My old D4D does a great job

[wbvs58]

I've been doing a bit more clearing of my feed containment area. It is surprising the size of the trees that my D4 will deal with. I do push her to the limits though. My sandy granite soils do help as well.





Ken

 

[jltrent]

You can clear a lot of ground with that. Nice job and the D4 looks and sounds good.

 

[Silver]

Great sounding old dozer. Did it come with electric start or is that an add-on?

 

[wbvs58]

Great sounding old dozer. Did it come with electric start or is that an add-on?

Yeh it came with electric start, it is a1975 model and has the 3304 engine in it, not turbo though. I think it is generally in pretty good nick. I would like to get it in one day and give it a paint job but it tends to live out where I am using it and may stay idle for a while until I get back to that job.

Ken

 

[Silver]

Are those trees merchantable? Looks to be a lot of wood in them.

 

[wbvs58]

Are those trees merchantable? Looks to be a lot of wood in them.

Those are brown gum, I think it is a variety of red gum. I have milled a couple but they tend to have a lot of holes through them and the grain is very intertwined and they distort bad when racked to dry out . I asked them at the local sawmill and they won't touch them. When I get a good stringybark log or a yellow box I put them aside to mill on my little bandsaw mill, I use them for planks to line the stables and rails for yards.
Ken

 

[greybeard]

We get to see Ken!!!!! Lookin good and pretty spry for an older fella!

Dozer is sounding good and at 3:55, just driving by that big downed tree, ya made one of the roots fall off in fear.

I worked on a lot of 3400 series Cat engines during my time in the oil patch tho mostly 3408 and 3412s with turbos on mud pumps or floor engines. The few 3404s we had were on gen sets.

 

[Travlr]

Those are brown gum, I think it is a variety of red gum. I have milled a couple but they tend to have a lot of holes through them and the grain is very intertwined and they distort bad when racked to dry out . I asked them at the local sawmill and they won't touch them. When I get a good stringybark log or a yellow box I put them aside to mill on my little bandsaw mill, I use them for planks to line the stables and rails for yards.
Ken

Can the log be dried for a couple of years and then milled?

 

[wbvs58]

Can the log be dried for a couple of years and then milled?

Could be worth a try. I might just cut that one and put it aside. I will be cutting it anyhow to put it on the burn pile so if it looks solid I'll do it.

Ken

 

[wbvs58]

We get to see Ken!!!!! Lookin good and pretty spry for an older fella!

Dozer is sounding good and at 3:55, just driving by that big downed tree, ya made one of the roots fall off in fear.

I worked on a lot of 3400 series Cat engines during my time in the oil patch tho mostly 3408 and 3412s with turbos on mud pumps or floor engines. The few 3404s we had were on gen sets.

Looks can be deceiving GB.

Ken

 

[TCRanch]

Looks can be deceiving GB.

No way! That's a lot of work - and you're smiling. Well done, Ken!

 

[wbvs58]

You probably all think I am an environmental vandal and you are probably right. We actually have very strict clearing rules. This is on my 650 acre scrub block where I basically am not allowed to clear it however it is on 8 titles and technically I can clear 2 ha (5acres) on each block for essential infrastructure and I am exercising my right on this block. This will be a drought feeding containment area where they can be locked in and fed. I have posted some photos previously of some old concrete water troughs that I have repurposed as feed bunks. I have left some trees for shade and am now grading and raking up the roots as best I can. I have some extension wings for the rake on the front of the dozer and will attach them once I have roughly graded the area and filled in the holes from the root balls. I hope to then put some summer growing grass seed out to get some coverage of the ground. My normal use of this block is for my dry cows after weaning the calves in early autumn up until they start calving in July.

Ken

 

[Silver]

You probably all think I am an environmental vandal and you are probably right. We actually have very strict clearing rules. This is on my 650 acre scrub block where I basically am not allowed to clear it however it is on 8 titles and technically I can clear 2 ha (5acres) on each block for essential infrastructure and I am exercising my right on this block. This will be a drought feeding containment area where they can be locked in and fed. I have posted some photos previously of some old concrete water troughs that I have repurposed as feed bunks. I have left some trees for shade and am now grading and raking up the roots as best I can. I have some extension wings for the rake on the front of the dozer and will attach them once I have roughly graded the area and filled in the holes from the root balls. I hope to then put some summer growing grass seed out to get some coverage of the ground. My normal use of this block is for my dry cows after weaning the calves in early autumn up until they start calving in July.

Ken

We battle trees here constantly so it never crossed my mind someone might not agree with some tree removal.
I don't know if it says more about my age or how fast trees grow but I've seen land cleared, farmed, abandoned, and now no one would be able to tell it had ever been cleared.

 

[greybeard]

We battle trees here constantly so it never crossed my mind someone might not agree with some tree removal.
I don't know if it says more about my age or how fast trees grow but I've seen land cleared, farmed, abandoned, and now no one would be able to tell it had ever been cleared.

I've said it many times. You can take land from the forest but the forest ALWAYS wants it back. Trees, are not your friend.

 

[Silver]

I've said it many times. You can take land from the forest but the forest ALWAYS wants it back. Trees, are not your friend.

If we could just have them in moderation. Like the beavers. We can sure benefit from a bit of both around here, but too much of either is a train wreck. As is a total lack of both.

 

[Travlr]

If we could just have them in moderation. Like the beavers. We can sure benefit from a bit of both around here, but too much of either is a train wreck. As is a total lack of both.

Gotta say... I love beavers. If nothing else, they are fascinating to watch.

 

[TCRanch]

Gotta say... I love beavers. If nothing else, they are fascinating to watch.

Friend of mine sent me a pic of a beaver - that he subsequently made into breakfast sausage.

 

[TCRanch]

I attended a Kansas Livestock Association meeting last summer and one topic of discussion was managing trees taking over the pastures. We cleared a ton of cedars this year and have an epic burn pile.

 

[wbvs58]

Next job I have for the dozer is an area in the front paddock that is lightly timbered but there is a massive number of fallen branches and dead trees that have fallen over. We had a lot of trees die in the drought 2018/9 and then from water logging the last few years and more trees falling over. This area needs a good clean up under the trees. I was going to take the excavator down to stack them up but am a bit worried about knocking branches and have them come down on me. The canopy on the dozer gives better protection so I think I'll use that though I will have my crash helmet on just the same. Plenty of work for it, I've got a couple more management tracks to put in on the scrub block plus some fence lines to clear and then some earthworks for water. I'm not going to live long enough.

Ken

 

[wbvs58]

I put the side wings on the stick rake yesterday and then did a final rake of the cleared ground, still a bit rough but I am going to go straight ahead and roughly plant some grass seed and try and get a bit of coverage over summer. I will put in some sub tropical grasses, Premier Digit grass, Kikuyu and maybe a bit of Rhodes.. My seed drill is far from a precision planter, I'll use the small seed box with the tubes just dropping the seed onto the ground after the tynes have passed through. I have a car tire roller that I tow behind and the tires tend to follow the uneven ground and press the seed in giving adequate coverage but not burying the small seed too deep.

Ken