Got asked to bid a very unusual project

[MossRoad]

I visited Gettysburg. All of you should.
Its a really depressing, but beautiful place.
You can walk in the fields where Picketts Charge took place.
It’ll stir your emotions down to your soul.

Many men died to free the salves there.

Years ago I took my family to DC. We made it a point to stop in Valley Forge and Gettysburg for a day each on the way. The kids found it very interesting. I'd been there many times over my life, and I wanted them to see it in person.

 

[bradm64]

What is the bed of the river, mud , gravel rock?
is work allowed in river bed

This is a really good question. If there is only 3 feet of water at low water and have a gravel bottom, and can work with equipment in River bed, big excavator with bucket and thumb (Cat 336 or 345 size) walk out into water and muck it out.

if bottom is silt or muck, build a pad consisting of of 6 inch diameter limestone (local term is rip rap, not sure what called there). Doesn’t have to be all way to surface - maybe 2 feet thick on river bottom, 1/2 way or a bit more out to pile. Reach out and grab stuff.

A couple considerations for chainsaws.

1). Safety. A pile like that will be unstable and likely to move when u start cutting on it. Logs may be in tension due to being pushed by moving water with snap back when cut possible. Will have to be selective with cut to avoid.

2). Drift wood likely to have lots of sediment embedded and will quickly dull chains. The creek in front of place I used to live had lots of sand, only took a couple of drift logs with sand and chain was dull. If have a crew there to drag stuff out log by log, I’d plan on 2 or 3 saws, with several chains for each. Have a guy there to hand cutter a new saw when gets dull and then he swaps chains. Otherwise may have lots of time of crew waiting around to put on new chain.

 

[CliffordK]

2). Drift wood likely to have lots of sediment embedded and will quickly dull chains.

Recently I encountered a discussion about carbide tipped saw chains. Apparently they cut a little slower than standard steel chains. However they are supposed to last a lot longer when run into dirt.

It might be worth exploring.

 

[dstig1]

Carbide is generally considered to not be able to get as sharp as HSS due to the grains in it, but it is much harder so it maintains that sharpness level much longer, especially in harder or more abrasive materials.

 

[Hay Dude]

This is a really good question. If there is only 3 feet of water at low water and have a gravel bottom, and can work with equipment in River bed, big excavator with bucket and thumb (Cat 336 or 345 size) walk out into water and muck it out.

Not this river. The banks are a 10’+ drop straight into the water. I wouldn’t take my excavator, or in this case, a rented excavator into a rushing river.
That’d be pretty close to suicide, or total loss of the Excavator. I’ve seen calm shallow rivers where people thought they could drive out into in off road vehicles only to be swept away.

if bottom is silt or muck, build a pad consisting of of 6 inch diameter limestone (local term is rip rap, not sure what called there). Doesn’t have to be all way to surface - maybe 2 feet thick on river bottom, 1/2 way or a bit more out to pile. Reach out and grab stuff.

A couple considerations for chainsaws.

1). Safety. A pile like that will be unstable and likely to move when u start cutting on it. Logs may be in tension due to being pushed by moving water with snap back when cut possible. Will have to be selective with cut to avoid.

Yep, we have discussed that issue quite a bit pages ago in the thread. The whole thing or even one large tree cannot be allowed to break free all at once.

2). Drift wood likely to have lots of sediment embedded and will quickly dull chains. The creek in front of place I used to live had lots of sand, only took a couple of drift logs with sand and chain was dull. If have a crew there to drag stuff out log by log, I’d plan on 2 or 3 saws, with several chains for each. Have a guy there to hand cutter a new saw when gets dull and then he swaps chains. Otherwise may have lots of time of crew waiting around to put on new chain.

Definitely always have a few spare chains. Own (2) saws. Helper has 2 as well.
I have been thinking about cleaning up the land locked piers with the excavator first (which is 90% of the job), then get reasonably close to the river with excavator and using the dipper to pull shortened pieces washed up against the pier in the water to shore with ropes.
It’ll work out. Just have to be careful and take it slow.

 

[2manyrocks]

There has to be some group that has done this kind of work based on experience over 100 years since they started putting bridges piers in riverbeds like this. There are guys who do river channel dredging. There are loggers who float timber downstream to the mill. Who are the experts in clearing log jams? It isn't like nobody has ever done this kind of work in the history of mankind.

 

[lilranch2001]

There are soooo many “dam” variables!

 

[4570Man]

There has to be some group that has done this kind of work based on experience over 100 years since they started putting bridges piers in riverbeds like this. There are guys who do river channel dredging. There are loggers who float timber downstream to the mill. Who are the experts in clearing log jams? It isn't like nobody has ever done this kind of work in the history of mankind.

You could buy dynamite at the hardware store for a big part of that timeframe. The same guys that use excavators on barges for dredging could get the job done pretty easily.

 

[Hay Dude]

Thanks for all the replies. Some have been quite interesting.
I think it’s going to be either an 20 ton tracked excavator with a rope pulling the carefully cut debris to the bank after the pieces have been shortened by cutting the leading edges off. That way the pieces are shorter, less likely to cause damage if they get away.

 

[kevin37b]

Have at it Rambo . You will not like it .