Manually-Operated "Tripod" Tree Digger

Manually-Operated "Tripod" Tree Digger WOODLOT EQUIPMENT Miscellaneous 21-5-10 "Nothing about it is fancy but it works great," says Harry Wright, Red Lodge, Mont., about the manually operated "tripod" tree digger he made that allows him to dig up evergreen trees up to 6-ft. tall and wrap the roots in burlap. Wright used 1-in. dia. galvanized steel pipe to make the 8-ft. high tripod and mounted a hand-operated winch on one of the legs. The legs slip into short lengths of larger diameter pipe welded onto a 1/2-in. thick square steel plate. The plate also sup-ports a pulley. The winch is used to lower an 8-sided steel frame down over the top of the tree. Wright sets the frame up over a tree, then uses a mall to drive 8 tapered steel "spades" down through slots along each side. The spades angle inward to make a point at the bottom. After raising the tree he places a round 3/4-in. thick sheet of plywood over the hole, then sets an 8-sided wooden basket on top of it. He lays burlap in the basket, lowers the tree into it, and pulls out the spades. "It requires more work than hydraulic-operated commercial tree diggers but it's also far less expensive. I spent a total of only about $20," says Wright. "I got the idea because I had planted 400 trees only 6 ft. apart and there wasn't enough room for a tractor or skid steer loader to maneuver between them." He used 1/8-in. thick flat steel to make the spades, which are 7 1/2 in. wide on top and 2-in. wide at the bottom. Contact: FARM SHOW Followup, Harry Wright, HC 50, Box 5565, Red Lodge, Mont. 59068 (ph 406 446-2832).

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