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I used to get all the easement clearing assignments, when I worked for a site contractor,years ago. They always put me on a late model 955, H ?, I forget, was a 1970 or better, this was in '94. These were sandy conditions, pines, some hardwoods mixed in, and other sites with big hardwoods. This machine did a pretty good job knocking them down, and or digging out one side on the bottom, and being able to raise up the bucket for extra leverage on the trunk certainly was an advantage over a dozer. I could also pick up a small stack of trees, depending on diameter, then carry and pile them. Grading, well, your results depend on a few variables, like soil conditions, terrain etc., but on both the 955 and 977, I was always able to dress up the area adequately, in a reasonable amount of time, but obviously would prefer a dozer for this, I just made the best of what I had, after some years, I really became a skilled operator, so what may frustrate a new operator ( I remember those days, we all started someplace ! ) was not a problem anymore. So if one takes their time, the results will eventually be satisfactory, sometimes you have to be a little creative, think ut your moves, and just take your time, if you get aggravated, take some time off to think about it, and try later, kinda worked for me. Now, this is not to say I would not have loved to have been on a D-8K or similar, for clearing, grubbing etc. which I've done similar work with on larger jobs. Also, it depends on how you want to do it, I feel safer cutting trees down, but then you have to remove stumps, so pushing them over with the roots in-tact, can take care of that problem. Been on jobs with the buncher feller and tub grinder, stumps were popped out with an excavator like a 235 or similar, those stump grinder machines I've seen recently are productive. We used a root rake on the D8K's next, then comes in the earthmoving crew, stripping top and doing cuts and fills. I think it's a matter of preference and planning if you're experienced, if not experienced in this work, you can see what experienced people do to get a job like this done and make a reasonable judgment call as how you will do it and what the best machine is for you to use. Best to plan out all your moves and see how a particular machine will handle the job. Remember this, clearing is very dangerous work, even with heavy R.O.P.S., brush screens etc., you must always realize, that parts of and whole trees can fall on you, trees can take a bad turn when falling, sharp spear like brush, medium size saplings can force their way through a brush cage and cause injury, unpredictable things happen very quickly, leaving no time to react or escape, whatever you do, make sure you educate yourself on safety and make sure you have overhead protection at minimum, I've seen what those spikes and thorns look like, boy they look like they could really do some damage.
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