How do I get this boulder out of this hole?

[WinterDeere]

Did anybody here watch Pale Rider.

"A little ice, and that'll take care of it." I imagine they're going to have a little trouble finding ice in an 1870's California mining village.

I'd bet ice was such an uncommon luxury at that time, that most probably wouldn't even know it was useful for such injuries.

That said, I always loved that movie. Historic accuracy is less fun.

 

[Hay Dude]

That dude shouldn’t have messed with The Preacher.

 

[DarkBlack]

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.

That’s the point I made, way back at post #29

 

[DarkBlack]

Hey, I think I’ve got it!
Simply float out the boulder by filling the hole with mercury.
Problem solved

 

[dodge man]

A stone boat? Is that like a concrete canoe?

 

[WinterDeere]

Hey, I think I’ve got it!
Simply float out the boulder by filling the hole with mercury.
Problem solved

That'll work! But Sodium Polytungstate would get the same job done much cheaper. Sandstone is under 3000 kg/m3.

 

[m7040]

Did not read all but would add that years ago I moved a 10K plus pounds rock with the tractor by digging a ramp with the loader and pushing it up the ramp. Had to do it on two sides to be able to get access to push it with the tractor. Easy to do but takes a little time

 

[future_vision]

How about a few pictures with an actual tape measure across in different orientations.

Without more reference than a track tread having a hard time believing AI estimates.

This is obviously smaller but I pushed it onto the 10K trailer with the 55 HP Rhino, transported and then carried it with the Ford 550 with it's 80 inch bucket. Grapple is fully open at 49"

I'll need to climb in there at some point and measure. AI used the oak leaves floating in the water to estimate the size. Looking at your picture i would say your boulder is probably 1/5th 1/6th the size of this one.

 

[lman]

A stone boat? Is that like a concrete canoe?

If you were an old farmer you'd know it's a bunch of native oak planks fastened together and then drug behind a tractor or horses so you can roll the stones up on to it. That was before hydraulics.

 

[future_vision]

Good video. This guy has a couple things going for him. First, his boulder is smaller. Hard to tell by how much but judging by the difficulty I had moving another large boulder I would say that his might be 3/4 or half the size of the one I am trying to move. Second, he's got leverage on his side with being on pavement and level with the boulder. I didn't have that mechanical advantage. Maybe if I dug a long shallow ramp I could have gotten in a decent position but still think it might have been tough to get it out or even move,

 

[future_vision]

A few years ago I wanted to transplant a cherry tree (a bit different from a bolder, but...)...

Anyway, once I had the hole dug to the depth I wanted, I put a choker cable around the tree, and winched it under. That cut any tap roots, and gave me more less a free rootball to work with.

Ok, so a tree and a bolder are different, but you could use a similar concept of pulling a choker under the bolder. One of two things happens. Either it pulls through, or you have a choker cable permanently left behind in your hole for the next century till it rots away.

Anyway, that may help you get your bolder wiggling, moving, rolling.

When you're pulling on on the boulder with your 12K winch, run it through a single/double/triple/quadruple pulley. Whatever you can find. Ultimately you can multiply your pulling force by several times. Of course you still have to anchor it to something. Like attach it to your house and either the boulder moves, or your house moves.

Be careful of weak links in your system, stand back, and stay safe. 4 times 12K pulling power gives you 48K pulling power... make sure everything can handle that.

Based on an estimated weight of 40-50K lbs the system I would end up with, using parts readily available on Amazon or local stores, would be a 5:1 pulley system(5 snatch blocks, 18 ton WWL), 100ft of 32K rated winch line, 2 25 ton WWL D ring shackles, 2 20ft lengths of 80 or 100 grade chain, and I will need something to attach to a deadman anchor or two. Now that the excavator is gone i am looking at either attaching the 12k winch to the tractor and attaching the tractor to a second deadman or I will use a 5 ton come along attached to the second deadman. I don't think the winch is rated for continuous use so I'll probably not use that.

 

[future_vision]

Build a sled for it, sleds slide much easier. Tip it back, tip it forward. Do like Archimedes.

A sled from what?

 

[future_vision]

Quote was around $1700 for a one day rental. That is a bit steep and more than double buying all the pulleys, ropes etc and using machinery i already have. Plus I will own all the equipment when I am done for the next insane boulder i decide to pull out of the ground. Lol! That or resell the stuff.

 

[future_vision]

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".

Probably need a 30-40 ton machine from what i am told. Looking at $1700/day to rent.

 

[future_vision]

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.

It starts curing under if you look at the picture. The change in color at the bottom is the dirt that is still stuck. I couldn't quite get the bucket under to knock it off. Of course mother nature had to go ahead and start raining in drought-ridden NH making climbing in there all the more difficult and dangerous.

 

[fatjay]

A sled from what?

I had to move a small house once, and I created a sled from steel 4" pipes in the shape of a runner sled, but there were 6 runners to distribute the weight.

 

[civilian]

A sled could be a car hood. Jon

 

[sd455dan]

I'll need to climb in there at some point and measure. AI used the oak leaves floating in the water to estimate the size. Looking at your picture i would say your boulder is probably 1/5th 1/6th the size of this one.

A sled could be a car hood. Jon

Well if it is that large, imo time for "heavier" equipment engagement as LouNY said in post #2 post 114 sounds like a way to get er done

 

[SPYDERLK]

Based on an estimated weight of 40-50K lbs the system I would end up with, using parts readily available on Amazon or local stores, would be a 5:1 pulley system(5 snatch blocks, 18 ton WWL), 100ft of 32K rated winch line, 2 25 ton WWL D ring shackles, 2 20ft lengths of 80 or 100 grade chain, and I will need something to attach to a deadman anchor or two. Now that the excavator is gone i am looking at either attaching the 12k winch to the tractor and attaching the tractor to a second deadman or I will use a 5 ton come along attached to the second deadman. I don't think the winch is rated for continuous use so I'll probably not use that.

Are you planning on digging a ramp with your Kioti?

 

[CliffordK]

Any neighbors have some heavy equipment in their barns?

If you were just a little closer, it might be fun to try to snag it out of the hole with my skid steer.