No need for a chainsaw

Geo-TH,In · May 23, 2015

It's that time of year to trim back the Asian honeysuckle. I've made some modifications to my brush buster, offset it to the side of front bucket. Sorry for the poor quality of some pics. Hard to hold camera still while tractor is running. And the one is a view through a dirty plexiglass window which is the back view of my brush buster. It's a 33 inch snapper mower deck mounted vertically, powered by a 6.5 briggs and covered with a window screen to keep leafs and sticks away from engine and pulley. You can see the damage it can do to honey suckle. I have miles of trails in the gravel pit to clear. It takes a few days, because I only work a few hours at a time. You would be all scratched up if you even tried using a chain saw, not to mention I cut 10 ft off the ground.

merlynr · May 23, 2015

(quoted from post at 04:10:23 05/23/15) It's that time of year to trim back the Asian honeysuckle. I've made some modifications to my brush buster, offset it to the side of front bucket. Sorry for the poor quality of some pics. Hard to hold camera still while tractor is running. And the one is a view through a dirty plexiglass window which is the back view of my brush buster. It's a 33 inch snapper mower deck mounted vertically, powered by a 6.5 briggs and covered with a window screen to keep leafs and sticks away from engine and pulley. You can see the damage it can do to honey suckle. I have miles of trails in the gravel pit to clear. It takes a few days, because I only work a few hours at a time. You would be all scratched up if you even tried using a chain saw, not to mention I cut 10 ft off the ground.

I've been fighting that invasive bush for a couple of years myself. been cutting it off at the base and treating the stumps with Tordon which kills it or where I can get to it. I pull out the root ball.

Geo-TH,In · May 23, 2015

Gravel pit is about 20 acres. I can very easily pot the roots out with one try with
backhoe. I plan to use the Asian honeysuckle as shade, plant good trees in shade for a
year or two until the saplings get established, then pop out the honeysuckle. I
discovered this method last year and have been successful transplanting walnut, rose of
Sharon, evergreens, Japanese maple, and holly trees. I've never been able to get holly
to take the transplant until I started using honeysuckle.

johnlobb · May 23, 2015

Lets see, Geo, no rototiller, no weedwacker, pretty soon you can move into an apartment..

Geo-TH,In · May 23, 2015

I could, I own an apartment. No plans to move into it. Like my house. Actually I have two houses I live in, at opposite ends of the county. Guess you could say I could sleep around the county.

JML755 · May 26, 2015

Great idea. I've got a stihl power pruner, DR brush mower, brush hog and a lot of brush to keep off the trails. The Brush mower and hog do a good job at ground level and the power pruner is good for the bigger stuff up high, but it's the stuff that arches out from the side of the trails that is tough. I assume you've rotated the gas tank to run vertical. Any other mods for that setup? I've got a backhoe that I could mount an old mower to the bucket. Of course, I imagine you've designed all kinds of guarding to satisfy the safety police, right? :wink:

Geo-TH,In · May 26, 2015

JML,
Actually this is safer than it looks. Just don't get in front or allow anyone to be
around. Many want to watch the business end. I stop and chase them away. This is safer
than a propeller on a single engine airplane. I knew a man who was chopped up by a
prop. No guards there. I can only cut on the left side, mower deck guards are still in
place around the rest of the deck. As for the motor, it a 6.5 hp briggs with a
horizontal shaft. The mower deck is mounted vertically and a A38 belt drives deck. The
spring is set very light on belt tensioner, that way when I get a large branch caught,
nothing breaks, belt slips, $6 belt lasts about 5 years. Like all my projects, all
made from recycled junk. Only spent $6 on the project, the belt.

JMOR · May 26, 2015

Any more pictures of that rig, George? I think all I see in the one is a screen covered engine?

Geo-TH,In · May 26, 2015

Jessie, just for you, the business end. This year I offset it more to the left. Someday I
need to make it offset even more to reach over flower beds the boss put along side the
trails. The way I designed it, only the left side of the deck exposes the blade and all the trash is thrown into what I'm cutting.

JMOR · May 27, 2015

(quoted from post at 19:32:43 05/26/15) Jessie, just for you, the business end. This year I offset it more to the left. Someday I
need to make it offset even more to reach over flower beds the boss put along side the
trails. The way I designed it, only the left side of the deck exposes the blade and all the trash is thrown into what I'm cutting.

hanks. I think I would like one. If I ever get the energy to build something like that. I'd also like to build a stump grinder to work on tractor.

Geo-TH,In · May 27, 2015

I got lucky and found a 33 inch snapper deck and a 30 inch snapper blade. They are
the only thing I would use, very heavy duty. I had a 6.5 hp briggs on a tiller that I
no longer used. The briggs was like new, never used much. I just got done for another
year. Took it off the FIL, put it on a dolly cart I made and wheeled it in the corner
of pole barn. I got very aggressive and cut way back for the flowers along the trails
in gravel pit.

As for stump grinder, I rely on termites. I cut stump very close to ground, then cover
up with dirt, put flowers on top of dirt. In about 12 years after a good rain, you
will no longer have a pile of dirt, it becomes a sink hole, stump is gone or what is
left feels like cork.

JMOR · May 27, 2015

(quoted from post at 17:05:40 05/27/15) I got lucky and found a 33 inch snapper deck and a 30 inch snapper blade. They are
the only thing I would use, very heavy duty. I had a 6.5 hp briggs on a tiller that I
no longer used. The briggs was like new, never used much. I just got done for another
year. Took it off the FIL, put it on a dolly cart I made and wheeled it in the corner
of pole barn. I got very aggressive and cut way back for the flowers along the trails
in gravel pit.

As for stump grinder, I rely on termites. I cut stump very close to ground, then cover
up with dirt, put flowers on top of dirt. In about 12 years after a good rain, you
will no longer have a pile of dirt, it becomes a sink hole, stump is gone or what is
left feels like cork.

like & appreciate your 12 year plan, for many instances, but in other places, I don't like dodging & trying to miss them with hay cutter for 12 years!

Geo-TH,In · May 28, 2015

I used to have my stumps ground out. 30 years later, I'm still adding dirt where the old
stumps once were. So cut them level with the ground. I like flower beds, so I cover them
with dirt and save my money grinding them out. I have no plans to make a grinder either.
If you do, please post your grinder.

No need for a chainsaw

Geo-TH,In

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merlynr

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