Any tricks for digging up boulders?

jstreet · Apr 30, 2006

My Kubota B3030 may have met its match today. It, and I, struggled for an hour or so trying to dig out and move a large boulder from one of our trails (so I won't keep hitting it with the Bush Hog).
I'm a newbie with a FEL, but I tried everything I could think of, digging down with the toothbar, trying to curl the bucket to lift the rock, alternating between curling and dumping movements to try to "rock" the thing free. I think I budged it a bit -- actually got it a few inches higher (so now I would definitely hit it with the Bush Hog).
I'm wearing down the teeth on my toothbar, with only 15 hours on the tractor!
Is there some other secret I should know? Skyhook? Dynamite? Chain (but how to I get it under the boulder?)?
A bigger tractor/FEL might do it -- but I have what I have.
Of course, I could always just cut a few trees and move the trail a bit, but I would much prefer defeating this boulder (which measures maybe 3-4 feet long and is sort of potato-shaped).
Suggestions?

5030 · Apr 30, 2006

Most often times rocks are like icebergs, that is, most of the mass is hidden below ground. Obviously, your little tractor and fel don't have the moxey to lift it directly, but, you can still get it out most likely. I say most likely because you need the traction or a block and tackle if traction is limited.

Take your fel and dig a ramp. Start back about 10 or 15 feet (so long as you have the room) and dig an incline ending up at the bottom side of the rock. Then, go around the other side and take a trench spade and dig a hole next to the rock so you can wrap a good stout chain around the rock.

Fill your fel bucket with dirt (for more traction, back to the chain, engage your FWA and hook the chain to the drawbar. Put your tractor in low and pull the rock up the incline.

jstreet · Apr 30, 2006

This rock, like some others that I have been able to remove, is indeed the tip of an iceberg (darned glaciers left a lot of trash). Too bad I can't just melt it!
Your trenching idea sounds like the way to go. "Brute force" from my smallish tractor/FEL just isn't brutish enough. So I"ll try digging, chaining, and dragging.
Thanks.

MikeD74T · Apr 30, 2006

If it's too heavy to dig "up" you could possibly dig a hole beside it & dig it "down". Let gravity work for you. In New Hampshire this will often bring up more rocks than the hole will hold but small enough to be lugged away.

5030 · Apr 30, 2006

I was going to add this, but dinner beckoned (ham, scalloped potatoes, candied yams and coconut cream pie.....

A little tip for removing stumps. I've done this plenty of times and it works for fence posts too.

Take a fairly long chain, fasten one end around the stump or fence post and lay the chain up and over a 16" pickup truck rim or a semi rim with the rim sitting on a chunk of 3/4" plywood for support. Hook the other end on your drawbar and drive away. Stumps pop right out as well as fence posts and the fence post comes out whole not broke off. I've pulled some big hardwood stumps with my 1085 Massey and my M9 that way. Smaller tractors=smaller stumps though.

npaden · Apr 30, 2006

One other option might be to bring in a few buckets of dirt from somewhere else and cover the exposed part of the rock up? That might be easier than removing the rock. I've seen a rock that had about 4" exposed and about 12" in diameter that by the time we got it out it was about 3' tall x 6' in diameter. We had to get a bus to pull the rock out and then it was a major chore to fill the hole back up. In retrospect we should have just brought in some dirt and filled the grade around the rock.

Just an alternative idea.

Mike_Lipke · Apr 30, 2006

I have had great luck using an old tire chain. I got a pair of them on ebay for about $7. I also got a pair of tire cables, which really work better yet. doesn't matter what car they fit, but bigger wheels use bigger, longer chains.
Anyway, I dig down with a hand shovel on the far side of the rock, put the tire chain around the rock as good as I can, as low as I can, bring the ends around to the tractor side and hook the ends up to a chain which is connected to the tractor or FEL. The tire chains sort of look like they are a hammock, with the rock in the hammock.
I just drag them to where I want them.
Or-when I get it out, I shorten up the chain and lift the hammock and rock with the loader and carry it off.

beenthere · Apr 30, 2006

Good posts and several good ideas which I've used. It all depends on the size of the rock and the size of the 'tool' to move the rock.

The one I use now is the forks attached on the FEL in place of the bucket. Stand them straight down, and penetrate on one side of the rock (if all goes well), then curl and pop the rock out. This has worked for rocks that are then too heavy for me to lift with the FEL.
But if too big, I bring some buckets of dirt in and mound over the rock. Eventually it will push through again, but not for 5 or so years, from frost heaving.
About every 5 years or so, I pop out from 50 - 150 boulders that have pushed up in my 'yard' (about 4 acres with rocks underneath from the terminal morraine of the last glacier). I've done the whole gamut of devices, from hand digging, tire chains, plow beam, sub-soiler, bucket, forks, to covering with dirt. All depends on the rock.

wushaw · Apr 30, 2006

Drill hole put 1/4 stick TnT with blasting cap & dep cord cover up with dirt several feet high and get back real far touch 12v battery wholla!!! gravel /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif

3RRL · Apr 30, 2006

Funny this post went up while I was at the property. I tried chaining some GIANT rocks to move them. I had trouble keeping the chains wrapped around the darn rocks. Should have used the tire chain idea. Anyway, I finally got one of the big suckers out and had to drag it. I could barely get it started and rocked it about 50 times in all directions before she came out. It probably weighed between 2 or 3 tons because I couldn't budge it with the loader! It also left a 1 foot deep gouge in my dirt road.

Mike_Lipke · May 1, 2006

Tirechains as a sling are truly awesome.

daTeacha · May 1, 2006

I've seen every kind of solution here except one -- large sledgehammer.

I guess we get so used to using the tractors that we forget we have other tools at our disposal. Yeah, I know some igneous rocks don't chip apart all that easily, but a little exercise is good for you. /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif

jstreet · May 1, 2006

Well, the boulder put up a good fight, but finally lost today.
I went back to it this a.m. with more hand tools, including a heavy chain. No luck with the chain -- tractor just didn't have enough traction in the still-damp ground (mud).
So I just started digging alternately with FEL, pick and shovel. Finally got so I could tilt the beast up a little bit by pushing and curling the bucket. Then while the loader held the rock I hand-shoveled dirt back into the hole behind it so it couldn't roll all the way back into hole, and repeated this cycle a few times, each time leaving the rock a little higher.
Finally it was up and out far enough that I could push with the bucket and get it rolling downhill and off the trail.
I found a "sister" boulder sticking up nearby, and it wouldn't budge. I'm leaving it where it is and will mark it with a driveway marker so I remember where it is and avoid it with the Bush Hog. The Kubota has earned a rest anyway.

AndyMA · May 1, 2006

Good work, just to be a pain, I'll throw in my 2 cents. many on this board try to do with a FEL what is backhoe work. Many hours with a FEL or a few minutes with a backhoe. Backhoe is also much safer. If you have a bunch to move you may want to think backhoe. It's my favorite atachment.

Andy

texasjohn · May 1, 2006

Mike_Lipke, I keep learning things!@!

I've been carrying tire snow cables around and never need them here.... have now converted them to tractor duty for service next time I need to put a rock in a sling. Thanks for the idea!

David_G · May 2, 2006

Have the same problem but I use a demolition hammer (electric jack hammer) to take the top off the rock.
Quite quick and relatively easy.
Dave..

Swanee · May 3, 2006

I find that what beenthere describes works well for me also. I find an old set of pallet forks (fairly short, a little under 3ft long) works great. Just drive them into the ground next to the rock and work on rolling it out. I suspect that if my forks were longer the leverage would work against you when trying to "roll the bucket" so to speak. I got my forks from a neighbor for nothing since the tips were worn too thin to be used at work anymore. Hence, why they are a little shorter than normal since I chopsawed them back to a thicker cross section.