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Need advice on small clearing job - loggers/foresters chime in?

Started by Engineer, December 07, 2013, 08:16:33 PM

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Engineer

Hi all,

It's been a while since I've been on the site, but I am edging closer to going back to what I love - sawing and milling.  In order to pursue that I have a sale contract on a piece of land I own that will require me to clear and grub about 3 acres of small diameter white pine.  It's not too flat and it's all sand and gravel underneath.  The trees need to be cut and the stumps removed.  I am looking for advice on the best way to do this and I have a lot of different ideas I'm mulling over.  Ultimately everything including the branches to the roots has to be gone and I don't even care if I get any "value" out of the trees.  I've gotten advice ranging from "take two weeks off from work and cut them yourself" to "hire a guy with a 6x6 harvester and a tub grinder"  Obviously #2 is going to be expensive but so will losing two weeks of pay.  The biggest problem for me will be disposing of the stumps.  I could burn them but three acres of pine stumps is a big honkin' pile, and I can't bury them.  I have a friend who can do the actual grubbing and move stuff around with his excavator.  e.  Pulp market is non-existent, the guys who have shaving or chip mills don't want the stuff, there might be a couple thousand feet of decent sawlogs and maybe 10-12 cords of mixed small hardwood for firewood that I'd keep but most of it is junk. 

I really don't know what to do and would appreciate some advice.  Thanks.

Southside

What is the land going to be used for after? Anybody have a forestry mulcher in the area you could hire to deal with the stumps?  It would be a lot less soil disturbance than grubbing the stumps out and if you are making pasture / field the organic matter would remain in the soil and not totally disturb the soil structure. 
Franklin buncher and skidder
JD Processor
Woodmizer LT Super 70 and LT35 sawmill, KD250 kiln, BMS 250 sharpener and setter
Riehl Edger
Woodmaster 725 and 4000 planner and moulder
Enough cows to ensure there is no spare time.
White Oak Meadows

clww

Welcome back to the Forum. :)
My newest job is doing land clearing like this six days a week. Normally, we push the trees over with an excavator and saw off the root balls. We cut the trunks and larger limbs into 16-18 foot lengths, depending if they will be saw logs (oak and pine), or pulp. Once the trees are removed, we either haul out what is left to where they are ground for mulch, or hire a grinder to bring in his machine. He is paid between $1,800 to $2,200 per acre. He hauls all the debris (un-treated mulch) away, and loads the machine with his own equipment.
Many Stihl Saws-16"-60"
"Go Ask The Other Master Chief"
18-Wheeler Driver

Engineer

Southside - the land is going to have 20,000 CY of sand and gravel removed from underneath the trees, and regraded into a commercial site with building and parking areas.  So, no organics and I have to remove the topsoil and screen it for re-use.  Would a big mulcher be able to get the stumps into small enough pieces that they could be integrated into the topsoil and screened out?  There's not a lot of organics on this property - maybe 3-4" of topsoil over sand.  Lots of little rocks.

I've pitched this part of the project to a couple of larger clearing operators who have all the right equipment to do the job quickly and cleanly and I was told by one that it's too small a job for them, and never heard back from the other.  I think it's still a week's work of work, even with a harvester or feller-buncher, and skidder, and a big horizontal hog or tub grinder and chip trailers.  I got told by a logger, who had done some work for me in the past, he'd pull all the trees with a big excavator, pile them up and burn them all.  If that's the case, I'll pile them all in my yard at home (6 miles away) and use them for firewood.  I am trying to minimize the waste from the job.  I'd rather not burn anything on site if I can help it.

beenthere

QuoteSo, no organics and I have to remove the topsoil and screen it for re-use.

Then, as this seems to be the bottom line, my suggestion would be push over the trees, grub them out with root ball attached, load them up and haul them to another site for breakdown into firewood, burnable material, and chip wood.
Workable ??  Doable ??  With the right equipment I'd say yes.
south central Wisconsin
It may be that my sole purpose in life is simply to serve as a warning to others

Southside

I would agree with Been, that would produce the cleanest result with the least amount of work.  I don't think a mulcher would do the job you are looking for as there would be a lot of material to screen out of the top soil, not to mention the roots that would have to be screened out as well.  Mulchers are great when you are looking to minimize soil disturbance, obviously not a concern here. 
Franklin buncher and skidder
JD Processor
Woodmizer LT Super 70 and LT35 sawmill, KD250 kiln, BMS 250 sharpener and setter
Riehl Edger
Woodmaster 725 and 4000 planner and moulder
Enough cows to ensure there is no spare time.
White Oak Meadows

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