windrows which your loader could pick up easier than by itself.
Getting the ones underground will likely take some large, expensive, powered implement.
Bruce
You can buy a rock bucket like these:
Rock bucket photos
or you can make a bolt-on tooth bar with long, close teeth, more like the one shown here after 3:00 minutes.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5MXA38XUXjg
or maybe a landscape rake would make windrows which your loader could pick up easier than by itself.
Getting the ones underground will likely take some large, expensive, powered implement.
Bruce
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Bruce brings up some good options. All good for baseball stones on smaller areas.
Obviously, a rock bucket won't pick 590 acres quickly. For something automated on that acreage, rock picker is only option I know of. Generally all of it doesn't need picking - it's here and there. But even a big picker only has a 6 or 8 foot swath - so even that takes a while.
It's corn planting time up here, and today met a farmer I know on the road. He had an 8xxx series JD at 200+HP, and rock picker that maybe holds 3 or 4 yards per load. He plants 1,000 +/- acres of corn.
There is no silver bullet for those big, buried guys - one at a time.
Obviously, a rock bucket won't pick 590 acres quickly. For something automated on that acreage, rock picker is only option I know of. Generally all of it doesn't need picking - it's here and there. But even a big picker only has a 6 or 8 foot swath - so even that takes a while.
It's corn planting time up here, and today met a farmer I know on the road. He had an 8xxx series JD at 200+HP, and rock picker that maybe holds 3 or 4 yards per load. He plants 1,000 +/- acres of corn.
There is no silver bullet for those big, buried guys - one at a time.
I would think for most normal sized rocks that are under the size of a football, a good heavy duty landscape rake would work best to rake them up into piles. For actually picking out the rocks, just scooping the piles with a standard loader bucket would get the job done. If you actually want to separate the rocks though I would think a rock bucket or skeleton grapple would work good. The grapple would have the added benefit of being able to grab larger rocks as well. You also can't beat a good backhoe attachment for digging out the big rocks either though.
There are pull type rock pickers out there, do a google search. Here's one that was in Farm show magazine:
https://youtu.be/iFps9_bzmjM
You may have leaverrite rocks, like the video says, use caution...
This month's issue has a picker, that mounts on a skidloader.
https://www.farmshow.com/view_articles.php?a_id=1623
Here's another approach:
https://youtu.be/wL0jR-Zy8h4
https://youtu.be/iFps9_bzmjM
You may have leaverrite rocks, like the video says, use caution...
This month's issue has a picker, that mounts on a skidloader.
https://www.farmshow.com/view_articles.php?a_id=1623
Here's another approach:
https://youtu.be/wL0jR-Zy8h4
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