jimgerken
Veteran Member
jd4100 vs. 14\" diameter Spruce trees
I had three Spruce trees which were in the wrong place and had to be removed to make room for a shed this Spring. From transplanting small ones, I had assumed that the root structure of these larger (14" diameter trunk just above the ground level) trees remained shallow and sprawling. So I used the 4100 and 48" boxblade to remove soil and roots from two sides of each tree, down a depth of a foot. Sure enough, there were virtually no roots below three feet down, and nothing bigger than 2 inch diameter deeper than 1 foot down. the biggest root I cut thru with the boxblade was 6 inch diameter, using the method described below. Then I pulled them over with a cable and 4000 lbs come-along. The cable was attached 10 feet high on the Spruce, and run 100 feet to the come-along at the base of a large maple, protected by a rubber floor mat. Another thing that helped was the addition of water to the soil, using a root feeder. I learned a new trick with the box blade too. Using the top cylinder, I would angle the box forward completely, so the scarifiers would plummet into the soil, soon catching on a root of over three inches diameter and stopping the forward motion of the tractor. At that point I begin tilting the box blade all the way to the back angle using the top cylinder. This resulted in a prying action which is very powerful. The rear edge of the BB digs in, the scarifiers are under the root, the BB is tilting with a 3' cylinder, and the root must be pulled upward or snapped though. It works great and is less abusive than jerking thru the roots attempting to cut them, or even cut thru the top half with the tractor momentum.
After the trees are pulled over, i cut off all the branches and top them leaving about 10 feet of trunk attached to the stump. Then I start pushing the trunk around in a circle, using the stump as the center. This snaps all remaining roots. Then I cut the stump off the trunk, cut the trunk into 6 foor pcs, grapple all the stuff up and move it. The stump itself gets lifted and dropped five or six times, that knocks off all the dirt. Ready for another big bonfire! My tines and grapple are paid for now, after six trees cleanup this Spring.
I had three Spruce trees which were in the wrong place and had to be removed to make room for a shed this Spring. From transplanting small ones, I had assumed that the root structure of these larger (14" diameter trunk just above the ground level) trees remained shallow and sprawling. So I used the 4100 and 48" boxblade to remove soil and roots from two sides of each tree, down a depth of a foot. Sure enough, there were virtually no roots below three feet down, and nothing bigger than 2 inch diameter deeper than 1 foot down. the biggest root I cut thru with the boxblade was 6 inch diameter, using the method described below. Then I pulled them over with a cable and 4000 lbs come-along. The cable was attached 10 feet high on the Spruce, and run 100 feet to the come-along at the base of a large maple, protected by a rubber floor mat. Another thing that helped was the addition of water to the soil, using a root feeder. I learned a new trick with the box blade too. Using the top cylinder, I would angle the box forward completely, so the scarifiers would plummet into the soil, soon catching on a root of over three inches diameter and stopping the forward motion of the tractor. At that point I begin tilting the box blade all the way to the back angle using the top cylinder. This resulted in a prying action which is very powerful. The rear edge of the BB digs in, the scarifiers are under the root, the BB is tilting with a 3' cylinder, and the root must be pulled upward or snapped though. It works great and is less abusive than jerking thru the roots attempting to cut them, or even cut thru the top half with the tractor momentum.
After the trees are pulled over, i cut off all the branches and top them leaving about 10 feet of trunk attached to the stump. Then I start pushing the trunk around in a circle, using the stump as the center. This snaps all remaining roots. Then I cut the stump off the trunk, cut the trunk into 6 foor pcs, grapple all the stuff up and move it. The stump itself gets lifted and dropped five or six times, that knocks off all the dirt. Ready for another big bonfire! My tines and grapple are paid for now, after six trees cleanup this Spring.
