brush cutting old timber land

[Norman]

Need a little advice please. I have an LX2610 with a 5 foot brush cutter. I have to cut a section (up to one acre) of some old timber property to get rid of mostly thick briars and some other brush (possibly up to an inch in diameter but no more). The larger pine trees have plenty of room between them to get to the brush. Since I can't really see exactly what's there, including some old stumps, I assume that backing the mower into the brush is the safest/easiest way to attack it. Alternatively I have a bucket with a piranha tooth bar that I could keep low to the ground and go in forward letting the bucket let me know if I hit an immovable object like a stump. I also have a grapple if that's better to use.

Am I on the right track? Is one way better than the other, or is there another method I haven't thought of?

This is not for a job, I'm buying the land. Thanks.

 

[Yotekiller]

Get out and walk the area you need to clear and put flags up where there are obstacles that can pose damage. It will give you peace of mind and speed things up...

 

[Norman]

I appreciate that, and I will where I can...but these are THICK briars, after about one foot in I'd be bleeding profusely (I've tried). I can see through some sections, but the pine straw that's built up over the many years is likely covering things so I can't see. That's my dilemma.

Get out and walk the area you need to clear and put flags up where there are obstacles that can pose damage. It will give you peace of mind and speed things up...

 

[12251hd]

As I have bent or broken a couple tail wheels on my bushhog by backing into something over the years, I'm always cautious of backing into areas where I don't know what is there. Similarly, running over a stump or unseen T post is equally concerning. In those cases I usually lower the bucket and take it slow. Good luck.

 

[rc51stierhoff]

Good day.

I think a lot really depends on scale and scope of trees and brush that need removed vs how much time you have or how quick you want done.

Its not my money or anything, but what I have done in past with my new land purchases, is for the first time heavy work I pay to have someone do the initial clean up (put in an infrastructure I can work from at my pace) and then I can clean up the spoils, take smaller bites and maintain the place.

For me that approach is for two reasons:

1. Minimize use of my machine like a construction machine….mine are not a real construction machine / TLB.

2. I wanted work done quickly and I could not have done the work done with my B in the time frame I needed….not by a long shot.

The B would have done it but I paid multiple times to have a CTL with a forestry head come in and they did it better, faster, and most likely cheaper than I could have considering my time and machine in that I would have likely damaged my machine.

It was money well spent. YMMV. I’ll be using that same service provider again this year.

Congrats on the land purchase. good luck and share some pics.

 

[PoTreeBoy]

Need a little advice please. I have an LX2610 with a 5 foot brush cutter. I have to cut a section (up to one acre) of some old timber property to get rid of mostly thick briars and some other brush (possibly up to an inch in diameter but no more). The larger pine trees have plenty of room between them to get to the brush. Since I can't really see exactly what's there, including some old stumps, I assume that backing the mower into the brush is the safest/easiest way to attack it. Alternatively I have a bucket with a piranha tooth bar that I could keep low to the ground and go in forward letting the bucket let me know if I hit an immovable object like a stump. I also have a grapple if that's better to use.

Am I on the right track? Is one way better than the other, or is there another method I haven't thought of?

This is not for a job, I'm buying the land. Thanks.

Both ways have their advantages and either will work. The only time backing in is really necessary is if you're cutting large saplings, going forward exposes the bottom of your tractor to damage.

In either case, go slow and run below full PTO speed (IMO less energy/damage when you hit an immovable object). And, before you start, make sure your cutter's clutch will slip if you overload it.

Since you have the bucket and piranha, you can pop small saplings out by the roots if you want to.

 

[Flintknapper]

I have a similar situation on my property (areas of overgrown briar, blackberry and small saplings).

It isn't even a remote possibility of 'walking it' first before mowing. A rabbit could barely find a way through it.

I do exactly as you alluded to: Use the bucket on the FEL held low to detect large immovable objects. I run the tractor in low range to keep tractor speed down and PTO rpm up.

The bucket helps to clear the way in extremely thick briars. I will mow down saplings (mostly sweet gum) that are up to 1-1/2" in diameter but avoid anything larger.

I have to mow down the briar thickets in order to get to the larger saplings and trees that I want to cut out. Impossible to reach them on foot otherwise.

 

[Norman]

I have a similar situation on my property (areas of overgrown briar, blackberry and small saplings).

It isn't even a remote possibility of 'walking it' first before mowing. A rabbit could barely find a way through it.

I do exactly as you alluded to: Use the bucket on the FEL held low to detect large immovable objects. I run the tractor in low range to keep tractor speed down and PTO rpm up.

The bucket helps to clear the way in extremely thick briars. I will mow down saplings (mostly sweet gum) that up to 1-1/2" in diameter but avoid anything larger.

I have to mow down the briar thickets in order to get to the larger saplings and trees that I want to cut out. Impossible to reach them on foot otherwise.

Exactly! This is identical to what you described. It would be suicide to try to walk it, death by a thousand briar punctures. They'd probably just leave my body til winter.

I think I have my answers. Bucket down low, 4WD tractor slow and easy. Thanks everyone.

 

[bbxlr8]

I had/have similar situations, but not the tools you all have. The HARD but effective way is to attack with a 24" blade on CS (with full PPE). Then go in with the tractor - still do this for really dense stuff and follow with the grapple or pirana on the bucket.

Real slow going for larger areas but "gits-er-done"

 

[Tughill Tom]

I did this same thing 5 years ago on 20 acres. Go slow and you will hit things. I ran with the bucket curled back and about 1.5 ft off the ground. Lift the Cutter as high as you can and proceed. Once you get a full pass thru only cut 3/4 the wide of the mower. Recut at lower height once marked out.
Carry a of stakes to mark out everything you'll find.
I found 3 steel antenna bases for a 100ft CB antenna that was in the field once, Oh and the coax cable. That wasn't fun at all!

 

[6869704x4]

I found a propane tank once. That was exciting.

 

[JimmyJazz]

Keep your cutter elevated and take a couple of passes lowering it as you go. This will provide better visibility and finer cuttings at the expense of more time and fuel. Make sure to wear long sleeves, gloves ,socks.... There might be lots of poison ivy and snakes involved as I learned the hard way. Take your time. Good luck.

 

[DaveFromMi]

You will need to spray any new or re-growth.
I had some nasty patches of multifloura rose, blackberry, bittersweet, grapevine, honeysuckle and other noxious weeds that were taking over especially in old fence rows.
I use this from TSC

https://www.tractorsupply.com/tsc/product/brushtox-brush-killer-with-triclopyr-64-ounce-1184224?store=622&cid=Shopping-Google-Local_Feed&utm_medium=Google&utm_source=Shopping&utm_campaign=&utm_content=Local_Feed&gad_source=1&gclid=CjwKCAjwte-vBhBFEiwAQSv_xYrPy3LYPwzCyMOr_pPConNbMHF92NY_i8kyAaPMyHTOY7QnGTf1xxoCuO8QAvD_BwE

 

[Flintknapper]

I found 3 steel antenna bases for a 100ft CB antenna that was in the field once, Oh and the coax cable. That wasn't fun at all!

^^^^

Hay string netting I didn't see in the tall grass along my road frontage.

Took me forever to cut it out from under the mower.

 

[Yotekiller]

I recently found a telephone pole, a transformer, and a bunch of copper wiring laying in my woods. lol

 

[mikester]

Rent one of these forestry mulchers, do all the clean up, thank me later

 

[Flintknapper]

Rent one of these forestry mulchers, do all the clean up, thank me later
View attachment 124698 View attachment 124699

No question a mulcher would do the job and they are very maneuverable to boot. In the OP's case....he is only needing to clean up about an acre of land. Hardly worth the effort and expense for a mulcher in that situation.

In MY situation....I have about 25 acres in one spot that I am trying to reclaim/improve. I'd love to 'own' a mulcher for that purpose and future maintenance, but pretty sure the finance dept (Mrs. Flintknapper) isn't going to go for that.

Additionally, there are times of the year when it is too wet to get anything down there without getting stuck. So I wouldn't want to have to 'rent' multiple times to get the job done.

Currently....I just use my tractor as conditions permit. It helps that I am retired and can work on land clearing when I want to.

But man.....would I like to have a mulcher on a skidsteer.

 

[bbxlr8]

No question a mulcher would do the job and they are very maneuverable to boot. In the OP's case....he is only needing to clean up about an acre of land. Hardly worth the effort and expense for a mulcher in that situation.

In MY situation....I have about 25 acres in one spot that I am trying to reclaim/improve. I'd love to 'own' a mulcher for that purpose and future maintenance, but pretty sure the finance dept (Mrs. Flintknapper) isn't going to go for that.

Additionally, there are times of the year when it is too wet to get anything down there without getting stuck. So I wouldn't want to have to 'rent' multiple times to get the job done.

Currently....I just use my tractor as conditions permit. It helps that I am retired and can work on land clearing when I want to.

But man.....would I like to have a mulcher on a skidsteer.

You aren't kidding - a major land owner near me owns one and it was crazy how quick and well it did the job. I felt like I should pay him to watch it was so entertaining

Also, I've hit coaxial and netting - it was a long hard go untangling that rats nest

 

[mikester]

No question a mulcher would do the job and they are very maneuverable to boot. In the OP's case....he is only needing to clean up about an acre of land. Hardly worth the effort and expense for a mulcher in that situation.

In MY situation....I have about 25 acres in one spot that I am trying to reclaim/improve. I'd love to 'own' a mulcher for that purpose and future maintenance, but pretty sure the finance dept (Mrs. Flintknapper) isn't going to go for that.

Additionally, there are times of the year when it is too wet to get anything down there without getting stuck. So I wouldn't want to have to 'rent' multiple times to get the job done.

Currently....I just use my tractor as conditions permit. It helps that I am retired and can work on land clearing when I want to.

But man.....would I like to have a mulcher on a skidsteer.

You can rent by the day!

Not worth buying one of these machines due to the abuse they see. When you rent it's 100% write off that year. Once you use one you will wonder why you ever wanted to do things the hard way.

I've done it the hard way using root rake grapples, BH, chainsaw, chipper. After you pull the roots of your brush you now have piles of wood, rocks and soil to deal with. You also have to re-level the ground you ripped up if you plan on maintaining the area with a mower later.

Instead of a several step process and lots of your time and fuel, one person on a forestry mulcher can level and clean up everything in one pass and turn wood/soil/small rocks into soil mulch in a short amount of time. At the end of your rental day your land is ready to maintain with your lawn mower.

 

[johnjk]

My property was logged and the fields left fallow for over a decade. We used my BIL Deere to clear the path for the drive and the house pad. Once we were moved in, I had the B3200 and brush cutter delivered. At that point I did the entire field. Broke a few sheer bolts and nicked up the blades on the mower but was successful. Found quite a few rocks and tree chunks from the loggers. The tooth bar is a blessing. Keep that bucket fairly low and let it do a lot of the work in that high stuff. Remember to clean your air intake and rad guard often, especially if you do this in the the fall or where there are a bunch of seeds or leaves.
I just started really reclaiming the five acres of woods a couple years back. I know what you say when you say thick. You can’t penetrate the brambles on foot and they are 8-10’ tall. I have stumps, old fence, rocks, ruts, tree tops. What a mess. I can use the main road to get in about 1/3 of the way and I clear cut some of their staging areas so I can turn and operate. First pass is with that cutter up almost a foot off the ground at the rear. Wear long sleeves, long pants, eye, ear, face and head protection. It flings stuff and chunks will be bouncing off everything. First pass is in reverse to push the thorns and scrub over. Once I see what is underneath then the next pass is still in reverse but with the cutter as far down as she goes. After that and other cuts are driving forward if I can maneuver.
A forestry mulched would be a lot easier and faster but I’m after walking trails that are easily and quickly maintained. Once I got them to a walkable state, I took the 4 wheeler out with some long handled cutters and cut the branches back even further. Wife’s happy, I’m happy. This year it will be a bit more work since we have some storm damage and I didn’t get the trails mowed last year due to my back. Hopefully we get a nice dry spell and I can get back there and start the cleanup.