How do I get this boulder out of this hole?

[RobertEH]

 

[bcp]

What would be the approximate weight of an egg-shaped granite boulder about 8 feet long and 6 feet in diameter?
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Google AI Overview

The egg-shaped granite boulder would weigh approximately 26,400 pounds (about 13.2 tons).
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Bruce

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[DarkBlack]

 

[LouNY]

View attachment 4471126

 

[Hay Dude]

View attachment 4467361

Something tells me the OP would have a more difficult time rounding up 18 people equipped with hundreds of feet of rope than calling a local to come dig it out in 2 hours.

 

[BlueKnife]

View attachment 4467361

That's the way to do it. Get down in there, carve that rock into an Easter Island statue, dig the ground out flat to daylight, get a couple dozen people and move that rock!

 

[Redbug]

We have big equipment now. They still argue how the Egyptians did it. But it was a lot of manpower and moving flat faces on rollers and sand. Just need to hire someone with a bigger track-hoe.

 

[Hay Dude]

That's the way to do it. Get down in there, carve that rock into an Easter Island statue, dig the ground out flat to daylight, get a couple dozen people and move that rock!

Let’s have a TBN rally at the OP’s property and maybe we can see who’s got the most “farm boy” strength!
Don’t forget to pack your 100’ rope along with some clean tight-whiteys!

 

[BlueKnife]

We have big equipment now. They still argue how the Egyptians did it. But it was a lot of manpower and moving flat faces on rollers and sand. Just need to hire someone with a bigger track-hoe.

Have to be quite the hoe to get that out of there whole, especially if he wants it to go anywhere else in the yard. He mentioned using it as a "focal piece in landscaping. That rock probably weighs a good 10+ tons. Biggest excavator I've run was a 40 ton machine and it would have struggled with that, even if there was a good way to grab it. It's possible, with the right machines, but it very likely is going to be really expensive. Gonna depend how badly he wants that particular "focal piece".

 

[jjeff]

Imo I think if you do get it out and where you want it, it will become a talking point instead of a focal point.

 

[civilian]

Could 2 excavators work together? One on the side to curl it out, and the other one opposite from it to help push it up and out and to hold while first excavator gets another bite? Just a thought. Jon

 

[BlueKnife]

Could 2 excavators work together? One on the side to curl it out, and the other one opposite from it to help push it up and out and to hold while first excavator gets another bite? Just a thought. Jon

Sure. Recognize though that we're talking about a rock that probably weighs considerably more than the excavator the OP has rented. He'd have to bring in a couple of machines than are 3-4 times the size of the one he has readily available.

 

[bcp]

Dig around it a bit wider, fill the hole with water. Landscape it.

Enjoy your new pond with a boulder island as a focal point.

Bruce

 

[jonsstihl]

split it in half and use half of it as a focal point.

 

[WinterDeere]

split it in half and use half of it as a focal point.

lol...

I'll admit I read page 1 and page 10, skipping the 8 pages in-between. But Shawn's early post about digging a ramp and pushing or dragging that rock up the ramp, would have been my solution.

The Egyptians started using ramps to move big rocks 2000 years before Archemedes ever came along and gave a name to their simple machines. Still works, today!

 

[Happy in NC]

I would think the first order of business would be to actually get it to move just a little to make sure that isn't just the tip of the iceberg.

 

[Too many Kubotas]

The Egyptians started using ramps to move big rocks 2000 years before Archemedes ever came along and gave a name to their simple machines. Still works, today!

Yep, and I don't see any reason to use machinery capable of lifting that rock.

Moving it can be hard enough, but nowhere near as bad as lifting it.

 

[WinterDeere]

I would think the first order of business would be to actually get it to move just a little to make sure that isn't just the tip of the iceberg.

I seem to remember at least one or two The Far Side cartoon panels, to this effect.

 

[sd455dan]

lol...

I'll admit I read page 1 and page 10, skipping the 8 pages in-between. But Shawn's early post about digging a ramp and pushing or dragging that rock up the ramp, would have been my solution.

The Egyptians started using ramps to move big rocks 2000 years before Archemedes ever came along and gave a name to their simple machines. Still works, today!

Ehh maybe we need whatever Edward Leedskalnin figured out to build his tribute to his long lost love.

Rock Gate / Coral Castle.

 

[lman]

Did anybody here watch Pale Rider. They knew how to break rocks back then. I remember my Grandpa used to use a sledgehammer to break rocks that were to big to get on the stone boat.