It always amazes me why the rocks never end. You can have a 200 year old field that still has rocks in it. You would think at some point the frost would run out of rocks to push to the surface.
What did you do to or on your Kubota today?
- Thread starter gurn
- Start date
We bought this property 34 years ago and it was in hay. We were told it had been in corn like the next 3 fields next to us. We rotated hay and pasture on it for 25 years. Now a neighbor is cutting the hay.
I wanted to improve some areas and eventually restore ground to level over sunken drain tile lines.
So this was trial work. I couldn't borrow discs from anyone.
I borrowed IH 3 bottom 12" plows which worked well with the M6800 and they went down 8-10".
I wonder how much rock was picked previously ?
I think that erosion plays a large part in rocks coming to the surface. For example; I have a stone fence around my property and the ground has risen to the top of the fence at the low point of the property despite no farming over the last 80+ years. On the opposite of the fence the farmed ground level is about six feet lower and the stone fence is being undermined. It is a slow process, but just look for those lone trees on a mound in the middle of a field and it will become clear what has happened.
Greased the loader, mowed 3 acres and my three times a week ritual of watering trees.
And to think we used to pull a section of RON-25 up with 2 people. I like your idea so that no one’s under the suspended load, but something’s wrong if you’re moving that much weight to pull a 60 pound section of tower up. Shouldn’t ge a bit heavier after it leaves the ground. I used a steel gin-pole though and the tower would flex more than the pole until the tower was tall enough for another set of guy wires. Normally I put them every 40 feet on anything under 100 feet tall, every 50 feet on 200 footers. But your solution with the stake is probably what I would have started with, driven into the ground in the opposite direction of the pull. Hard to beat a good‘deadman’ in the ground. For that matter, why not just use a strap around the bottom of the tower and shackle the snatch block to the strap? Whatever, job well done and no one hurt.
Used the L3902 to rake hay yesterday, and to load round bales on the trailer today.
Cut the grass again. 197.9 hours on the clock. I just have 2.1 hours till I need to do the 200-hour service. I guess that tomorrow I will drive it up and down the road ticking off the tenths of hours till it stops at 200 hour mark.
NCL4701
Well-known member
Equipment
L4701, T2290, WC68, grapple, BB1572, Farmi W50R, Howes 500, 16kW IMD gen, WG24
Had several trees fall across the trails when Debby came through. This maple was the largest and most irritating as it was at the western most creek crossing. Obviously rotten at the bottom but was hanging on too tight to just pull it off the stump. Couldn’t tell exactly how much of it was rotten and how much was still solid so cutting on it was a little dicey. Whittled on the solid part (on the backside) and pulled. Whittled some more and pulled again. Wouldn’t budge. Eventually decided the risk/reward was no longer making sense so advised the only two others that might care to stay clear of it until it came down. Wife asked if I was planning to leave it there for the next two years until it rotted down. Told her I was planning to leave it there for the next two storms and if it hadn’t moved, I’d cut a couple of small trees nearby to get enough clearance to throw a rope up toward the top to see about breaking the limbs that had it hung but if we could avoid that, we would.
Came back the next day on the way to clear a couple other trees blocking trails and it looked like the below pic (minus the chain). It had fallen about half off the stump.
Irritatingly, it has a pretty descent sized poison ivy vine in it. Not much excited about processing it for firewood while that’s still fresh and sappy. I’m not severely allergic but not immune either.
A snatch block to double line pull successfully separated it from the stump. The chain is a Grade 70 3/8” that is always on the Farmi for stuff like this where the Farmi chokers are either too short (they were way short on this one) or it’s a snatch block pull where a higher capacity chain is preferable.
A reset for a single line pull inline with the tree pulled it out of the tree it was hung in and mostly out of the path. A little chainsaw work after it was on the ground got it into grapple sized pieces. Will probably go back to retrieve it for firewood this fall or winter when the poison ivy is mostly dried and the tree has lightened up a good bit. All but the very bottom was solid so there’s a good bit of useful wood there.
Before the winch, these type hung trees were a real pain to deal with. Although I’ve done it many times, I’ve never much liked taking them on with just a saw. Rigging up ropes and chains with snatch blocks, etc. to drawbar pull them is certainly viable but it takes a lot longer than setting up a winch pull. Between the grapple and winch I was able to clear this tree, one other single tree, and a cluster of one pine about the size of the maple plus about a half dozen smaller trees it took down with it in just over two hours. Back when the 9N was the only tractor we could get across the creek, that same work would have taken at least two days, a lot more sweat, and a lot more danger. Even if we could get the Farmall over there it wouldn’t be much better than the Ford. Sometimes it still feels like cheating working with the L.
Came back the next day on the way to clear a couple other trees blocking trails and it looked like the below pic (minus the chain). It had fallen about half off the stump.
Irritatingly, it has a pretty descent sized poison ivy vine in it. Not much excited about processing it for firewood while that’s still fresh and sappy. I’m not severely allergic but not immune either.
A snatch block to double line pull successfully separated it from the stump. The chain is a Grade 70 3/8” that is always on the Farmi for stuff like this where the Farmi chokers are either too short (they were way short on this one) or it’s a snatch block pull where a higher capacity chain is preferable.
A reset for a single line pull inline with the tree pulled it out of the tree it was hung in and mostly out of the path. A little chainsaw work after it was on the ground got it into grapple sized pieces. Will probably go back to retrieve it for firewood this fall or winter when the poison ivy is mostly dried and the tree has lightened up a good bit. All but the very bottom was solid so there’s a good bit of useful wood there.
Before the winch, these type hung trees were a real pain to deal with. Although I’ve done it many times, I’ve never much liked taking them on with just a saw. Rigging up ropes and chains with snatch blocks, etc. to drawbar pull them is certainly viable but it takes a lot longer than setting up a winch pull. Between the grapple and winch I was able to clear this tree, one other single tree, and a cluster of one pine about the size of the maple plus about a half dozen smaller trees it took down with it in just over two hours. Back when the 9N was the only tractor we could get across the creek, that same work would have taken at least two days, a lot more sweat, and a lot more danger. Even if we could get the Farmall over there it wouldn’t be much better than the Ford. Sometimes it still feels like cheating working with the L.
jyoutz
Well-known member
Equipment
MX6000 HST open station, FEL, 6’ cutter, forks, 8’ rear blade, 7’ cultivator
It’s been a rainy summer monsoon season and the grass is high. I starting field mowing today.
Yesterday I acquired a heavy duty boom pole and a 3 pt dirt scoop for the new to me L4300. Of course I had to change the cat 2 draw pins and one was rusted on tight. Multiple PB treatments and a couple of big wrenches got it done but wore me out in this heat. Tested them out uick and put everything up for the day.
fried1765
Well-known member
Equipment
Kubota L48 TLB, Ford 1920 FEL, Ford 8N, SCAG Liberty Z, Gravely Pro.
Most of them are spruce followed by maple and oak that i planted this spring. We've had a very dry spring and summer and I lost 36 spruce so far. Supposedly three days of rain in the forcast but their predictions haven't been accurate so I won't hold my breath.
retiree-urgency abandoned
Member
Equipment
B3350, Kub. 5" rotary cutter, LP 48" forks, Titan Aerial Platform, KK XB Dump
On your wet bales, if you haven't already done something with them, you might try selling them to EPA, state EPA or an environmental remediation company. We ended up with our share of wet round bales at the edge of the field and EPA bought them all for a creosote plant cleanup project.
Abandoned the hay business a few years later when we had a field full of square bales - when I called our neighbor ("I"ll take all of your square bales") to pick them up out of the field, she told me she bought a barnfull from someone else. Had to close our business for 3 days to put up the unclaimed hay - found a buyer to buy them at $5/bale - my cost worked out to $100/bale. Now I bushhog the fields once a year and the critters and pollenators have the run of them.
pokey1416
Well-known member
Lifetime Member
Equipment
Grand L4060HSTC, BH92 Backhoe, HLA Snow Pusher, Dirt Dog Tiller, EA DiscHarrow
What I really like about this site is all the knowledge and if someone sees something wrong in your post, they respectfully let you know (well maybe @SidecarFlip was an exception).
Thanks @lynnmor for questioning the bolt length in post 19,502. I got ahold of parts schematic and used sharpie to trace the bolt. Bingo - been ordering the wrong bolt for 2-years. Since I hadn’t removed 2 of the bolts it looks like whoever installed the subframe used the wrong side bolts for that piece too. There is a L and R and they are different lengths.
Here’s before and after. This explains why I was stripping bolts, not enough bolt into the nut when torquing to specs.
Thanks to everyone that commented and kept my brain thinking.
Thanks @lynnmor for questioning the bolt length in post 19,502. I got ahold of parts schematic and used sharpie to trace the bolt. Bingo - been ordering the wrong bolt for 2-years. Since I hadn’t removed 2 of the bolts it looks like whoever installed the subframe used the wrong side bolts for that piece too. There is a L and R and they are different lengths.
Here’s before and after. This explains why I was stripping bolts, not enough bolt into the nut when torquing to specs.
Thanks to everyone that commented and kept my brain thinking.
Hooked up the itty bitty trailer and hauled the chicken brooder out to the compost heap for a cleaning. Put all the chicks in a box and took them out to the run at Cluckingham Palace and then turned the compost heaps with the grapple. The baby girls did NOT like the tractor. (Compost heap is right behind the coop/run). Came back to the house and realized we could not see Cluckingham Palace from the deck, and we want to keep an eye on the girls because theyare only about 3 weeks old. So I got out the pole saw attachment and extension and turned the weed eater into a pole saw. Cut what I could reach, then got the MPS(Manual Pole Saw) and pulled down a few more small limbs that I could use the lopper for. Piled up all the trimmings and then took them out near the chip pile (just past the compost heaps) This time, the only Ameraucana in the flock (3 Barred Rock, 2 Rhode Island Reds, 2 black Australorp, and 1 Ameraucana) hopped on on top of the feeder and watched the whole process of hauling off brush. The other 7 were all huddled in the corner of the run again.
All this started with the bright idea of giving the girls a day outside while we cleaned the feeder and waterer. If there’s anything the missus is good at, it’s job expansion. Without the tractor today though, we would still be struggling in 90+ degree heat and 80%+ humidity. She’s glad I let the lX follow me home a few years ago.
Cluckingham Palace from the deck:
The girls are too small to see in the photo.
All this started with the bright idea of giving the girls a day outside while we cleaned the feeder and waterer. If there’s anything the missus is good at, it’s job expansion. Without the tractor today though, we would still be struggling in 90+ degree heat and 80%+ humidity. She’s glad I let the lX follow me home a few years ago.
Cluckingham Palace from the deck:
The girls are too small to see in the photo.