Backhoe Ripper

[TMGT]

Looks like a great tool ! Lots of commercial excavation companies use rippers, not just for trees but just about anything where you need to bundle the force.

Just wondering: how many roots are left in the ground, and arent you afraid your shop foundation will settle when they rot ?

My father cut an oak at the end of the driveway when the mill in town, who brought hog feed in 50kg bags on a haywagon drawn by a 15hp Deutz, closed, and he had to order in bulk at a larger cooperation, whose trucks couldnt make the turn. Say somewhere in the 70s.

When i was a kid we layd pavers around it, so the top of the stump was flat with the pavers although it was still a hump..

In my early twenties the stump started sinking, and i paved pavers over it. Right now, theres a dimple in the street.

Off course this was a 2 feet oak stump, not some flywood roots, but i personally dont like the idea of decomposing organic material under a foundation: We always dig foundations at least 2 feet untill subsoil, though at my brother in laws house, on an old river arm, they dug 6 feet before finding subsoil without organic matter. Though we live in a river delta, no hard place in miles around

Minimal roots are left, I will still be grading down slightly which will remove most of the other roots.
The footers will still be 16in depth. Most of the roots will pull up while removing them.


As you can see, the rootballs are pretty complete.

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[BFreaky]

You built a great ripper. This is the kind of attachment everyone should use to dig out stumps, roots and concrete slabs. You get all the power out of your backhoe and it works much better then a bucket

 

[TMGT]

You built a great ripper. This is the kind of attachment everyone should use to dig out stumps, roots and concrete slabs. You get all the power out of your backhoe and it works much better then a bucket

Thank you, that means a lot coming from someone of your fab skills!

They really allow a smaller backhoe do bigger work quicker when it comes to stumps, and less ground disturbance.

This is a 28" red oak I just took down, took maybe 1hr to get it down. Root ball had about 2yrds of soil attached to it! Had to use the ripper to knock enough of the dirt off just so I could roll the stump oit of the hole.

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[BFreaky]

I've designed and got cut parts for a ripper with similar design a while ago but still haven't found free time to put it together. Your posts just reminded me that I should because there is piece of brothers farm land I have to clear

 

[TMGT]

I've designed and got cut parts for a ripper with similar design a while ago but still haven't found free time to put it together. Your posts just reminded me that I should because there is piece of brothers farm land I have to clear

Looking forward to seeing it get built!

I have a number of fab projects I still want to do, I just haven't had time to complete them.
The ripper and thumb were moved to the top of the list due to needing them for clearing the land of my new shop build.

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[Doug Vee]

Update on the ripper.
I am clearing for a new shop and have a number of trees to take down and some old stumps to remove, it has been working great ripping the roots out so i can push the trees over.

I have about 8 trees left, one is a large red oak that'll probably put up a fight.


Notes on it so far:
I'm really glad I used Hardox for the shank, it's taking a beating and only shows minimal wear so far. I'm really glad I went with a replaceable point, the amount of wear on it already makes me think it was a good idea.

Overall I'm very happy with its performance and don't think there is anything on the design I would change after using it for about 12hrs.View attachment 4189540View attachment 4189541View attachment 4189542

I am interested in building a similar attachment for my L48 with BT1100 backhoe, and have a few questions about your build. It is obvious to me that your metal fabrication skills and experience are far more advanced than mine. Your finished product looks great.

1. I am planning on laminating my tooth also. I bought 3 pieces of 1/4" plate, but I am having second thoughts about if a total of 3/4" of tooth thickness is appropriate for the power rating of my machine.Since I am just a stupid retired carpenter and not an engineer, I would like to have a better feel for if 4 layers of plate might be warranted or not for my machine. Can you provide power rating details on your machine for me to compare with my L48?

2. As I noted earlier, my skills are not nearly as advanced as yours are, so I would like to absorb some of your experience before I totally screw mine up. Can you describe the general welding processes you used?

I would really like my project to look as professionally fabricated as yours, though I am sure that it will not. I mainly just want it to be stout enough for my needs.

Thank you very much for posting your build,
Doug

 

[M59]

I am interested in building a similar attachment for my L48 with BT1100 backhoe, and have a few questions about your build. It is obvious to me that your metal fabrication skills and experience are far more advanced than mine. Your finished product looks great.

1. I am planning on laminating my tooth also. I bought 3 pieces of 1/4" plate, but I am having second thoughts about if a total of 3/4" of tooth thickness is appropriate for the power rating of my machine.Since I am just a stupid retired carpenter and not an engineer, I would like to have a better feel for if 4 layers of plate might be warranted or not for my machine. Can you provide power rating details on your machine for me to compare with my L48?

2. As I noted earlier, my skills are not nearly as advanced as yours are, so I would like to absorb some of your experience before I totally screw mine up. Can you describe the general welding processes you used?

I would really like my project to look as professionally fabricated as yours, though I am sure that it will not. I mainly just want it to be stout enough for my needs.

Thank you very much for posting your build,
Doug

Doug,

I run a KX40 root/ frost ripper with a 3/4" shank and 26" long on a M59 with no problems. Laminating three 1/4" thick slabs by continuous weld up the working and back edges will prevent wedging something between the laminations and spreading them. Your L48 and my M59 do not have enough curl power to bend a 3/4" thick blade.

I also have a 1" thick root/ frost ripper on my LX80 ( 20K Lb machine ) and have never had issues

Have fun removing stumps. Its the only way to work. Second pic is M59 pulling a oak stump

 

[sd455dan]

Great build TMGT

Going to make fabricating one for my Ford TLB a priority once I get the plasma table up and functional.

Also possibly thinking about a sideways facing attachment blade add on, I have heard being able to swipe under the roots can really help breaking the stump free, maybe.

 

[Doug Vee]

Doug,

I run a KX40 root/ frost ripper with a 3/4" shank and 26" long on a M59 with no problems. Laminating three 1/4" thick slabs by continuous weld up the working and back edges will prevent wedging something between the laminations and spreading them. Your L48 and my M59 do not have enough curl power to bend a 3/4" thick blade.

I also have a 1" thick root/ frost ripper on my LX80 ( 20K Lb machine ) and have never had issues

Have fun removing stumps. Its the only way to work. Second pic is M59 pulling a oak stump

M59,

Thank you for the response. Your feedback reinforces my original thoughts. I will stay with my original plan.

Thanks again,
Doug

 

[M59]

M59,

Thank you for the response. Your feedback reinforces my original thoughts. I will stay with my original plan.

Thanks again,
Doug

Another pic. This ash tree had 3-4 large side roots and massive tape root. This was before the KX 80 was part of the toys to play with so the M59 wrestled with this one for 4 hours. Had to completely undermine this stump before it could be broken free. I could have parked a volkswagon beetle in that hole.

I suggest you add a replaceable tooth to the ripper since some soils are extremely abrasive. My NC property has a rock layer about 2-4 feet under the surface that is really tough on leading edges.

 

[TMGT]

I am interested in building a similar attachment for my L48 with BT1100 backhoe, and have a few questions about your build. It is obvious to me that your metal fabrication skills and experience are far more advanced than mine. Your finished product looks great.

1. I am planning on laminating my tooth also. I bought 3 pieces of 1/4" plate, but I am having second thoughts about if a total of 3/4" of tooth thickness is appropriate for the power rating of my machine.Since I am just a stupid retired carpenter and not an engineer, I would like to have a better feel for if 4 layers of plate might be warranted or not for my machine. Can you provide power rating details on your machine for me to compare with my L48?

2. As I noted earlier, my skills are not nearly as advanced as yours are, so I would like to absorb some of your experience before I totally screw mine up. Can you describe the general welding processes you used?

I would really like my project to look as professionally fabricated as yours, though I am sure that it will not. I mainly just want it to be stout enough for my needs.

Thank you very much for posting your build,
Doug

My backhoe actually has slightly higher bucket and crowd arm forces then the L48, I assume you are using regular A36 hot rolled plate?
The steel I used for the shank was Hardox 450 which is a bit stronger than A36, so I can't comment first hand on the strength of a ripper made with A36.
It should be fine with A36, but will be slightly weaker and have less abrasive resistance.

For welding, I used a dual sheilded wire, it has a 70ksi strength, an equivalent stick rod would be a 7018.

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[Doug Vee]

Another pic. This ash tree had 3-4 large side roots and massive tape root. This was before the KX 80 was part of the toys to play with so the M59 wrestled with this one for 4 hours. Had to completely undermine this stump before it could be broken free. I could have parked a volkswagon beetle in that hole.

I suggest you add a replaceable tooth to the ripper since some soils are extremely abrasive. My NC property has a rock layer about 2-4 feet under the surface that is really tough on leading edges.

M59, a replaceable tooth is part of the plan.

 

[Doug Vee]

My backhoe actually has slightly higher bucket and crowd arm forces then the L48, I assume you are using regular A36 hot rolled plate?
The steel I used for the shank was Hardox 450 which is a bit stronger than A36, so I can't comment first hand on the strength of a ripper made with A36.
It should be fine with A36, but will be slightly weaker and have less abrasive resistance.

For welding, I used a dual sheilded wire, it has a 70ksi strength, an equivalent stick rod would be a 7018.

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TMGT,

My local supplier had AR400 grade available, so I went with it for the laminated shank. Everything about this project will be a learning experience for me. So any information I can absorb is very much appreciated.

In my research, I have learned that preheating would be adviseable. Especially on the quick connect ear/base plate joints, and the shank/base plate joint. Somewhere in the 200+ degree range. So I am planning on including preheat as part of the process for those joints.

The machines available to me are a Primeweld 180 amp capable MIG/flux core/stick or my old Lincoln AC225 Tombstone. My brother in law has a much more capable MIG machine than either of those two, so it could be available if needed. Though I would prefer to just use my machine at home.

This build will be much more of a hobbyist, DIY project than yours and other's builds, so I appreciate your reply and further input you or others may have.

Many thanks again,

Doug

 

[sd455dan]

Thank you, that means a lot coming from someone of your fab skills!

They really allow a smaller backhoe do bigger work quicker when it comes to stumps, and less ground disturbance.

This is a 28" red oak I just took down, took maybe 1hr to get it down. Root ball had about 2yrds of soil attached to it! Had to use the ripper to knock enough of the dirt off just so I could roll the stump oit of the hole.View attachment 4239590View attachment 4239591View attachment 4239592

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Sounds really familiar. I couldn't lift this one out of the hole because of the rootball dirt either. We had big rains and now it froze. I walked down into the hole today. Right at six feet at the deepest point, now that the rain got rid of much of the root ball dirt Should be able to get it out of the hole. at the cut this was maybe 30 inches diameter.

I really like the ripper you fabbed and definitely going to build one for the 550. I am going to check out what some hardox sells for locally and also AR 400 but sure both will be a shock.

 

[TMGT]

Sounds really familiar. I couldn't lift this one out of the hole because of the rootball dirt either. We had big rains and now it froze. I walked down into the hole today. Right at six feet at the deepest point, now that the rain got rid of much of the root ball dirt Should be able to get it out of the hole. at the cut this was maybe 30 inches diameter.

I really like the ripper you fabbed and definitely going to build one for the 550. I am going to check out what some hardox sells for locally and also AR 400 but sure both will be a shock.

I wish the rain could clear dirt off my rootballs, the clay under that red oak was practically concrete.

Ar400 will probably be easier to find from a metal supplier as there are more manufacturers.
Hardox is a brand name from SSAB, if you have any shops that repair or manufacturer excavation equipment they might have some drops or buy a chunk off a plate.

My buddies shop re-lines/floors trash truck bodies, so I have a bunch of odd shaped (usually skinny, long, and tapered) drop pieces laying around here.
The typical sheet he buys is 8'x20'.

I prefer working with Hardox over AR, Hardox seems more consistent and is less brittle then AR when forming.

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[sd455dan]

We do have a few large heavy equipment repair and metal fab shops plus a metal seller/recycler locally.
Going to keep my eyes and ears open for some drops if possible.

I plan to get the plasma table assembled first and make the ripper one of the early projects.

Beautiful work all the way around on that ripper. Thanks again.