Is there a less costly alternative to the weed wrench ?
Something that works as well, but is actually affordable…
I simply can’t afford the 180 bucks or so that a big weed wrench costs. And I need something with the capability of the large one.
Get over it……. The angry going eat you up. ~Brownbagg ’06
Replies
use the axe you already have...
Life is not a journey to the grave with the intention of arriving safely in a pretty and well preserved body, but rather to skid in broadside, thoroughly used up, totally worn out, and loudly proclaiming
WOW!!! What a Ride!
Forget the primal scream, just ROAR!!!
Use napalm instead.
HEYY!!!
Thats MY line!!!
agent orange would work too...
and it is completely safe...
just ask the pentagon..."Dogs don't follow an emotional leader. They follow the dominant leader. We are the only species that follows an unstable leader. "
Cesar Millan, The Dog Whisperer, in an interview in National Geographic Magazine
What the heck is a weed wrench ?
"What the heck is a weed wrench ?"
I had the same question. Look here: http://www.weedwrench.com
It's "a patented tool for removal of woody plants".
Who knew?
Mike HennessyPittsburgh, PA
Thanks fer the link.Us rednecks use a tractor for that sort of thing.(-:
No nation is so poor that it cannot afford free speech.
Mark H has the real plan...
used one of them before...
axe is easier..
the plant has to be a select size.. too small or too big and the wrench doesn't work well... or at all...
so if Luka finds a different or realistic plan (axe and shovel) nobody'll waste the money on one...
Life is not a journey to the grave with the intention of arriving safely in a pretty and well preserved body, but rather to skid in broadside, thoroughly used up, totally worn out, and loudly proclaiming<!----><!----><!---->
WOW!!! What a Ride!<!----><!---->
Forget the primal scream, just ROAR!!!
"Us rednecks use a tractor for that sort of thing."
Tractor? What, you outa dynomite? <G>
Mike HennessyPittsburgh, PA
Wrong!! I thought they use the family car or their pickup.
It looks like not too difficult a thing to make if you have access to welding. I'd try to design something similar, but based on an antique nail puller, so you can lock it onto the trunk while standing up, and the force you apply to pull the plant also locks the jaws tighter.
-- J.S.
That's pretty much how the weedwrench works.You lock it onto the weed while standing. When you pull back on the top of the handle, the grip gets tighter on the stem, and the stem gets pulled upward at the same time.It eliminates so much back-breaking work, you wouldn't believe it.And for most people, it is probaly not worth it. If they only occassionally have to pull a few plants. But if you are looking at thousands of them, it quickly makes a huge difference...Especially on uneven terrain.And especially if next year you are going to have to do it all over again. Or even have to do it twice again before the end of the summer...As I said in the previous reply, if the area gets enough traffic after you pull them, they may not grow back again.Where I commonly walk, and in what I have been using for a driveway, they crowd in on the sides, but they don't grow back so quickly where the traffic actually occurs. You DO have to keep cutting them, and/or pulling them on the sides, because they will very quickly crowd their way back in. These things grow so fast you can almost watch them grow.Once I get the punch road cleared, the traffic in and out should keep the ruts clear, but I'll still have to keep after the ones that want to crowd back in.I don't know if salt will help or not. That would not be cheap either.
Get over it....... The angry going eat you up. ~Brownbagg '06
thats why I said to use a pipe wrench... applyint sideways and then lifting up on it causes the trunk to be grabbed via wedging/locking pressure not as a mechanical hold.. The bumper jack gives you great power to lift without much energy on your part... it is nearly perfect.
The only thing better if you can fabricate is to make jaws like the weed wrench has and then attach them to the jack.
http://www.petedraganic.com/
http://www.weedwrench.com/
I had never heard of one either. Had to google it.
looks easy enough to build, make your own?
Did you ever use one? maybe it isn't as good as one may think..... you may be just as well off to stick with the old-fashioned method of pulling your woodies (plants that is).
Then again, you could always leave the plants alone.
http://www.petedraganic.com/
20$ high lift jack..
used fence post puller..
axe and shovel...
Life is not a journey to the grave with the intention of arriving safely in a pretty and well preserved body, but rather to skid in broadside, thoroughly used up, totally worn out, and loudly proclaiming<!----><!----><!---->
WOW!!! What a Ride!<!----><!---->
Forget the primal scream, just ROAR!!!
"20$ high lift jack"where do you find a $20 one? used?
bobl Volo, non valeo
Baloney detecter WFR
"But when you're a kibbutzer and have no responsibility to decide the facts and apply the law, you can reach any conclusion you want because it doesn't matter." SHG
they're the ones off roader use..
see them advertised for as little as $9.95....
same outfits advertise 5pc 18V tool kits for 40$ also...
Life is not a journey to the grave with the intention of arriving safely in a pretty and well preserved body, but rather to skid in broadside, thoroughly used up, totally worn out, and loudly proclaiming<!----><!----><!---->
WOW!!! What a Ride!<!----><!---->
Forget the primal scream, just ROAR!!!
Luka, problem solved... get an old pipe wrench and a bumper jack (yeah, the old kind that click up with a tire iron)
By putting the wrench sideway onto the plant or a pole or whatever ytou want to pull out... it will grab like the dickens.. besides, it is adjustable too. Then hook the hole in the handle to the #### on the bumper jack and jack away. Should be easier to strong-arm than the other tool too.
you could get really crafty and have the wrench welded to a chain and the chain welded to the jack. The chain should be really short and strong... just a few links, 3 maybe.
http://www.petedraganic.com/
Get an old bumper jack, the kind that came with cars in the 60s and 70s, and a chain. Get the chain under a root, and jack it out. Works like a charm.
Andy
"Never try to teach a pig to sing. It wastes your time and annoys the pig." Robert A. Heinlein (or maybe Mark Twain)
"Get off your dead #### and on your dying feet." Mom
"Everything not forbidden is compulsory." T.H. White, The Book of Merlin
is there an echo in here?
http://www.petedraganic.com/
Get an old bumper jack, the kind that came with cars in the 60s and 70s, and a short chain, vise grips and a chain hook. snag the vise grips on to the offending plant... hook the the hook to the vise grips, chain between the grips and jack and jack it out.... Works like a charm..
tuff one ya say.. spade the ground with the shovel.. cut some of them roots and make life easier...
really tuff one ya say... break out the big guns (axe)....
Life is not a journey to the grave with the intention of arriving safely in a pretty and well preserved body, but rather to skid in broadside, thoroughly used up, totally worn out, and loudly proclaiming<!----><!----><!---->
WOW!!! What a Ride!<!----><!---->
Forget the primal scream, just ROAR!!!
You get those bumper jack thingumies for as little as 10 bucks?
Damn....
Spendy as all get out here....
Saaay........I cant afford a bumper jack thingy.....anybody got one they arnt using and want to give me?
weeds and such just get the axe or slasher treatment. For persistent ones that likes to grow back from below the cut......salt.
They dont like that.
Not an exponent of the DILLIGAF system.
there is an echo in here...
Life is not a journey to the grave with the intention of arriving safely in a pretty and well preserved body, but rather to skid in broadside, thoroughly used up, totally worn out, and loudly proclaiming<!----><!----><!---->
WOW!!! What a Ride!<!----><!---->
Forget the primal scream, just ROAR!!!
I really should read the whole thread before posting.
I used that method to pull the stump from a 2ft. diameter black locust, one root at a time. Not sure that it would have worked with a similar size oak - I've seen them give a Cat 965 a workout.Andy
"Never try to teach a pig to sing. It wastes your time and annoys the pig." Robert A. Heinlein (or maybe Mark Twain)
"Get off your dead #### and on your dying feet." Mom
"Everything not forbidden is compulsory." T.H. White, The Book of Merlin
Buy a goat and get free milk in the process.
I have raised goats..milk is NOT free, nuthin with goats is free..nuthin.
Spheramid Enterprises Architectural Woodworks
I have irriatable Vowel syndrome.
I have raised goats..milk is NOT free, nuthin with goats is free..nuthin.
Amen.
cute ones make pretty fair company, Not as good
as pretty sheep thou. ;)
My power was out, from about 4 am on wednesday morning, to about ten am this morning. That's why I haven't responded until now.Ok, I'll try to fill in all the empty spots here...To begin with, I have already tried *an axe *a shovel *A farm jack and chain *All of the other alternatives mentioned. (Well, the reasonable ones. LOL) Even a brush burner.At one point I did pretty much build my own. On the best alternative I figured out... I used a combination of a couple of the suggestions here. I started with the right metal pipe. Put a broad foot on it so it would not sink too far into the really soft dirt we have here. And hung a chain from about two-thirds up. I had to get down on the ground for every brush, tie that chain by hand to the bramble root I was working on, and then pull it out pretty much like the weed wrench does. Almost straight up.The problems. First and formost, I only have just so many trips to the ground and back up, in me each day, before my back puts me in traction for a month again. I have metal plates in my back, remember ? I have learned which activities damage my back the worst, and which don't. I generally try to avoid the activities that will put me into the most pain for the longest time. And I try to find ways to get jobs done without having to take the actions that cause the pain.I am talking about a couple thousand blackberry, and salmonberry bushes. It would take me months to clear those using any other method than the weedwrench.The weedwrench does indeed work the way Dovetail says. It -would- give me the ability to get this job done in a more timely manner. And without putting myself into major pain for months as a result...I know for a fact that what he says about the tolerances, and the drawbacks to the alternatives, is true. With the alternatives, I have to spend time getting down there on the ground, digging around until I can find a good "purchase" to tie around, etc. I -have- done this. I -have- spent a couple of months recuperating from this.I -was- hoping someone would have a better alternative than what I have tried.~~~The problem with the alternatives presented... Things like the pipe wrench idea, and the vise grip idea, both tend to just mash the stems, break them off after bending them, or peel the "bark" and thereafter never get a grip on it. I then have to dig around what is left of the plant and try to get a grip on the individual roots, and try to pull them that way.The chain idea does better, but not by much. I end up crawling around, digging for individual roots again, about two thirds of the time.With the weed wrench, pulling back on the handle pulls the "gription parts" tighter to the stem. And the pulling action on the stem/roots themselves, is straight up. It does not break the stem. Nor does it tend to peel it.It also tends to bring more of the roots along with it, instead of just breaking them off as it pulls the stem out.The alternatives do variations of bending the stem, and/or breaking it. Again, with the chain being the best alternative so far, but with that method, I have to get on the ground for every single plant, just to tie the chain to the plant. (Clamp the chain on with vise grips or other methods, and you have already started the damage to the structural integrity of the stem, that IS going to result in a peeled, or broken stem...)~~~The area that I need them cleared from is my soon-to-be driveway.The trailer I live in, sits on an old "punch road" put here by the loggers who logged all the huge old cedar trees from this area.It is a good road base already. (Although the brambles are doing their best to destroy it...) Doing a lot of digging/chopping and using the tools suggested by some, would result in the roadbed being torn up as well.I had to do the above work with every alternative method I could think of... just to clear the spot where my trailer sits. That left me in major pain and unable to do much of anything besides be careful until my back healed... for more than three months.I now have to clear the hundreds more of them, in the remaining 200 or so feet of the punch road, so I can begin to utilize the punch road for a driveway. (And there are going to be even more, later on, so that I can begin to utilize other parts of my property.)I cut all the brambles down, close to the ground, a few months ago. Then brought a truck up that way. The truck ended up with a flat tire. It was punctured by one of the stems.I -have- to pull these suckers up by the roots for two reasons... One, they will grow back -fast- otherwise. Two, that flat tire. I do not want to be repairing tires all the time.Once I have them cleared the best I can get them with something like the weedwrench, I will probably buy some roundup as extra insurance against them growing back.~~~The bottom line here guys is that all of you who are grunting the "macho" solutions, can go right ahead and use those sorts of solutions your own selves. But I cannot just get out there and do that kind of stuff like I used to. If I try that crap now, I put myself totally out of commission for a while.I have to find a smart way to do this, not a macho way...And... I have not figured out a really good alternative method on my own.I simply cannot afford the weedwrench. (The biggest one is the only one that would work for me. The smaller ones would be a waste of time. I couldn't afford the smaller ones anyway, so I guess that is moot as well. LOL)I was really hoping someone knew of a good alternative that I could afford.As it is, it looks like I am just going to have to do this a little bit at a time, using my own methods. And hope I don't end up injuring my back again...Thanks anyway, guys. I appreciate the ideas.Hey, at least I am no worse off than when I started the thread, right ?=0)
Get over it....... The angry going eat you up. ~Brownbagg '06
But what about napalm?
They grow back !(BTW: Homemade napalm... Gasoline and dishwashing liquid...)
Get over it....... The angry going eat you up. ~Brownbagg '06
soap powder...
Ivory ssoap flakes is even better..
Life is not a journey to the grave with the intention of arriving safely in a pretty and well preserved body, but rather to skid in broadside, thoroughly used up, totally worn out, and loudly proclaiming<!----><!----><!---->
WOW!!! What a Ride!<!----><!---->
Forget the primal scream, just ROAR!!!
Cool !!I'll give that a try.Thanks !=0)
Get over it....... The angry going eat you up. ~Brownbagg '06
What if you just cut them down, then apply rock salt or brush killer in the spring when they begin to grow again?
Roundup is not a good choice, since it quickly dissipates. Use a "total herbicide", that kills for a year, like "brush b gone". Unfortunately, that stuff is expensive (as is roundup).
That's the problem. I cut them down. One of them punctured the tire anyway.The only way to really get rid of these things is to pull them out by the roots. Even then, yer going to have to do it again, unless the area gets constant traffic.Like I said, it was worth asking about.=0)I'll get the job done well enough. But it was worth asking to find out if anyone had any good alternatives.
Get over it....... The angry going eat you up. ~Brownbagg '06
Paint undiluted brush b gone on the stumps, they rot fast afterwords.
Sounds like brush b gone is going to be my chemical of choice...
Get over it....... The angry going eat you up. ~Brownbagg '06
Sounds like brush b gone is going to be my chemical of choice...
Round Up will do the same painted/sprayed right on the fresh cut stumps, better if diluted as little as possible. I've used this on Sweetgum stumps with great success so far.
Don't know the cheapest most effective of the two though.
A completly green alternative.
Put up a good stout fence.
Isert the proper number of hogs per lot size.
Given time there is nothing they can't tear up.
This were the term [ hog it off ] comes from.
Hogs emit greenhouse gases, so - green-ness is more elusive than we thought.
I'd hog it off with the bushhog on a tractor, then spray it with crossbow or some other selective herbicide. Mowing alone may work in most cases, if frequent enough.
Around here the culprits are multiflora rose and sumac (actually ailanthus) - they will grow anywhere...my pastor owns a goat for this very reason. He's not green either, but he's greener than me!
Treat every person you meet like you will know them the rest of your life - you just might!
go with a very long handled pair of compound pruneing shears / lopers
50 to 70 bucks..
View Image
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101r
a lot lighter than the weed wrench.. easier to use.. they'll cut the smaller stuff that the wrench won't touch....
more uses than the WW.. bet it would damn near be impossible to trim a tree with the WW...
featured here are the high end lopers at 80$.. nice ones can be had in the 30 to 40$ range..
limited strain on yur back.. gotta weigh 1/20 what that WW does.. don't even hardly have to bend over at all.. no effort to carry around.. racheting action would be so little effort on the arms to use...
you can cut those bushes in to manageable sized pieces as you work.... no need to step into the brambles like you would with the WW.. you'll be able to stand back and lope away in comfort...
you'll sill need to cut the brambles back to get the WW into posistion for optimal performance...
you'll still need to drag that heavy tool from bush to bush..
you'll still need to use up yur limited quotta of trips to the ground..
WTB if you apply yurself for a few times a week it won't take months either..
so do this in a practical fashion that fits you that you can afford...
Life is not a journey to the grave with the intention of arriving safely in a pretty and well preserved body, but rather to skid in broadside, thoroughly used up, totally worn out, and loudly proclaiming<!----><!----><!---->
WOW!!! What a Ride!<!----><!---->
Forget the primal scream, just ROAR!!!
I haven't read the entire thread, but I've used a comealong with success.
I have raised goats..milk is NOT free, nuthin with goats is free..nuthin.
Never have understood the concept of raising goats. I figure if I'm going to get tired of the store milk, I'd rather have a COW, not a freaking goat. And while sheep give you wool and meat (and a manicured lawn), goats just make lawn mines and chew on everything.jt8
"When one door closes another door opens; but we so often look so long and so regretfully upon the closed door, that we do not see the ones which open for us." -- Alexander Graham Bell
they eat / thrive on noxious weeds..
I'll bet that lends to the scrumpious taste of the milk and meat..
Life is not a journey to the grave with the intention of arriving safely in a pretty and well preserved body, but rather to skid in broadside, thoroughly used up, totally worn out, and loudly proclaiming<!----><!----><!---->
WOW!!! What a Ride!<!----><!---->
Forget the primal scream, just ROAR!!!
they eat / thrive on noxious weeds..
I'll bet that lends to the scrumpious taste of the milk and meat..
Sheep will eat about anything but thistle or cockelburr. More meat on 'em, plus you get the wool. jt8
"When one door closes another door opens; but we so often look so long and so regretfully upon the closed door, that we do not see the ones which open for us." -- Alexander Graham Bell
Wool is all but worthless.So are sheep.
The United States is the only country where it takes more brains to figure your tax than to earn the money to pay it. [Edward J. Gurney]
Just throwing this out......
Have you thought about approaching a local rental place about buying a few of those and working out a rent-to-own deal for one with you?
They actually look to be pretty efficent and they might be really popular at a rental center.
Maybe you could work out something so you'd own it over time with enough rentals that way your actual cash out lay would be spread out and less of a strain.
Good luck with the clearing and thanks for making me aware of the WW. Looks like something I could use sometime.
"Being a cowboy aint all ridin and shootin" - Tim Mooney
Wool is all but worthless.
So are sheep.
I'm not advocating 'em, I'm just saying they aren't as far down my worthless column as goats are. I'd much rather have a few head of cattle. Fills the freezer a little faster.
jt8
"When one door closes another door opens; but we so often look so long and so regretfully upon the closed door, that we do not see the ones which open for us." -- Alexander Graham Bell
John, actually, they are great pets. they have a personality just like any other livestock. Now, I had Nubian/Boer mixed breeds..the Newbs are a dairy breed, while the Boer are meat.
Yard mines? no way..goat poop is like rabbit droppings...just M&Ms and a lot of pee in the shanty they lived in.
Milking gets tedious, first ya buy a goat, then ya buy a mate, then ya rebuild the fence ( again) then ya build a stancheon, then ya get all sorts of sterilization for the all sorts of Stainless steel collectors, and then they pooop in the fresh milk, and you toss it out..then you start over the next day.
I'd not want to do it again, the way I did it, I would do it again now that I have some knowledge. The animal doctoring was quite the lesson in mastitis, and having a baby goat at 3oo am in Feb. @ 10 degrees out side, made for a few long nights.
I started with 3, a year later, I had 11..a Ford 8N and a a mile of fence to maintain..and one quart of milk.
Spheramid Enterprises Architectural Woodworks
I have irriatable Vowel syndrome.
Yup.....growing up we had "regular" goats.....couldn't keep them in the fence. Then we switched to pygmies. They were much easier to keep in, made the woods look like a park, ate what the cattle wouldn't, and mutliplied like rabbits. We had one female that everytime she had kids it was 3-4 at a time. Her kids were the same way. We started with three and ended up with around 30 before we got rid of them.John
J.R. Lazaro Builders, Inc.
Indianapolis, In.
Yup, many a night in winter, I'd be washing teats with a hot moist towell to get the milk to flow or colosterum for the new borns..arrgghh.
They do breed like rabbits.
Spheramid Enterprises Architectural Woodworks
I have irriatable Vowel syndrome.
Yup, many a night in winter, I'd be washing teats with a hot moist towell to get the milk to flow or colosterum for the new borns..arrgghh.
Never had to do that.....at least to a goat.
We had our nursery in the garage. We took one bay, made a pen that was probably 16' X 8' out of plywood with a straw floor, and we would bring in the expectant mothers. To say the least, it was very entertaining and educational. I could say that as a kid, I never had any friends with the same experiences. I always liked goats and cattle. I hated chickens and sheep. I've got a buddy now that raises Boer goats and those goats are HIGH maintanence.John
J.R. Lazaro Builders, Inc.
Indianapolis, In.
Yup, Boers are really tuff... I had a friend with a sawmill, who raised them Boers, half the wood he'd saw was for penning in the billies. He had the billy that fathered my last 3 ,brought him over in a PU truck with a shell. It looked like a mashed potato sammich from the out side, and he only drove over 6 miles to my house.
I had string of line breeding going on and had to get new genes going or else risk problems...my billy ( named "Moe") was a real prick...he was obnoxious. So one day, I sat out in the pasture to get aquainted again...you know, male bonding?
Next thing I knew, he pissed on me...then the MF'er got a horn hooked in my belt, and danced me across the pasture on his head for the better part of the 5 minutes that it took me to find my feet.
I gave him away, for free.
Funny thing is, I miss that wily bastard.
Spheramid Enterprises Architectural Woodworks
I have irriatable Vowel syndrome.
that is funny!
Gotta say that i love goats.... thats probably cus I don't own any..... like the old saying goes.... I like other peoples' goats.
http://www.petedraganic.com/
I think the wife has it on film somewheres.
Moe was about 165lbs of mean assed stupid, and I was about the same ( still am LOL) weight...frickking good belt buckle, held me up there on the horns..I finally got my knife out and severed the tie up, and did my best to not stab the MF'er in the neck.
Going Postal on a goat in the Mtns of NC is not a good way to be hero'd as.
Spheramid Enterprises Architectural Woodworks
I have irriatable Vowel syndrome.
I'd not want to do it again, the way I did it, I would do it again now that I have some knowledge. The animal doctoring was quite the lesson in mastitis, and having a baby goat at 3oo am in Feb. @ 10 degrees out side, made for a few long nights.
sheep do the same thing, although we had a neighbor that had some theory about feeding times and such had some influence on when the babies showed up.jt8
"When one door closes another door opens; but we so often look so long and so regretfully upon the closed door, that we do not see the ones which open for us." -- Alexander Graham Bell
Here is the nursery...shot
View Image
Spheramid Enterprises Architectural Woodworks
I have irriatable Vowel syndrome.
Here is the nursery...shot
Oh nooooooo, you're trying for the "cute" shot. I don't want anything cute if I'm planning on eating it later ;)
jt8
"When one door closes another door opens; but we so often look so long and so regretfully upon the closed door, that we do not see the ones which open for us." -- Alexander Graham Bell
Raised sheep, goats, pigs, rabbits , chickens, ducks. Kids named each one individually. My then 3-9 yrs old daughter used to ask her mother if we could eat a dinner made with whatever meat she wanted to have by requesting it using the animals name.
Had some neighbors that thought we were really a bit off the map.
But today that daughter and her brother know for certain that meat doesn't come shrink wrapped from the local store... there is always a live animal behind it.
Same daughter told me one day that she bet that the movie "Bambi" killed off a whole generation of hunters!! ;-)
Edited 12/26/2006 5:27 pm ET by dovetail97128
Raised sheep, goats, pigs, rabbits , chickens, ducks.
Hmm, we only had pigs once (3 of 'em..2 piggies for market, 1 piggy for freezer), we had ducks for a while, but didn't raise 'em (same with some geese), rabbits for several years (both meat and show), chickens for years, never bothered with goats, sheep for several years, onesy twosy on steers, a horse (didn't eat him), and a few odds and ends I'm forgetting about. Plus a dozen or two of dogs and probably 50 or more cats (over the years). A hive or two of bees...hmm... what else?
And a big garden (and a big chest freezer).
Had some neighbors that thought we were really a bit off the map. But today that daughter and her brother know for certain that meat doesn't come shrink wrapped from the local store... there is always a live animal behind it.
That is a good way to raise a kid.
Same daughter told me one day that she bet that the movie "Bambi" killed off a whole generation of hunters!! ;-)
I'd have to agree with her. But I suppose at the time when the movie came out, the population wasn't all that robust, so maybe it did them a favor. But now we need to kick it back into gear and reduce that deer pop a bit.
I think if I were to evaluate a similar lifestyle, I'd tend to think: bees aren't worth the trouble because you are only going to go through X amount of honey, and chances are you can buy it MUCH cheaper. Same way with a milk cow (which we didn't have, but a neighbor did). High maint for something that only costs you $2-3/gal at the grocery store. Chickens are a mixed bag. In a certain moderation, I guess they're viable. With some eggs and some getting axed. If you set it up right, you can run them with fairly low maintenance... But is it worth the time & trouble? I'm not sure. A better setup would be to have a good neighbor with a milk cow and chickens that you could buy milk & eggs from.
I didn't care for pigs. Nasty, smelly critters that liked mud and sloppy living too much. I think if we'd raised them for much longer, I would have lost my taste for oink. I'm undecided on sheep. They can become high maint. and don't always give you a good return.
But IMO, beef is certainly worth the effort. You're talking about a whole freezer (or more) full of what could be thousands of $ worth of meat. If you can handle 2-3 or so of them, you can fill your freezer and hopefully pay your expenses.
A good sized garden can also give you a good return, but I'm not real good at gardening.jt8
"The early bird gets the worm, but the second mouse gets the cheese." --Dave Barry
Just one last word here.I have used a weedwrench. And as I said before, I have tried a lot of alternatives. I have tried just about every alternative posted here. And I have even made a few tools myself, trying to do the same thing.The bottom line is that if you know how to use the weedwrench, and you use it correctly, it is the "Multimaster" for the job.To do the work that you can do with a multimaster, you can trot out a wide range of different saws, planes, chisels, etc... You CAN get the job done with those thools. But the first time you use a multimaster, and use it correctly... you'll never look back.And you will not lament about buying a tool that you are not going to be using every day. When you NEED that tool, only the multimaster will do the job the way a multimaster does. Then you can get back to using the other tools you do use every day...The weedwrench is to clearing a lot, what the multimaster is to remodeling a kitchen...I do not know if I will ever get one myself. But if I don't, it won't be because I do not know the value of the tool. And more than that, I didn't want people to come away from this thread with an impression of the weedwrench based on opinions posted here that are based on nothing more than conjecture, hypothesis, and second-hand information given by someone who might not even have been using the tool correctly...It really is a good tool.
Get over it....... The angry going eat you up. ~Brownbagg '06
Dude, where are you paying $180 for an ounce of Wrench? Is it that kind that was made hydroponicly in Canada?
Rebuilding my home in Cypress, CA
Also a CRX fanatic!
I will let my son , who's uncle is the inventor and manufacturer of these tools, reply. My son worked for his uncle fabricating these.
as a direct answer to the original question, 'is there a cheaper alternative...' yes. 1: there are a few manufacturers of similar tools, some of which might be slightly cheaper. 2: there is a whole range of alternative strategies to using a weedwrench-type tool. tractors & trucks with chains, axes, various jacks and whatnot. let me tell you that none of these things is as easy or quick as the weedwrench (for the appropriate application - a weedwrench will not remove an 8" tree, nor is it very good for bushes lacking a central 'trunk'). the original incarnation of this device was little more than a chain welded to a bar with a foot at the bottom for a fulcrum. with a welder, you could reproduce this and it will work. but again - not nearly as efficiently as a weedwrench.
I worked in his shop for about six months and at one point or another performed every single step of the manufacturing process... they are worth the money. it will never break, unless you completely misuse it. even then any welder could fix it. if you had a really nice metalworking shop, you could conceivably build one of your own for less, but it wouldn't be the same. it may not look like it, but there are very exacting tolerances built into these tools. tom ness has built 20 or 30 thousand of these things and only a handful have ever come back for repair. he is fanatical about quality and I only know of a handful of customers out of those thousands who were unhappy with the value. it will last forever, and you could even return your investment by renting it out.
a weedwrench will save you a surprising amount of labor. you may not even need to bend over... but it also removes a lot of the roots, which means whatever you're removing probably won't be back next year.
it is clear to me that many folks writing suggestions as to the alternatives may have never actually tried what they suggest - and certainly haven't tried a weedwrench.
lastly I would like to note that I am not saying any of these things because I am trying to sell you a weedwrench. the reason I worked with Tom is because he makes every one of them himself and barely keeps up with demand. he would never notice if you didn't buy one - someone else will.
Rent mini excavator with thumb. I have an acre of honeysuckle vines that would laugh at that thing, so the excavator route is where I'm goin'.
How bout a strap or chain and a 4x4.
Headstrong, I'll take on anyone!
He's finally got a car with good windows.
Don't tempt him.A great place for Information, Comraderie, and a sucker punch.
Remodeling Contractor just outside the Glass City.
http://www.quittintime.com/
Will it pull nose hairs?
OUCH!!
that brought tears to my eyes just reading about it.
Get one of these...works for me.....but not less costly.
http://ammbusher.com/brushcutter.htm
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John
J.R. Lazaro Builders, Inc.
Indianapolis, In.
Could you rig up something like this and just drive around while getting rid of brush? I would make the blades counter rotating to improve drivability.
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Do you really need to uproot the plants? If not think about renting a big trimmer with a brush blade. $40 a day should do it. I cleared about two acres of small trees and bushes this way when we bought our land.
Scott.
Always remember those first immortal words that Adam said to Eve, “You’d better stand back, I don’t know how big this thing’s going to get.â€
You can borrow the large and small weedwrench in our area, I believe from the CDF (California Department of Forestry). It is part of their program to control invasive plants. Our homeowners association borrowed them, they work great.
Small truck + big chain.
Make two wraps around trunk, with no overlap.
SamT
Now if I could just remember that I am a businessman with a hammer and not a craftsman with a business....."anonymous". . .segundo
Like Cal says. He just got a vehicle that runs good. No crazy ideas. LOL
Expert since 10 a.m.
http://www.hay98.com/
good value..
something for everybody..
highly thought of and made in the USA..
http://www.nextag.com/corona-lopper/search-html
Life is not a journey to the grave with the intention of arriving safely in a pretty and well preserved body, but rather to skid in broadside, thoroughly used up, totally worn out, and loudly proclaiming
WOW!!! What a Ride!
Forget the primal scream, just ROAR!!!
this on good authority...
for blackberry, if I had to deal w a lot of them, I'd go for something like this brush hook
Actuallywe used to use a long handled grass/weed cutter that was not nearly as sturdy as the one shown here
Life is not a journey to the grave with the intention of arriving safely in a pretty and well preserved body, but rather to skid in broadside, thoroughly used up, totally worn out, and loudly proclaiming
WOW!!! What a Ride!
Forget the primal scream, just ROAR!!!
for blackberry, if I had to deal w a lot of them, I'd go for something like this brush hook
To my midwestern eyes, that looks like a bean hook.jt8
"When one door closes another door opens; but we so often look so long and so regretfully upon the closed door, that we do not see the ones which open for us." -- Alexander Graham Bell