I would like to pull it out of the woods and deliver it to a scrap yard.
My first thought was to use my garden tractor and a chain to pull it out. But there are quite a few trees in the way, and I would rather not cut down some trees just to move this thing.
My next thought was to cut it in to smaller pieces and haul it out using a wheelbarrow or whatever. As you can see from the pics, the steel is pretty thick. What would I use to cut through it? Would a reciprocating saw like a Sawzall cut through it? (I suppose I could run a few hundred feet of extension cord from the house.) Or would something else be better?
The rust could just be superficial and it looks like wouldn’t be too much work to separate the individual parts from the central bar thing, which then be easier to haul out individually with a tractor.
I think a sawzall would work, although you’d use at least a few blades in the process. It would also probably be a good idea to try to saw through the fasteners to get that central bar loose instead of sawing straight through it.
I’d attack it with wrenches/sockets. Soak all with penetrating oil and it’ll come apart. The discs are set up so the spacing can be adjusted. Pull the cotter pins and take it apart.
That’s a cultivator and would probably be worth more to someone than the $50 you’d get for scrap. I can’t tell how it attaches to the tractor though, it may be one row of a multi-row cultivator. It’s probably still useful for someone. Can you put it on a pallet and drag it out sideways? Otherwise, I’d take the large parts loose via the bolts then put it on Craigslist for $200. That might be a little much for one with missing parts, but looking at my local craigslist ads, smaller, simpler cultivators are listed around $200 here.
I have cut through as much as 5/8” steel with my plasma cutter, but they are not inexpensive for good ones like mine. You’d also need an air compressor and electricity outlet to go with it.
I’d invest in a 14” Chop saw from Harbor Freight. It looks like that one bar has about a ½” wall. You could run an extension that far, but you may lose some power running that long of a distance.
Metal is fetching high prices right now, just got back from there Friday.
If you’re not worried about the money, you might try and get a scrapper to come to you. Find some guy with a pickup truck and let him drive right back there and load it up. I’m guessing two or three (or four) people could get it loaded up and strapped down.
He did say he didn’t want to cut down any trees though, so this is a problem. Personally, I’d do it myself and haul it up to the house, and cut a few trees.
The 4 1/2" mini-grinder with cut-off wheel is probably going to be his cheapest way out if he wants to do it himself, and doesn’t want to cut down his trees.
I second or third the vote for a wrench instead of a cutter. Ya might need two, ya might need a BIG wrench (or two), ya might need to knock out some of the rust, but that sucker there’s designed to be taken apart easily (with the right tools.) If yer dead set against pulling it out of there intact, please, use the bolts! That’s a nice piece of equipment and I really hope the economy isn’t soooo bad that it’s worth more as scrap!
Looking at the picture it appears to break down easily with a socket set. You could haul the whole thing out in pieces without a lot of fuss. I’m not sure it will even need oil on the rusted bolts. Get out a 1/2 in breaker bar and use 6 sided impact sockets. If you have a gas powered compressor all the better.
WD-40 or Liquid Wrench, an 18" or 24" pipe wrench with a ‘cheater’ pipe on the handle, and I would bet that you would be able to break most of those nuts loose and just disassemble the thing.
And I agree with Fubaya, you might be able to get a lot more on Craig’s List than you would get by ‘scrapping’ it.
All of those are good suggestions about trying break the bolts and nuts loose. Don’t forget to bring some heat as well if you go that way. My brother bought a ’44 Poppin’ Johnny tractor that had been sitting out in the weather for decades. He found that heat was his best friend. You can get those in small bottles these days. If you apply it to bolts, it causes it to expand. Wait to let those cool back down, then try it. That will give them a serious attitude adjustment. If you can get to the nut, heat it up, and you can start turning those without having them cool down.
I’d not try to cut that one big bar with about a 1/2" wall. And if your main worry were trees anyhow, you’ll be able to maneuver that through once you got the attachments off.
Looking at your pics again, it seems like many of those trees are not even one inch thick, and you’ve got hundreds of them. I’d drag it and be done with it. Mother Nature will probably replenish those you lost fairly quick, judging from how many you already got.
That’s still worth some money, an easy $200. You’d be surprised how much farm implements cost. Also, it does not look too bad at all. New tires, Rust-Oleum, new blades, and it’s good to go.
I’d put that picture up on Craigslist, $200/obo, you haul. Some trees might get whacked but they’ll be back in no time, most of them will die out anyways. If you had some nice old-growth I could see saving them. You could always offer the provision that they will have to dissassemble it to reduce the environmental impact. But, then it might not be worth the effort, let alone yours.
I second electronbee’s suggestion to have a buyer take it away. But if that doesn’t work you can buy or rent a chainsaw set up to run a metal cutting wheel. Usually it’s been set up with a masonry cutting diamond wheel, but it can be set up with a metal cutting abrasive wheel. That will make quick work cutting that up. Example
I’d actually just go with undoing the bolts with a pipe wrench, liquid wrench, and cut the nuts/bolts with a hacksaw/sawzall/grinder if they’re too rusted. Then Craigslist it, and have your buyer haul it away for you, in pieces so your trees don’t get demolished.
The biggest shocker is that many of you think it’s worth something. I never imagined it could be worth something as-is, but perhaps you’re right. If it’s worth around $200, I would definitely be willing to take down a few trees in order to keep it in one piece. (And no, it’s not old growth – just a bunch of small/young trees.)
I also like the idea of putting it on some kind of skid or sled. Will make dragging it out a lot easier.
I’m in central Ohio, and it’s our rainy season right now. As soon as the ground dries up I’ll take down a few trees to make a wide path to the cultivator. (And thanks for letting me know it’s a cultivator. I’m not a farmer, and am completely ignorant on farm equipment.) I’ll put it on a wood sled and then drag it out in one piece using my garden tractor.
