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Small sticks

#1

rmancini

rmancini

We get a lot of wind here in the winter, consequently I always have a metric butt-load of small sticks/branches to pick up in the spring.
The way I have been doing it to date is to rake them into piles and then rake the piles onto a good old blue tarp (Washington State flag!) and then drag it to my dumping area. This works, BUT, I'm getting really tired of raking about 2 acres of debris.
Well I thought I'd put some feelers out to see how other folks do it.
Does anyone have a better method?
Rich


#2

JDgreen

JDgreen

rmancini said:
We get a lot of wind here in the winter, consequently I always have a metric butt-load of small sticks/branches to pick up in the spring.
The way I have been doing it to date is to rake them into piles and then rake the piles onto a good old blue tarp (Washington State flag!) and then drag it to my dumping area. This works, BUT, I'm getting really tired of raking about 2 acres of debris.
Well I thought I'd put some feelers out to see how other folks do it.
Does anyone have a better method?
Rich
Click to expand...

Not sure how you define "small" but for me, anything smaller than a half inch gets mowed over and chopped up later in the spring...I too get a lot of debris and it's a headache to clean it all up. The 7-Iron deck on my JD makes sawdust of just about anything I choose to mow over.


#3

rmancini

rmancini

JDgreen said:
Not sure how you define "small" but for me, anything smaller than a half inch gets mowed over and chopped up later in the spring...I too get a lot of debris and it's a headache to clean it all up. The 7-Iron deck on my JD makes sawdust of just about anything I choose to mow over.
Click to expand...

Well, for the most part they are less than 1/2 inch diameter, cedar and alder.
For 22 years I've been thinking about just mowing over them as you suggested, but the cedar stuff is 3'-4' long so I'm not sure if the result would be anything other than knicked blades.
The older I get the bigger PITA this chore becomes.
Rich


#4

BKBrown

BKBrown

Ohio Steel Lawn Sweeper 42" Pull Behind Heavy-duty - GEMPLER'S

Have you looked at this type of lawn sweep ?

rmancini said:
Well, for the most part they are less than 1/2 inch diameter, cedar and alder.
For 22 years I've been thinking about just mowing over them as you suggested, but the cedar stuff is 3'-4' long so I'm not sure if the result would be anything other than knicked blades.
The older I get the bigger PITA this chore becomes.
Rich
Click to expand...


#5

rmancini

rmancini

BKBrown said:
Ohio Steel Lawn Sweeper 42" Pull Behind Heavy-duty - GEMPLER'S

Have you looked at this type of lawn sweep ?
Click to expand...

I have looked into sweepers but I was told that the branches would lodge in the brush assembly.
That made sense to me. Looking at the sweeper in "the flesh", I could see that there would in fact be problems. Thanks for the suggestion though.
Rich


#6

BKBrown

BKBrown

rmancini said:
I have looked into sweepers but I was told that the branches would lodge in the brush assembly.
That made sense to me. Looking at the sweeper in "the flesh", I could see that there would in fact be problems. Thanks for the suggestion though.
Rich
Click to expand...

OK -- how about small estate rake type

Estate Yard Rake | Edney Dealers


#7

rmancini

rmancini

BKBrown said:
OK -- how about small estate rake type

Estate Yard Rake | Edney Dealers
Click to expand...

Now that looks interesting!
Got this from their Q & A page:

媛: Specifically, will it rake twigs and sticks?
柊: It will miss some of them, but the more grass there is, the better the rake will pick up twigs and sticks.
We may be on to something here. Thanks BK for the inputs.


#8

BKBrown

BKBrown

rmancini said:
Now that looks interesting!
Got this from their Q & A page:

媛: Specifically, will it rake twigs and sticks?
柊: It will miss some of them, but the more grass there is, the better the rake will pick up twigs and sticks.
We may be on to something here. Thanks BK for the inputs.
Click to expand...

Hope it helps -- I'd do something becides rake by hand !

Doesn't look terribly expensive when it will save that much work and maybe you could charge the neighbors to do theirs. ???


#9

rmancini

rmancini

BKBrown said:
Hope it helps -- I'd do something becides rake by hand !

Doesn't look terribly expensive when it will save that much work and maybe you could charge the neighbors to do theirs. ???
Click to expand...

It's not that expensive, especially when you factor in backaches!
I emailed the company to hopefully locate a dealer in my area. If there's no dealer, I will try to order direct from the company.
I thank you BK and my worn-out, aching back thanks you for the great information. It will sure save my wife a lot of work. Did I say that? Shame on me!!:rolleyes:
Rich


#10

rmancini

rmancini

BK,
The folks at Edney either don't want to sell me an Estate Rake or they don't ship them. Either way, I can't get them to answer my emails.
I've checked several other companies but no joy. Northern Tool had two very similar ones in their summer catalogue but they are discontinued.
I think that jewel might be the solution to my problems, but now I can't locate one.
Any ideas for an alternate supplier??
Rich


#11

K

KennyV

Those are great rakes... I've used large ones to put up hay and alfalfa...
Check with:
PINESTRAW ESTATE RAKE 6 WHEEL - Agri Supply
These look great.

Then there are
some similar looking, (at a glance) ... but the rakes do not look like they will do near the job... They are called acreage rakes. I think I would pass on them... :smile:KennyV


#12

K

KennyV

ls ofound this site...
They sell them and all the parts.
They have a video you can watch... I think they left it a bit blurry deliberately... but I am sure it will do the job you are looking for... a quick follow up with your mower would leave all the straggly looking grass cut to leingth...
You can find it and the video at:
Wikco.Com Catalog Of Tools And Equipment
Then scroll down on the left side to : Dethatchers/Soil Conditioners ...
:smile:KennyV


#13

rmancini

rmancini

My thanks KennyV.
The more I think about this thing, the more I've got to have one or life as we know it will cease!
It looks like it also dethatches pretty well.
Rich


#14

K

KennyV

rmancini said:
...
It looks like it also dethatches pretty well.
Rich
Click to expand...

yes dethatches great...
some grasses will hang on good when raked and for them you may have to quickly re-mow to get everything level after a rake pulls up the occasional hanger. :smile:KennyV


#15

H

Hershey

Have you tried doing an internet search to see if someone else is selling it? Sometimes just typing the name in will bring a lot of options.

Otherwise, have you considered disposing of the twigs and such at the same time you mow the lawn instead of collecting them, so to speak?


#16

rmancini

rmancini

Hershey said:
Have you tried doing an internet search to see if someone else is selling it? Sometimes just typing the name in will bring a lot of options.

I found two very similar (if not exact) models in the Northern Tool catalogue. Unfortunately they are no longer carried.
KennyV provided a link to another distributor. As soon as I recover from Christmas, I plan to order one.
Rich
Click to expand...


#17

rmancini

rmancini

KennyV said:
Those are great rakes... I've used large ones to put up hay and alfalfa...
Check with:
PINESTRAW ESTATE RAKE 6 WHEEL - Agri Supply
These look great.

Then there are
some similar looking, (at a glance) ... but the rakes do not look like they will do near the job... They are called acreage rakes. I think I would pass on them... :smile:KennyV
Click to expand...

KennyV- I went ahead and ordered the "Estate Rake" a few minutes ago. My thanks for the link.
Rich


#18

K

KennyV

rmancini said:
KennyV- I went ahead and ordered the "Estate Rake" a few minutes ago. My thanks for the link.
Rich
Click to expand...

Great...!
I am ancious to hear how good it is working.. Those 'wheel' type rakes are so handy in larger scale, I have been tempted to get one of the smaller Estate Rakes just because they look so cute...
I am sure you are going to get a lot of good use from it .:smile:KennyV


#19

J

jenkinsph

Well, wish I had posted this prior to your ordering, but the Leinbach pine straw rake has worked great for me gathering pine needles, pine cones, small sticks, branches and general debris. Should also help with dethatching to a limited degree. I should note this is a new customer and the lawn grass is thin because of lack of care, the rake is not pulling up the grass.

This one clears a 6 ft path at a time and gathers them too so you don't have the windrows to pickup.
Bought this from EverythingAttachments.com for $289 including shipping. Great people to work with.


#20

rmancini

rmancini

KennyV said:
Great...!
I am ancious to hear how good it is working.. Those 'wheel' type rakes are so handy in larger scale, I have been tempted to get one of the smaller Estate Rakes just because they look so cute...
I am sure you are going to get a lot of good use from it .:smile:KennyV
Click to expand...

Well, the rake arrived a few minutes ago. Some assembly required. As soon as we get some dry weather, the test hop begins. Film at eleven!!:smile:
Rich


#21

K

KennyV

Hey Rich GREAT... can't wait. Looking forward to those pictures... :smile:KennyV


#22

BGC

BGC

I always get them into a pile and eventually we burn them and have a bond fire. The kids love it cause it is time to break out the marshmallows.


#23

rmancini

rmancini

Well,
We finally got a decent day so I decided to give the Estate Rake a test-hop.
So far I'm mildly disappointed in its performance. It (sort of) rakes but all six wheels tend to clog with debris and stop spinning.
I expected to end up with long lines of sticks and such to where all I'd have to do is rake the lines into piles and transfer them into a tarp.
I'm not giving up yet as it could be an "operator error" scenario. I may stumble upon a better method of using the rake. We shall see. Film at eleven!
Rich


#24

M

Madi

We rake ours into a pile and burn them. I have about 1/2 acre of land to rake and it can be cumbersome, but I am not sure of a better way either because our land is very uneven.


#25

P

Pika

We like to use them, too, for small fires. I have my kids pick them up and put them in one place and then we burn them in the little charcoal grill.


#26

J

jenkinsph

My pine straw rake without moving parts has worked well so far. $289 @ Everything Attachments.


#27

rmancini

rmancini

rmancini said:
Well,
We finally got a decent day so I decided to give the Estate Rake a test-hop.
So far I'm mildly disappointed in its performance. It (sort of) rakes but all six wheels tend to clog with debris and stop spinning.
I expected to end up with long lines of sticks and such to where all I'd have to do is rake the lines into piles and transfer them into a tarp.
I'm not giving up yet as it could be an "operator error" scenario. I may stumble upon a better method of using the rake. We shall see. Film at eleven!
Rich
Click to expand...

The latest:
The rake does clean-up some of the sticks, so in light of that, I suppose it does as advertised and it does cut down on the amount of hand raking. As I use it more, my technique seems to improve.
What the rake does do well is loosen and remove thatch and moss - a clear victory for the home-team!
All in all I'd have to say that I am in-fact satisfied with the performance so disregard the "mild disappointment" in the above post.
Thanks to all for steering me toward this contraption!:thumbsup:
Rich


#28

K

KennyV

I'm glad that it is working out for you...
A wheel rake is all in the set up... so I am going to guess the small version may be a bit more picky as to technique... :smile:KennyV


#29

JDgreen

JDgreen

One of my least favorite jobs of lawn cleanup in the springtime is raking up the needles and small branches from under the 27 cedar trees we have...if I wait until the ground in hard enough then the debris has begun to smother the grass...this pictures show one of the 9 loader bucketfulls I hauled back last week, I am starting a new burn pile 40 feet back from the one I burnt in January. Going to clean the old pile up, haul the ashes away for fill, use a magnet to remove the nails, and rake out all the solid debris and dump it on the new pile. Will not be much fun.

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