Fishfiles 20,147 Posted November 17, 2021 There was a 72 x 200 ft serve-a-tude that borders our property , it was going to be a street that was never put in 40 years ago , we were able to buy it this past year , so I started cleaning it up , cut about 70 trees so far , I am loving my Husqvarna 450 saw , been using my buddies' Bobcat T140 , man I love that machine ---- then my old Takeuchi which I sold a while back , I should have never sold that machine , it came back for a 2 weeks while my buddy is on vacation he is letting me use it , yesterday evening I got home right before dark and in 20 minutes I was able to dig up two stumps with it , he added a stiff arm thumb on the dipper/arm and it helped out , man I have a lot of stumps to dig up , wanted to do stump grinding to not disturb the ground so much , but it was going to cost a lot , got another 50 trees to cut down and up There is a nice little live oak , it has two branches that are just right for two swings facing each other , the tree was clogged up with trees growing all thru it and vines choking it up and covered in green algae and epiphytes , I cut those trees and pressure washed the trunk of the tree It has been a lot of work , but fun 8 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
jeepwm69 7,719 Posted November 17, 2021 Live Oaks and Spanish Moss are cool as !. I wish I could get them to grow here. 2 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
bcsman 1,404 Posted November 17, 2021 Cool little backhoe machine to make things easier, can you drive that up to Michigan so I can use it? 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Fishfiles 20,147 Posted November 17, 2021 28 minutes ago, bcsman said: Cool little backhoe machine to make things easier, can you drive that up to Michigan so I can use it? Remember that Takeuchi was mine and I sold , that was a mistake on my part , I rebuilt all the cylinders , changed a few hoses , new seat , paint job , serviced it , used it for about a year and sold it ------- had to do a repair today , was my fault , kind of , he had that crazy thumb on the dipper stick and it slide and pinched the hose , I had the fittings but was out of that size hose , so had to go have one made , I took the thumb off till I am finished with it I dug up quite a few stumps today , also clearing a 100 yard shooting lane , got a feeder and a game cam 4 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Fishfiles 20,147 Posted November 25, 2021 Picking away at it , dug up quite a few stumps , still have quite a few trees want to cut down want to come up with some kind of fire pit Already got a unwanted visitor , from opening up a lane into the woods 2 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Fishfiles 20,147 Posted November 25, 2021 This guy made a mountain out a molehill , but I liked it Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Fishfiles 20,147 Posted November 27, 2021 this is the plan , that I plan on copying 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Fishfiles 20,147 Posted November 27, 2021 soil looks good in the back fence area , might have to do a garden this year coming , both my neighbors use to have horses , note the electric fence 2 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Fishfiles 20,147 Posted November 28, 2021 Just have to drill the vent holes for the smokeless trick ------- need to cut one brick on the top row ------ lesson learned , the fire rings at Tractor Supply come in three sizes , they are stacked one inside of another , the guy was showing me that at the store , so , they are actually three different sizes , so , they can fit inside of one another for saving space in shipping , so I got the middle size one , if I would have gotten the biggest one , I would not have had to cut a brick 2 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
56Sierra 1,845 Posted November 28, 2021 11 minutes ago, Fishfiles said: Just have to drill the vent holes for the smokeless trick ------- need to cut one brick on the top row ------ lesson learned , the fire rings at Tractor Supply come in three sizes , they are stacked one inside of another , the guy was showing me that at the store , so , they are actually three different sizes , so , they can fit inside of one another for saving space in shipping , so I got the middle size one , if I would have gotten the biggest one , I would not have had to cut a brick Looks inviting. 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Fishfiles 20,147 Posted November 28, 2021 4 hours ago, 56Sierra said: Looks inviting. Being you say that. When your down this way again( which I believe you said would be soon ). You need to stop by and have some coffee and cookies. Eh. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Fishfiles 20,147 Posted December 5, 2021 It was a lot of holes to drill in the fire ring , used a step bit and it realy went pretty fast , seem to work cutting down on the smoke as I am burning wet fresh cut pine in it ---- think it really needs cap stones on top the pipe , it would better force the air thru ---- I got a lot of pine to get rid of 2 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
56Sierra 1,845 Posted December 10, 2021 On 11/28/2021 at 10:55 AM, Fishfiles said: Being you say that. When your down this way again( which I believe you said would be soon ). You need to stop by and have some coffee and cookies. Eh. That sounds like something we might just do while we are down here. 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Fishfiles 20,147 Posted December 19, 2021 It would have been sweet if the Bobcat tracked loader was still here to use , suppose to have one here this week if the weather is right , used the excavator to spread 18 tons of milled asphalt off the I-12 job , seems they can only reuse a percentage of the millings , completed a circle at the end of the street and a driveway onto the property , those millings pack some good and it is like a highway after it sets ------- Then spread 16 yards of Mississippi River batcher sand to fill the tree stump holes and level it out , need a couple of more loads of sand ----- Glad I have friends in the business , it would have cost quite a few dollars on equipment , materials and delivery fees 3 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
jeepwm69 7,719 Posted December 20, 2021 You're not kidding. It costs a pretty penny to have an excavator come out and do work around here. I need to blacktop my driveway too (potholes everywhere) but I'll end up having to pay full price for it. Having connections is nice! 2 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Fishfiles 20,147 Posted January 21, 2022 On 12/20/2021 at 9:34 AM, jeepwm69 said: You're not kidding. It costs a pretty penny to have an excavator come out and do work around here. I need to blacktop my driveway too (potholes everywhere) but I'll end up having to pay full price for it. Having connections is nice! Are they repaving any highways or Interstate around you ? The going price delivered for milled asphalt around here is sold by weight , about $30 per ton which is just about the same volume as a yard In the old days they would recycle almost all of the asphalt , but they came out with a regulation that only a percentage of the old stuff can be recycled into the new highway when it is Interstate or even State highways , so there is always a lot of product shows up when resurfacing jobs crank up milled is the best for a driveway , it will pack like highway Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Fishfiles 20,147 Posted January 21, 2022 This might have been the worst stump of all the ones I have dug out , it was a double , maple and a pine together ----- got about 5 more that I want to takeout Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
jeepwm69 7,719 Posted January 21, 2022 Tannerite! My house, built in 1947, has plaster walls throughout. Most of the rooms have big cracks that have been repaired, from back in the 50's, when the neighbor, a retired Army General, decided to dynamite a stump in his yard and used about 5 times as much as he should have to blow the stump. My grandfather said the stump went over treetop level (lots of 100+ year old oaks around here) and it busted walls in every house in the neighborhood. 1 2 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Fishfiles 20,147 Posted February 4, 2022 Buddy picked up the excavator today , I had it for 3 months or longer so I can't complain , got a whole lot done and did not cost anything >>>>>>>> I should have never sold it still got about 8 trees to get rid of , will likely go with the stump grinder guy from this point >>> ( did I mentioned I was stupid for selling that excavator ) Got a 2 more loads of Mississippi River dredge sand coming , the little tractor with the grate rack works great for finishing up the top soil , I got that tractor about 11 years ago now , it is a 1972 Sears Suburban , 16 HP , transmission = 6 forward / 2 reverse , it holds 8 quarts of oil in the transmission Has been a fun project , kind of like Homestead Rescue LOL 2 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
jeepwm69 7,719 Posted February 4, 2022 Looks good Fish! 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Fishfiles 20,147 Posted February 7, 2022 Thanks Jeep , it been a lot of work , but a good reward ..... added .333 acre of land , 72.3 feet by 200 ft of key land Need a lot more fill than I thought ------ Some pics after that last rain , might be the most I ever seen here , they said it rained 4 inches in one hour at one point Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
jeepwm69 7,719 Posted February 7, 2022 Put out some decoys, see if you can call in some greenheads! 1 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
_Wilson_™ 6,591 Posted February 7, 2022 gunna take me a while to look over these pics but what I've seen i like!! Remember that Takeuchi was mine and I sold , that was a mistake on my part i sure do, and i to,d you! DON'T SELL IT...... lol! 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Fishfiles 20,147 Posted March 18, 2022 Got two more loads of sand since the last pic ---- Dropped 3 more pines using this snatch block method , it works good , got them cut up and almost all burned , about ready to cut that damaged pine down 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites