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Mini Excavator Choice

Started by YellowHammer, September 07, 2022, 08:24:21 AM

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Southside

The combine has a seat like that - makes all the difference in the world. 
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

Walnut Beast

That's Awesome! You should really like that! Glad you were able to get that done. Keep us posted on it. I wouldn't be surprised if that gets offered down the road. And your the guy that started the request 👍

DDW_OR

Yellowhammer, i think your Ex is 11,000 pound
i have an 8,000 pound Bobcat 331
and a 18,000 pound Bobcat E80.
my fence line is a mix of
35% flat and level
40% gentle slopes
and 25% of o-hell-no slopes
and thick forest that all need a thinning
"let the machines do the work"

DDW_OR

so to re-cap your Excavator journey
stump removal = small bucket with sharp edge and sharp snake teeth
mulcher Solaris
anything else??


in the future make the fence line clearing wider for a fire break
"let the machines do the work"

Southside

I think he needs drainage ditches more than a fire break about now.
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

YellowHammer

I've widened them out a since the pictures.

Let's see.. the big takeaways...
The KX 57-5, is a 13,000 machine with blade and cab and is as comfortable as my Chevy or Ford truck, and along with the air ride seat, makes time fly.

I installed inclinometers on both pitch and yaw axis to measure the angles of the cab, like in my CTL.

The power to weight is very high and for most of the time, half to 3/4 throttle is more than enough root or digging power.  Sometimes it doesn't hurt to go wide open, though.

The 1 foot bucket with snake teeth is just plain vicious, it just shreds roots.  It doesn't do a lot of earth moving so is slow there, when it's needed for filling in holes while,removing stumps.

The 2 foot bucket is sweet also, a little harder to get through roots, buy can carry more dirt.  

The sides of the bucket need to be sharpened, so they will scissors roots and limbs.

The Solaris mulcher is light enough to do full side extends and not get tippy.

The blades will take a few rock hits.

It's Solaris a beast for its size, and by grinding into the side of the tree, can take town 12 inchers.  

YellowHammerisms:

Take steps to save steps.

If it won't roll, its not a log; it's still a tree.  Sawmills cut logs, not trees.

Kiln drying wood: When the cookies are burned, they're burned, and you can't fix them.

Sawing is fun for the first couple million boards.

Be smarter than the sawdust

DDW_OR

Good to know. it is always good to get first-hand-knowledge from someone you trust.

in 2024 or 2025 i will be using the Arbro 400 stroke harvester. as of now i have only used it for less than 2 hours

any key features to look for when getting the inclinometers
"let the machines do the work"

YellowHammer

The inclinometers are very simple BB in an arc of transparent material in mineral oil type of thing, like used on boats and ships.  They simply have an adhesive strip that permanently sticks to metal or glass and shows the angle.  They are very handy to have, no more guessing and are very accurate.  I checked them against my inclinometer app on my Iphone and they matched up.





 
YellowHammerisms:

Take steps to save steps.

If it won't roll, its not a log; it's still a tree.  Sawmills cut logs, not trees.

Kiln drying wood: When the cookies are burned, they're burned, and you can't fix them.

Sawing is fun for the first couple million boards.

Be smarter than the sawdust

aigheadish

What is the purpose of the inclinometer? I understand what they are but why do you use it? 

My built in inclinometer puckers up a bit when I get into sketchy spots on the backhoe or tractor...
New Holland LB75b, Husqvarna 455 Rancher, Husqvarna GTH52XLS, Hammerhead 250, Honda VTX1300 for now and probably for sale (let me know if you are interested!)

DDW_OR

Guess what 

We are NOT moving to Oregon 

Dad did some thinking last night 

In Montana
All vehicles and trailers have permanent plates
Insurance is much cheaper 
And we have 5 large lakes within 30 miles of the house 

And it will cost more to get the Oregon property up and running 
Fencing alone till be about $50,000

Montana on the other hand will be way under that
"let the machines do the work"

bigblockyeti

Sounds like you're having one heck of an internal conflict on what makes the most sense.  Postage stamp lots do have their benefits, I can take my wife to Italy for a couple weeks and the neighbors keep an eye on the house, $50 to have the grass cut once if it's growing.  I have a few acres up the road if I need to escape into the woods but it's less than 1/2 hour away, nothing like driving between MT and OR.  SC trailers under 2500lbs cost nothing, over and it's $20 if you're looking for inexpensive.

YellowHammer

I use the inclinometers in both machines for several reasons, one is is to keep my rear end calibrated when things get dicey, and the other is for an in the seat transit when cutting in slopes, pads and ditches.  For example, my CTL has an angle of departure of 37° and I've exceeded that once and it was not fun.  However, I have lots of slopes and hit 30+° pretty often.  Also, when side sloping and moving dirt, the inclinometer lets me keep a constant angle, for example form the top of our dam to the bottom toe when I putting in fill and shaping the slope.  For a ditch, the best slope is 2% to maybe 4% at most, or the ditch will flow too slow and stagnate, or too fast and erode.  The inclinometer lets me shape the slope or ditch and constantly check grade while making it.  Over long runs, it's pretty easy for me to miss eyeball a perfect 2% slope to a not good 0% slope to an even worse -2% slope.  Such small changes are very difficult for me to eyeball but easy to shape with the inclinometer.  

Same thing with the mini ex, I can set my roads to slope sideways with 2% so the water will always sheet off the off side instead of a slight negative slope which causes the uphill side of the road to ditch erode.  I've done them before like that and it's always bad a year later, and I have to re slope the road or cut.

Here's what they look like mounted.  Surprisingly effective.



  

   
YellowHammerisms:

Take steps to save steps.

If it won't roll, its not a log; it's still a tree.  Sawmills cut logs, not trees.

Kiln drying wood: When the cookies are burned, they're burned, and you can't fix them.

Sawing is fun for the first couple million boards.

Be smarter than the sawdust

GRANITEstateMP

We've got one in our road grader for the town like that. The newer machines have fancy displays, ours is just old enough for the old bubble. It is a whole lot more precise than me running the machine!  I'm getting there, maybe in another 5 or 10 years I'll consider myself "good" in it
Hakki Pilke 1x37
Kubota M6040
Load Trail 12ft Dump Trailer
2015 GMC 3500HD SRW
2016 Polaris 450HO
2016 Polaris 570
SureTrac 12ft Dump Trailer

YellowHammer

Sometimes it's just the little things that make the difference.  
YellowHammerisms:

Take steps to save steps.

If it won't roll, its not a log; it's still a tree.  Sawmills cut logs, not trees.

Kiln drying wood: When the cookies are burned, they're burned, and you can't fix them.

Sawing is fun for the first couple million boards.

Be smarter than the sawdust

aigheadish

Nice explanation YH, thanks.
New Holland LB75b, Husqvarna 455 Rancher, Husqvarna GTH52XLS, Hammerhead 250, Honda VTX1300 for now and probably for sale (let me know if you are interested!)

YellowHammer

I know this thread has been gone a little while, and all I can say is I really, really like the Kubota. I'm getting much better with it, and took a video of me mulching and mowing the dam a week or two ago.  Remember, this dam has a 37° back slope, and even my track loader slides down it.  I've never been able to mow it in one process or it's entirely, in 21 years.  Everything I've tried has failed at some point, whether it be weedeaters, brush cutters, bushhogs, skid steers, and even controlled burns, but now I can mow it all from water line to base of the dam with the mini and Torret mulcher while listening to the radio.  

https://youtu.be/eVMaKtwRroI?feature=shared
YellowHammerisms:

Take steps to save steps.

If it won't roll, its not a log; it's still a tree.  Sawmills cut logs, not trees.

Kiln drying wood: When the cookies are burned, they're burned, and you can't fix them.

Sawing is fun for the first couple million boards.

Be smarter than the sawdust

barbender

Pretty cool, YH! Can I come over to play at your house sometime?
Too many irons in the fire

customsawyer

That is one fancy weed eater. ;D
Two LT70s, Nyle L200 kiln, 4 head Pinheiro planer, 30" double surface Cantek planer, Lucas dedicated slabber, Slabmizer, and enough rolling stock and chainsaws to keep it all running.
www.thecustomsawyer.com

thecfarm

Model 6020-20hp Manual Thomas bandsaw,TC40A 4wd 40 hp New Holland tractor, 450 Norse Winch, Heatmor 400 OWB,YCC 1978-79

Magicman

To say that mulcher is impressive would be a serious understatement.  :o

I have the same challenge with the pond, etc. at the Cabin/farm. 
Knothole Sawmill, LLC     '98 Wood-Mizer LT40SuperHydraulic   WM Million BF Club Member   WM Pro Sawyer Network

It's Weird being the Same Age as Old People

Never allow your "need" to make money to exceed your "desire" to provide quality service.....The Magicman

YellowHammer

Barbender, heck yeah, sure, anyone who wants to run it come and hop on, the only thing better than running a mulcher is someone else running it and watching the smile on their face as they vaporize things.

I have a new video coming out shortly where I grind about 3/8 mile of fence line small trees and saplings, some from up to 20 foot tall feet down to the top of the fence.  Kind of like trimming a real long, thick, overgrown hedge.  I figured it would take a couple days and got it done in one afternoon, starting after lunch.

These things are like driving real life Tonka Toys, it's just fun.  
YellowHammerisms:

Take steps to save steps.

If it won't roll, its not a log; it's still a tree.  Sawmills cut logs, not trees.

Kiln drying wood: When the cookies are burned, they're burned, and you can't fix them.

Sawing is fun for the first couple million boards.

Be smarter than the sawdust

Walnut Beast

Great video!! Happy for you the equipment has exceeded expectations!! Videos and personal experiences like this are great!! 

Peter Drouin

A&P saw Mill LLC.
45' of Wood Mizer, cutting since 1987.
License NH softwood grader.

DDW_OR

Quote from: YellowHammer on October 22, 2023, 11:14:36 PM
.....a video of me mulching and mowing the dam a week or two ago.  Remember, this dam has a 37° back slope, and .......

https://youtu.be/eVMaKtwRroI?feature=shared
Good. 
One idea, mulch so the cuttings do not go into the water.

and more importantly, what do you have in the water. anything big enough to catch and cook?
"let the machines do the work"

Sod saw

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YellowHammer,   Complements on your pond.  It looks very inviting and the best part is that I don't see any buildings in the background.    Was it already in place when you guys moved in?

I am told that the wider the dam, the better.  And that not only will critters dig thru causing blow outs,  Tree roots will cause blow outs as the roots allow water to seep along the edge of the root and slowly erode until the dam leaks and washes away.  30 feet wide is on the small side as being the width (thickness) of a dam.  Please don't ask me how I learned this.

Thanks for the video of your toys.  Walnut Beast is correct in that videos are worth thousands of sales pitches.  

Did you buy or are you renting yours as you need it once in a while?


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LT 40 hyd.          Solar Kiln.          Misc necessary toys.
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It's extremely easy to make things complicated, but very difficult to keep things simple.
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