Are you equipped for lawn maintenance?

[The Duke]

I'm buying a couple goats next week.

I'm not a fan of goats. Tell you what I know:
If you need to get through to a goat, a stick on the head is better than a fist to the jaw or nose.
Oh! And the behind the ear thing works on them, that'll let 'em know who's boss.
A big Billy Goat will try you, like a yearling bull. They will.
Not something I'd like. You gotta know how to tip your goats to establish the proper pecking order.
Yeah, you should know about that too, if you don't already.
You scoop down and grab both furthest legs and bump with your chest n lay 'em down and roll 'em over.

 

[para bellum]

That looks fun! That's one way to cut PVC. Did ya do it with the machine for the repair?

I'm a hacksaw type, but I've seen it done with plumbing line.

Haha, no I just cut a new piece of pipe with a PVC saw. The inspection ports are independent of the actual drainfield pipe, so they are easy to dig up and fix. Not even glued.

This is what the trimmer did in the blink of an eye, lol.

 

[The Duke]

Haha, no I just cut a new piece of pipe with a PVC saw. The inspection ports are independent of the actual drainfield pipe, so they are easy to dig up and fix. Not even glued.

This is what the trimmer did in the blink of an eye, lol.

View attachment 1018710

I have a sudden strange fascination. That uh..mangling doesn't look very linear, though.
I'm over here wantin' to hotrod mah lawn tractor.
I guarantee I can find a way to increase the throttle.
Oh! Time to roll.

 

[para bellum]

I have a sudden strange fascination. That uh..mangling doesn't look very linear, though.

Definitely not what you would call a clean cut! The line cut through on the left side in the pic, and just busted the hell out of the pipe as it flailed away. It was destroyed before I could even react.

Like I said, the machine is a beast! You don't want to get it close to anything you don't intend to cut!

 

[The Duke]

Definitely not what you would call a clean cut! The line cut through on the left side in the pic, and just busted the hell out of the pipe as it flailed away. It was destroyed before I could even react.

Like I said, the machine is a beast! You don't want to get it close to anything you don't intend to cut!

I kinda like that!
How much are they?

 

[para bellum]

I kinda like that!

I brought in a forestry mulcher last year and cleared a 300' path along the fenceline up to the county road. It's getting pretty overgrown now, so I'll take the trimmer to it this fall. My property is heavily wooded with lots of undergrowth and brush, but this little machine is surprisingly capable for making nature trails and knocking down the undergrowth.

My nephew has the adjacent parcel and he has a little 2000 lb. excavator that I use when I need to do more serious work.

 

[para bellum]

How much are they?

You can pickup a good used one for a couple hundred bucks. This is a good time to buy one, the end of season sales are just getting underway. New ones typically start at $400 and up. Not very expensive for what they give you.

https://www.drpower.com/Power-Equipment/Trimmer-Mowers/Walk-Behind-Trimmer-Mowers/DR-Trimmer-Mower/p/T4X1076DMN?ctm_id=T4X1070DMN&msclkid=a1a92eb0df9015f12d7e4847e3415846&utm_source=bing&utm_medium=cpc&utm_campaign=TRM_PILOT_T4X1076DMN_PMAX&utm_term=2333094954883742&utm_content=T4X1076DMN

 

[The Duke]

I brought in a forestry mulcher last year and cleared a 300' path along the fenceline up to the county road. It's getting pretty overgrown now, so I'll take the trimmer to it this fall. My property is heavily wooded with lots of undergrowth and brush, but this little machine is surprisingly capable for making nature trails and knocking down the undergrowth.

My nephew has the adjacent parcel and he has a little 2000 lb. excavator that I use when I need to do more serious work.

"forestry mulcher" sounds like what I did with 2 chainsaws, 2 weedeaters, and a stump grinder
down the side of 52 acres to make a horse path. It was all scrub oaks and berry vines.
Idk how long it was, reckon around over 1/4 mile.
MMm,,..excavator.
An excavator could do all that, easy, if one knew what they were doing.
I like that excavator stuff. They can do quite a bit.

 

[Concerned American]

I brought in a forestry mulcher last year and cleared a 300' path along the fenceline up to the county road.

I'm considering bringing in a masticator to do about half of my property. The neighbor did it a couple of years ago and from a fire prevention stand point, it looks like a great idea. I have been doing it with a Stihl weed eater with metal blades. They work well, but it is a lot of work.

 

[The Duke]

I'm considering bringing in a masticator to do about half of my property. The neighbor did it a couple of years ago and from a fire prevention stand point, it looks like a great idea. I have been doing it with a Stihl weed eater with metal blades. They work well, but it is a lot of work.

That thing ol' boy has is lookin' pretty good.
Better than a Stihl brush cutter, even.

 

[para bellum]

"forestry mulcher" sounds like what I did with 2 chainsaws, 2 weedeaters, and a stump grinder
down the side of 52 acres to make a horse path. It was all scrub oaks and berry vines.
Idk how long it was, reckon around over 1/4 mile.
MMm,,..excavator.
An excavator could do all that, easy, if one knew what they were doing.
I like that excavator stuff. They can do quite a bit.

I'm a big believer in "the right machine for the job".

This is the forestry mulcher. It's a big-ass spinning drum with cutting teeth that mounts on a skid-steer. This thing turns the forest into chips, it's absolutely the coolest machine ever. Here he shreds a small alder tree...

 

[Concerned American]

That thing ol' boy has is lookin' pretty good.
Better than a Stihl brush cutter, even.

I've got some pretty stout underbrush and it just laughs at any line cutter that I've used. I have gone to a Gator Brush Cutter head that has three metal blades and I go through a set of blades after about a week of brush cutting.

 

[para bellum]

MMm,,..excavator.
An excavator could do all that, easy, if one knew what they were doing.
I like that excavator stuff. They can do quite a bit.

A real-deal mini excavator is 50K and up, and as much as I hate to enable the Chinese, these little 2000 lb machines are amazing workhorses. Powered by a Briggs and Stratton, if you blow up the engine a replacement at horrible freight is $350 and can be swapped out in a couple hours.

You can pick up one of these new at auction for about $3K and they are bringing in a lot of attachments for them too. Skeleton buckets, etc. This is in reach of a homeowner's budget and it's great for light clearing and trenching, and light grading work. It's also very maneuverable and you can get into some tight places that you wouldn't normally be able to go.

I'm no pro, but it only took a few hours in the seat to get the hang of it, I'm pretty comfortable on it now.

 

[The Duke]

I've got some pretty stout underbrush and it just laughs at any line cutter that I've used. I have gone to a Gator Brush Cutter head that has three metal blades and I go through a set of blades after about a week of brush cutting.

That Gator stuff is

Thick line and something to spin it is good.

Can't remember the name of the good head now, but I've had 3.

The 4-way one was the best. .105 on that and it'll cut some stuff. I use a Echo, but whatever.

 

[para bellum]

I've got some pretty stout underbrush and it just laughs at any line cutter that I've used. I have gone to a Gator Brush Cutter head that has three metal blades and I go through a set of blades after about a week of brush cutting.

You can get 7 and 8 inch beaver blades for hand-held trimmers and a 12" for wheeled trimmers to take down up to about 3".

The Dewalt 18v cordless pole saw is another good small tool that punches above it's weight class. I've done a lot of cutting with one of those bad boys too. A few small trees, and a lot of big roots in my utility trenches, the Dewalt never let me down...

 

[Larsky]

"forestry mulcher" sounds like what I did with 2 chainsaws, 2 weedeaters, and a stump grinder
down the side of 52 acres to make a horse path. It was all scrub oaks and berry vines.
Idk how long it was, reckon around over 1/4 mile.
MMm,,..excavator.
An excavator could do all that, easy, if one knew what they were doing.
I like that excavator stuff. They can do quite a bit.

The proper term is "bendy diggy thing"

 

[The Duke]

You can get 7 and 8 inch beaver blades for hand-held trimmers and a 12" for wheeled trimmers to take down up to about 3".

The Dewalt 18v cordless pole saw is another good small tool that punches above it's weight class. I've done a lot of cutting with one of those bad boys too. A few small trees, and a lot of big roots in my utility trenches, the Dewalt never let me down...

View attachment 1018766

I like the line idea better. Line can whip that stuff into pulp.
I got chainsaws.

 

[The Duke]

The proper term is "bendy diggy thing"

Unless you're working for a guy that runs one, and that's not what it says on his card.

 

[para bellum]

I like the line idea better. Line can whip that stuff into pulp.
I got chainsaws.

I've got a tree to take down this weekend that is a chainsaw job but I will use the excavator to carry it over to the pile.

I have a few stumps that have sprung a whole bunch of new starts that are too big to cut with line and too small and springy for a chainsaw. I use the pole saw to reach in and get to those, or just a lopper. (I really need to just dig out the stumps...)

 

[The Duke]

I'm a big believer in "the right machine for the job".

This is the forestry mulcher. It's a big-ass spinning drum with cutting teeth that mounts on a skid-steer. This thing turns the forest into chips, it's absolutely the coolest machine ever. Here he shreds a small alder tree...
View attachment 1018749View attachment 1018750

Dude! That's the modern answer to a firecut machine!

Oh yeah, them things are serious serious bidness!

How much are those again? You can blaze through some stuff with those things.