Grappling fun - A Picture Thread....

[RSR]

This is my entry in the "Big-Rock Show". It is evident that grapples can work well at plucking them out.

View attachment 659969

gg

Hey - someone else with a Frostbite style grapple. We seem to be in the minority here.

 

[IslandTractor]

:thumbsup: IT! My hole would have been three times that trying to get that one dislodged and then I would have realized that I ain't lifting with my BH and thumb. How much do you gather it weighs?

I measured it and calculated the weight a few years ago. I don't recall exactly but it was granite and total weight was something between 2500 and 2700lbs as I recall. I was able to pull it out of the ground with a steady lift but couldn't raise it much higher than you see in the photo.

 

[Gordon Gould]

Hey - someone else with a Frostbite style grapple. We seem to be in the minority here.

We do but I don't know why. They are not for everybody but are great grapples. Strong, light weight, and don't break the bank. They excel in handling trees, logs, and large rocks. They are decent on brush also.

gg

 

[Jstpssng]

Try this one with a DK40se and a $500 Millonzi grapple: View attachment 659944View attachment 659943View attachment 659942

Too bad that they don't make those Millonzi's anymore... apparently he died and nobody picked up the torch.

 

[IslandTractor]

Too bad that they don't make those Millonzi's anymore... apparently he died and nobody picked up the torch.

Exactly what happened. His grapple was basic but plenty strong and pretty light. WAY less expensive than some of the grapples coming out of North Carolina and heavily promoted here on TBN. A basic grapple is a very simple fabrication job and the design is well known. No reason they have to cost well over a grand.

 

[4570Man]

Here’s a log I moved today. The chunk was too big to grip it laying sideways.

 

[Jstpssng]

Exactly what happened. His grapple was basic but plenty strong and pretty light. WAY less expensive than some of the grapples coming out of North Carolina and heavily promoted here on TBN. A basic grapple is a very simple fabrication job and the design is well known. No reason they have to cost well over a grand.

I paid $945 for my MTL... all that I need now is one hydraulic fitting for the remote and I can join the fun. :thumbsup: In hindsight I probably could have gone for the smaller unit, saving $50 and about as many pounds.

 

[aeblank]

smaller unit,

Nobody wants that!

 

[Jstpssng]

Nobody wants that!

OUCH!!!!

 

[lostcreekranch]

No .. your grapple cannot be too big .. and you can't have .. too many of them.




Took out four dead trees.

 

[Myz28u]

Moving some stumps that I dug up early in the year.

 

[IslandTractor]

Nobody wants that!

It’s not the size of the army but the fury of the attack that matters most!

 

[Jstpssng]

I finally picked up a 54 MTL this week so I can join the fun. If my loader is akin to having a thumb on my hand, the grapple has to be like a pair of vise grips. :thumbsup: About 10 or 11 years ago I had a 2 acre field reclaimed, and the stumps piled down so that I could reclaim the topsoil later. I finally attacked my first pile today expecting to find a lot of rotten wood; instead I found that they’ve pretty much rotted down and I have some pretty nice looking loam.
There’s got to be some N2 in that soil from all of those stumps.

First though I had to remove the pin cherry and other shrubs growing out of the top of the pile.
It took about 15 minutes to pull them and bring them down to the stump dump. Before I attack the other 10 piles though I will go through and cut the trees... on a day when it isn稚 90+ degrees.

 

[Xfaxman]

-------------------------------------------
First though I had to remove the pin cherry and other shrubs growing out of the top of the pile.
It took about 15 minutes to pull them and bring them down to the stump dump. Before I attack the other 10 piles though I will go through and cut the trees... on a day when it isn稚 90+ degrees.

Instead of cutting, can you push them over and pull them out with the grapple?

 

[Doofy]

I finally picked up a 54 MTL this week so I can join the fun. If my loader is akin to having a thumb on my hand, the grapple has to be like a pair of vise grips. :thumbsup: About 10 or 11 years ago I had a 2 acre field reclaimed, and the stumps piled down so that I could reclaim the topsoil later. I finally attacked my first pile today expecting to find a lot of rotten wood; instead I found that they’ve pretty much rotted down and I have some pretty nice looking loam.View attachment 660361View attachment 660360
There’s got to be some N2 in that soil from all of those stumps.

First though I had to remove the pin cherry and other shrubs growing out of the top of the pile.View attachment 660359
It took about 15 minutes to pull them and bring them down to the stump dump. Before I attack the other 10 piles though I will go through and cut the trees... on a day when it isn稚 90+ degrees.

It must be nice to have those berm piles decompose like that. My piles have been pushed up for over 50 years and most of those old trees and stumps are still fairly solid. Must just be because the soils never really warm up to decompose the organics.

 

[Jstpssng]

I'm sure that tree species has something to do with it. Also, the field had only grown in over the past 30 years and I"d cut a lot of the trees in previous years so they were already starting to break down; most of the live stumps were smaller than 6 inches in diameter.

The best part was that I got it all done for free, because I allowed somebody who was cutting wood on the adjacent property to bring it out onto my land. He also cleared it first, and built a 600 foot long road from gravel screenings which I am currently reclaiming.

Instead of cutting, can you push them over and pull them out with the grapple?

I did that with the first pile, but it made quite a mess. It's a lot easier to have them piled together, then I can pull the stumps later.

 

[IslandTractor]

Instead of cutting, can you push them over and pull them out with the grapple?

That's what I did. Not only for small trees that could be easily uprooted just by sticking the grapple underneath the roots and curling, but also for bigger trees that required use of a backhoe mounted ripper to cut roots before pushing the tree over. No chainsaw. Almost no disturbance of the soil compared to digging out stumps.

 

[Jstpssng]

I'm digging them off the top of an existing stump pile. Operator inexperience also may come into play also, though.

 

[Gordon Gould]

I finally picked up a 54 MTL this week so I can join the fun. If my loader is akin to having a thumb on my hand, the grapple has to be like a pair of vise grips. :thumbsup: About 10 or 11 years ago I had a 2 acre field reclaimed, and the stumps piled down so that I could reclaim the topsoil later. I finally attacked my first pile today expecting to find a lot of rotten wood; instead I found that they’ve pretty much rotted down and I have some pretty nice looking loam.View attachment 660361View attachment 660360
There’s got to be some N2 in that soil from all of those stumps.

First though I had to remove the pin cherry and other shrubs growing out of the top of the pile.View attachment 660359
It took about 15 minutes to pull them and bring them down to the stump dump. Before I attack the other 10 piles though I will go through and cut the trees... on a day when it isn稚 90+ degrees.

Congrats on your new grapple :thumbsup: It will change your life and how you work around your place.

gg

 

[WoodChuckDad]

You guys are killing it with those grapples. That ripper looks pretty ominous.