# Another stump grinding nightmare.



## 066blaster (Jul 14, 2014)

The guy said he had four stump 8, 8, 12, and 18. I get there his wife shows me 5 stumps 14, 22, 18, and two 12 ' s this is not including root flare and surface roots . So I start grinding the one in the front yard the guy shows up and walks over and said that wasn't one he wanted done. Shows me the other four and then says one is under a smoldering pile of branches. But says he will pay for the one in the front also. So I start grinding the one that is basically on fire a 18 incher. Glad I dint burn anything up. Choked on smoke from the branches the wind off the grinding wheel was re igniting. Also rocks all over the place. I gave the guy a price over the phone so it kinda ticked me off . From now on I'm verifying sizes and actually number of stumps and agreeing on a fair price before I even unload. I ended up doing them all for a $100 took a hour and a half. Only 3 miles from home thank god. Haven't looked at my new greenteeth I just put on yet.


----------



## Coen (Jul 14, 2014)

I have nightmares about some of the stump jobs I've done. I hate grinding.


----------



## 066blaster (Jul 14, 2014)

From now on estimates over the phone will be just that. ...estimates.


----------



## Mowingman (Jul 15, 2014)

Yes, phone prices are only ESTIMATES. That is what I tell customers that call, and just have to have a price. I usually will not even offer any kind of price over the phone. I have pretty much learned my lesson about phone quotes, the hard way.
Jeff


----------



## marne (Jul 15, 2014)

Yes its always an estimation, but even when you go there and take the dimensions in person, you rarely know whats 6" below the earth.

One day you rip off your teeth, the other you coddle them.
Today I had the luck to do 23' in total around 12 stumps.
There was not one rock or stone, really none! - pure pleasure, 5hrs.

Last week did one 5', stones all around, 3hrs.
to quote myself: sometimes you win, sometimes you loose, even when you get the job.

cheers


----------



## lone wolf (Jul 15, 2014)

Wait till you have to grind a couple dozen in an area that has buried landscapes stones and gravel buried from years of overgrowth in a tight area next to a whole porch full of windows!


----------



## 066blaster (Jul 15, 2014)

It's also a real treat when their kids stand 10 feet from you to watch. This guy's kid even asked me if he could drive his bike up my trailer ramps.


----------



## 066blaster (Jul 15, 2014)

It's seems like you always leave a job happy or really ticked off not much in between.


----------



## HuskStihl (Jul 15, 2014)




----------



## Guido Salvage (Jul 15, 2014)

066blaster said:


> This guy's kid even asked me if he could drive his bike up my trailer ramps.



At least he was polite enough to ask...


----------



## tidy (Jul 17, 2014)

I had a similar experience the other week, guy was pretty accurate with the diameters but failed to mention the stumps were on a very steep embankment. The job wasn't much fun nor was it a profitable use of time. taught me a lesson to be more thorough when pricing stumps on the phone.... The situation on the ground wasn't noticeable in the photos supplied either.


----------



## Creeker (Jul 19, 2014)

The guy said he had four stump 8, 8, 12, and 18. I get there his wife shows me 5 stumps 14, 22, 18, and two 12 ' s this is not including root flare and surface roots .
CUSTOMERS NEED TO BE TOLD "DIAMETER AT GROUND LEVEL & HOW MANY ROOTS OFF THE STUMPS PLS ? " (Not yelling, just making answers earier to read  )

So I start grinding the one in the front yard the guy shows up and walks over and said that wasn't one he wanted done. Shows me the other four and then says one is under a smoldering pile of branches. But says he will pay for the one in the front also. So I start grinding the one that is basically on fire a 18 incher.
SOUNDS PRETTY IFFY, I'D TELL THE CUSTOMER TO PUT THE FIRE OUT PRE GRINDING.

Glad I dint burn anything up. Choked on smoke from the branches the wind off the grinding wheel was re igniting. Also rocks all over the place. I gave the guy a price over the phone so it kinda ticked me off . From now on I'm verifying sizes and actually number of stumps and agreeing on a fair price before I even unload. I ended up doing them all for a $100 took a hour and a half. Only 3 miles from home thank god. Haven't looked at my new greenteeth I just put on yet.
MY SUSCEPTIBILITY TO HAVE A GO AT A PHONE QUOTE IS PROPORTIONATE TO HOW BUSY WORK HAS BEEN, IF I NEED A BUCK THEN IT'LL SOMETIMES BE DONE. GENERALLY AVOID DOING PHONE QUOTES OR EL CHEAPO RATES FOR (OLD) FOLKS AS THEY WILL BE THE ONES THAT COME BACK AND BITE YOU ON THE ASS AS YOU FIND SOME STEEL, ROCK OR BRICK THAT DESTROYS CUTTERS AND THEY END UP COSTING YOU MONEY.

ALSO BE CAREFUL OF STUMPS WITH CHAINSAW CUTS IN THEM THAT HAVEN'T BEEN FINISHED, CUSTOMERS HAVE A HABIT OF THINKING OUR SAW WILL CUT OF THOSE BITS OF STEEL, ROCK OR BRICK THAT THEIRS WON'T.

ANNDDD...........ARE THERE ANY SERVICES UNDER THE STUMP THAT I CAN HIT ? EXPLAIN YOU CAN'T SEE UNDERGROUND AND THE RESPONSIBILITY FOR ANYTHING HIT IS THEIRS.

GOOD LUCK WITH THE WORK, ITS GENERALLY A GOOD JOB FOR NICE PEOPLE


----------



## pro94lt (Jul 21, 2014)

100$?


----------



## 066blaster (Jul 21, 2014)

pro94lt said:


> 100$?


I get what I can. I do it very part time if I can make 100 a week off it I'm happy. If I get time. A little extra spending money. Also it only took me an hour and a half. If could do that all day I wouldn't complain.


----------



## CalTreeEquip (Jul 26, 2014)

This constitutes a "nightmare"??


----------



## 066blaster (Jul 26, 2014)

CalTreeEquip said:


> This constitutes a "nightmare"??


Yep


----------



## Creeker (Jul 26, 2014)

Definite opening there CTE for some nightmare stories from stump grinders ! 

Here's one, probably not the worst but a good example -

Quoted four peppercorn stumps up to say 1.0 to 1.2 metres dia. (say 3 to 4 ft) at ground level on a vacant town block. Now a fella should be smart enough to remember that peppercorns were the trees that people threw junk under or into hollows for decades and the tree just grew out over it.

A better spot never seemed to exist for bricks, farm gate fittings and wire straining devices from yesteryear. None being obvious to the naked eye of course as they had slowly been buried under inches of decomposed peppercorn leaves which became soil like over the years.

Cutting them off wasn't to bad, full of dirt but after a few sharpens of the 066 chain they were considerably lower (less to grind).

It all went downhill from there, every bloody stump was surrounded underground by scattered bricks and bits of steel which took a frightful toll on the cutters despite considerable mattocking around them and thinking that must be the last bit of rubbish here today.

It got to the stage that on the last stump at the very start the cutter wheel connected with something that bought a huge bang from the machine and the immediate pressing of the red button on the remote to stop the motor.

Under the edge of the stump wood and undetectable with the mattock was the through post farm gate fitting of 5/8" dia steel rod with a U bend on the end and about 15" long. The grinder had picked it up and flung it upwards into the skirt at the rear of the wheel putting the only dent to this day in it. 

Joy of joys it also smashed off 2 or 3 of the greenteeth shoulders at Au$25 ea. that hold the cutters and destroyed some more Au$12 ea. precious cutters.

Muttering profanities the 25km trip home to get spares was time for reflection on the advisability of the purchase of a metal detector and the habit of folks to chuck their rubbish under peppercorn trees.

I think from memory the job was quoted back then for round Au$350. It'd be a fair bit more now and would factor in the vagaries of mankind to use his evergreen peppercorn trees as a repository for junk.

The humble peppercorn tree, maybe only surpassed by the local farmers favourite wind break tree, the cyprus pine and the handiest thing they all had to keep the wind from blowing them over - the steel post - which has been found in the exact centre of huge old cyprus stumps in three consecutive trees at a job, but that's another story..........


----------



## NCgrinder (Jul 31, 2014)

I've learned after 14 yrs at this job, NEVER ,EVER give a set over-the-phone price.... I will give a price range (i.e. high/low)...even though its been proven all the customer hears is the "low"...I stress that it is only an estimate and that it's not firm til I see the job...
Believe me "over-the-phone " and "thru -the -windshield" estimates will bite you every time....and I always,always,always go over with the cuastomer of exactly what I will do and what I will not do...including the price and how/when I get paid.....before I unload & start the job...
Most phone customer really have no clue as to what size the stumps actually are...Most that call me say.."oh ,its about a foot or so..." When its more like a yard or so!!!!


----------



## RDAA (Aug 2, 2014)

Removed an old nasty rotten silver maple on a farm site this year. The tree must have grown around the scrap iron pile. It had everything imaginable in it horseshoes, rocks, cultivator shovels, etc. it just destroyed a dozen or so teeth and broke a few pocket bolts. I somewhat rotated teeth to get some edges back. I pretty much worked the **** out of my grinder with the half sharp teeth. I didn't want to throw a brand new set and destroy them too. I charged her for the damaged or broken teeth and she understood why. From now on I let customers know that if debris is in THEIR stump and excessive damage is done they will be paying for my broken stuff.


----------



## Topbuilder (Aug 11, 2014)

I did a job the other day, One Bradford pear 12' or so and a oak around 28" with a large surface root area. I priced it high since the grind area was around 14' to remove the crown and restore the natural grade. Expensive house = alot of clean-up... I start with the BP. Bam, hit a t-post. Not a wimpy tree stake post a real farm type t-post. Sheds a couple edges but is deep enough I just don't go there again. Move on, Bam hit another one. Lose more edges also just deep enough I can move on. Bam hit another one. Able to hit with sledge and drive it out of the grind. I move to the large oak. I have to replace all primary teeth and a few secondarys to get through this. Thankfull this tree is large enough it was not planted and supported like the BP. Its 95 degrees and the stump is in full sun. I go back to grinding. Bam! hit another T-post, more shedding of perfectly good carbide. The owner comes out and explains ALL the trees on their property were planted 18 years ago... long story short, I ended up going home for tools and teeth. I battled t-posts for an hour in the sun. A four hour job turned into 6. The owners added some $ to my price for broken teeth. I got through it without jumping up and down and creating new combo-cuss words. ( been working on that, it really does no good) I Fullfilled my personal mission statement which is - "If you lose money on a job, make damn sure the customer is happy" 
So, every job is not peaches and cream...
I did pick up a new Builder while on that job. It'll all work out. 
My worst day grinding is still better than working for someone else!


----------



## Toddppm (Aug 11, 2014)

NCgrinder said:


> I've learned after 14 yrs at this job, NEVER ,EVER give a set over-the-phone price.... I will give a price range (i.e. high/low)...even though its been proven all the customer hears is the "low"...I stress that it is only an estimate and that it's not firm til I see the job...
> Believe me "over-the-phone " and "thru -the -windshield" estimates will bite you every time....and I always,always,always go over with the cuastomer of exactly what I will do and what I will not do...including the price and how/when I get paid.....before I unload & start the job...
> Most phone customer really have no clue as to what size the stumps actually are...Most that call me say.."oh ,its about a foot or so..." When its more like a yard or so!!!!




I will confirm All of that! Especially the windshield pricing and they only hear the lowest price of the range you give [email protected]!


----------



## Creeker (Aug 11, 2014)

Have to give you top marks for dedication to the job topbuilder. The only job I've not finished was so bad with large rocks about 6" under the surface, (after I thought I had mattocked them all out), I just walked away from the job.

Didn't worry about the 25 mile travel each way or the wrecked cutters and no charge to the customer.

Thought it was better to walk off the job than continue to do damage.

It's each persons decision of course and well done to finish your "nice" one with the steel posts.


----------



## Topbuilder (Aug 11, 2014)

Creeker said:


> Have to give you top marks for dedication to the job topbuilder. The only job I've not finished was so bad with large rocks about 6" under the surface, (after I thought I had mattocked them all out), I just walked away from the job.
> 
> Didn't worry about the 25 mile travel each way or the wrecked cutters and no charge to the customer.
> 
> ...


 
Thanks Creeker. I know you have it rough there! We have zero natural rock in our ground in my area. If I hit something, someone put it there. If I only damage teeth 1 out of 40 jobs I feel like I'm pretty lucky and the expense is spread out over many jobs.


----------



## Cupocoffee (Nov 5, 2014)

I give estimates over the phone all the time with the caveat that I always measure the stumps myself. It has worked fine for me. Most people give me a fair measurement. I never work by the hour. The customer knows exactly the price of the job before I start. One day I got a call from a lady who wanted to know how much it would cost to grind a stump. I asked her what the diameter was and she said she was not good with measurements. I asked if it was the size of a basketball hoop and she said she never played basketball. I asked if it was the size of a dinner plate and she said, "Yes, about like a dinner plate." I asked how high the stump was and again she said she wasn't good with measurements. I asked if it was higher than her knees and she said it was about knee high. I told her if that was the correct size it would fall into my $80.00 minimum price. When I got there, the stump was a monster that had three feeder roots that were over 12" diameter and twenty feet long and several smaller ones. I told her I would do the stump for $800.00 and she said, "You told me it would be $80." I reminded her that she said it was about the size of a dinner plate. I love, love, love stump grinding but once or twice per year I'll have a bizarre story like this. Oh, and I did not get the job. Ha!


----------



## Steve-Maine (Nov 5, 2014)

I have done stump grinding for over 45 years. Never did a job I didn't look at first. never had any surprises that way. Never grind a stump that was burning. In Maine we have to call Dig Safe first, that why you have to go to job site and mark the stumps to be done. The first job I did I hauled away all chips. Never again. I have only lost one job because I wouldn't haul away chips. If you do a $100 job, you should charge another $200 to haul chips. More money in Grinding that hauling chips.










First


Toddppm said:


> I will confirm All of that! Especially the windshield pricing and they only hear the lowest price of the range you give [email protected]!


----------



## Cupocoffee (Nov 5, 2014)

Steve-Maine said:


> I have done stump grinding for over 45 years. Never did a job I didn't look at first. never had any surprises that way. Never grind a stump that was burning. In Maine we have to call Dig Safe first, that why you have to go to job site and mark the stumps to be done. The first job I did I hauled away all chips. Never again. I have only lost one job because I wouldn't haul away chips. If you do a $100 job, you should charge another $200 to haul chips. More money in Grinding that hauling chips.
> 
> 
> 
> ...


----------



## 066blaster (Nov 5, 2014)

Cupocoffee said:


> I give estimates over the phone all the time with the caveat that I always measure the stumps myself. It has worked fine for me. Most people give me a fair measurement. I never work by the hour. The customer knows exactly the price of the job before I start. One day I got a call from a lady who wanted to know how much it would cost to grind a stump. I asked her what the diameter was and she said she was not good with measurements. I asked if it was the size of a basketball hoop and she said she never played basketball. I asked if it was the size of a dinner plate and she said, "Yes, about like a dinner plate." I asked how high the stump was and again she said she wasn't good with measurements. I asked if it was higher than her knees and she said it was about knee high. I told her if that was the correct size it would fall into my $80.00 minimum price. When I got there, the stump was a monster that had three feeder roots that were over 12" diameter and twenty feet long and several smaller ones. I told her I would do the stump for $800.00 and she said, "You told me it would be $80." I reminded her that she said it was about the size of a dinner plate. I love, love, love stump grinding but once or twice per year I'll have a bizarre story like this. Oh, and I did not get the job. Ha!
> 
> View attachment 377670


She meant to say dinner table. I just had another one. Lady said 32 inch silver maple, get there an it's 3 foot high. The base was like 5 feet with big surface roots every where. I had told her 120. I looked at it and said it's bigger than described. She said it didn't have to be very low because they were adding fill to that area to level their lawn so I said ok. I cut it off and ground it to ground level , she looked at it, paid me, and I left. Next day I get a call from her husband that it's not good enough. Went back spent another hour on it. A tuff on the machine hour, and she gave me a extra 20 like she was giving me a tip. I said for future reference that would be considered a 5 foot stump.


----------



## TimberMcPherson (Nov 11, 2014)

Fund days stumping, storm blew the tree over, lifting the plots


----------



## Cupocoffee (Nov 11, 2014)

That would be a first! Ha!


----------



## Toddppm (Nov 12, 2014)

Creepy!


----------



## TimberMcPherson (Nov 16, 2014)

the results were pretty good, managers were impressed


----------



## Creeker (Nov 17, 2014)

Good results TMc, nothing like a happy customer.


----------



## TimberMcPherson (Nov 17, 2014)

Thanks, they have been good enough to give us another challenge, They want the plot moved back into place so the stump has to go. Hmmm wont be a job for a rg66


----------



## VitalityTree (Apr 4, 2020)

RDAA said:


> Removed an old nasty rotten silver maple on a farm site this year. The tree must have grown around the scrap iron pile. It had everything imaginable in it horseshoes, rocks, cultivator shovels, etc. it just destroyed a dozen or so teeth and broke a few pocket bolts. I somewhat rotated teeth to get some edges back. I pretty much worked the **** out of my grinder with the half sharp teeth. I didn't want to throw a brand new set and destroy them too. I charged her for the damaged or broken teeth and she understood why. From now on I let customers know that if debris is in THEIR stump and excessive damage is done they will be paying for my broken stuff.


----------



## VitalityTree (Apr 4, 2020)

I've had 3 incidents since I opened my stump grinding business 5 years ago. I have owned 4 different machines, presently use a Rayco 1635. First nightmare I had was while removing a huge soft maple stump. I think one of the pill block bearings was depleted of grease, all of a sudden I heard a large bang, the machine stalled. Bearing was cracked, and there was a large fissure in the steel holding the cutter wheel on the machine. I think this occurred because the machine was previously damaged, and I recently acquired it.

Had another terrible day today! Once again, I got a job removing a "3' foot" soft maple stump that was more like 6' feet lol. Got about two thirds of the way through the stump when I heard a loud bang, and the machine kicked back! I must of hit something hard with in stump, maybe a rock or piece of steel. I lost it after that, told my client to go back to school, and learn how to use a measuring tape. He paid me $350 so I would leave his property, I was pretty furious. Fortunately the machine seems to be ok. It lurched back about a foot, and the front wheels of the machine bounced into the air! First for me, I think I'm going to invest in a metal detector, and walk away from more jobs like this. Its a lot easier to write off gas, than a broken machine come tax time.


----------



## Steve-Maine (Apr 4, 2020)

Toddppm said:


> I will confirm All of that! Especially the windshield pricing and they only hear the lowest price of the range you give [email protected]!


I started grinding stumps right out of college in 63. Had an old model 6 Vermeer. Always went to job site to give an estimate. Always marked stump for dig safe and drew diagram of work so customer couldn't add more stumps. Worked out very well. Sold the business in 04. Has a lot of repeat customers plus doing stumps for 4 other tree companies.


----------



## 066blaster (Apr 4, 2020)

I sold my grinder 2 years ago. Didn't really have time and machine was getting worn out. I would like to get another maybe a 362 or bigger. If i do my new rule would be to add a hundred dollars to any big silver maple estimate. I also did 3 huge cottonwood stumps 4-5 foot across. I was just burried in chips. I am guessing there are a lot of Ash tree stumps that need grinding now. I wasn't a big fan of those. really fine dust, need a mask when grinding


----------



## iowagold (Apr 4, 2020)

as a repair tech... I get asked for estimates all of the time...
I have 2 rates new clients and current clients...
my good clients know I just charge a basic rate and the client buys all the materials...
this might be a good plan for those who are doing any tree work...
let the clients know any breakage of the equipment during the job is added to the bill...
and get it in writing for the new clients. 

my best story is a new client wanted a set price...
I just said "I do not do biz that way"
they said "well how about $200.00?"
I just said "ok"...
well the job only took maybe 15min...
we it was done they wanted to hand me the $200.00
I just asked "do you have any change?"
they did, I only charge 35.00 as a min charge so I gave the rest back..
"this is why I only charge what it takes... some times things are not as bad as it looks.."

hard to do a guestimate even if you are at the job site!!
lot's of stuff can and will go wrong...

these days I have a closed group of clients they know to just drop it off and I will let them know what is up.
most of the gear I work on is at least $100K in value...
lol and a few of the units have been to almost every shop in the area and they could not get it!!
I had 2 of those as of late!
I love being the hero!
I had one of the shops call as even asked what I had found!!
my reply was "the tech who looked at it was under educated"
"and the client took it to some one who was over educated and it was repaired"

as an engineer I can say things like that... lol!

have faith... make a drive, go to the site, get an idea of what is up, and buy a metal detector so you can do your locates!!
and do not forget to place that call to one call for the utilities locates as well!!

stump grinding is a rough biz... as well as any tree service!! hard way to make a buck!
you have to love what you are doing to make it worth while!
lol and a stump grinder is not a scarify machine so try not to feed it rocks!! lol

that brings up a good question does any one make diamond cutters for these wheels???
some good carbide with industrial diamond might be just the ticket for the rock infested areas and stumps with rocks and sand inside..
a bit of water to cool the cutter? a bit of high speed grind?

I always watch my grind angles and % of cut... no hog of the material and no over cut...
slow and steady wins the race on this stuff..

stay safe out there!!
lol and have fun!!


----------



## Topbuilder (Apr 4, 2020)

Congrats!! You have literally resurrected a thread from the dead. Straight out of a grave yard. 
After grinding for over ten years, 1000's of hours, my self imposed rule still holds - If you lose money on a job, make sure the customer is happy. 
You are going to "find" things. You are going to break parts. I thought about it this way, If every job I charged and set aside a $10 bill to pay for the 1 in 100 job where I "found" something , Could I pay for the repairs without having to collect every penny from the homeowner and risk the relationship? For me, the answer was/is YES! 

Here is some of the thinks I have hit: 1) A flywheel. The home owner just finished telling me there was no need raking around the stump to find any debris. It was clean. 2) A master cylinder. Not the same job. In the woods in the middle of nowhere. 3) A railroad spike. Last pass on a smallish stump , It was buried right in the middle. It took out two pocket bolts and 3-4 teeth. 3) T-posts. All shapes and sizes. 4) Angle iron. 5) 3/4" rebar. It was 20' long. It got sucked all the way around the cutting head. I had to go home and get a liquid wrench to cut it off. Trashed pockets and teeth. I was very happy there was not more damage to the machine or me. I collected a couple hundred bucks extra on that one. My loss was more. I kept my cool. I did thousands of dollars of work for that man after that. And his neighbor. 6) Bricks, lots of bricks. Some embedded in the stump. I did a eucalyptus that had 8' of concrete border completely embedded in stumps and roots. 7) I hit a 3/4 conduit one time that had 220v electric in it. It was buried about 4" deep. Turns out it was powering a 1800 sq ft home! OK, that lady was not happy when I left. She asked me if I was going to fix it. I said "no, you need to call the electrician who did the job wrong". It was her husband... 

Point is, things happen. Make sure you charge enough to cover them. Stay safe and good luck with it,
Top


----------



## iowagold (Apr 4, 2020)

066blaster said:


> I sold my grinder 2 years ago. Didn't really have time and machine was getting worn out. I would like to get another maybe a 362 or bigger. If i do my new rule would be to add a hundred dollars to any big silver maple estimate. I also did 3 huge cottonwood stumps 4-5 foot across. I was just burried in chips. I am guessing there are a lot of Ash tree stumps that need grinding now. I wasn't a big fan of those. really fine dust, need a mask when grinding


oh yes with the full PPE gear!! as well as good muffs.. I do ear plugs and muffs... covered for both sound and trash that way.
dang dust over time will make a lung r out of you...
I always like a cool dry windy days for grinding...
and get up wind... at least when you can....
hard to do with some of this larger grind gear unless you have radio remote...

yea lots more trees dead these last few years with bugs and other things...
so more stumps for 2020 and 2021 to work on.

I did my property as no trees back in 2010 and 2011 28 trash trees and one big 100' sick tree...
a little at a time... a couple of basket machines good stihl saw and trac skid loader with grapple and good dump trailer ...
4 days with a small manual stump grinder..
looks good now!! and even has grass on it 10 years later.


----------



## VitalityTree (Apr 4, 2020)

I will keep you in mind if my Rayco 1635 is broken. My father is a mechanic, and I'm pretty handy. First time my machine broke I repaired it my self after getting a quote for $1300.00. I think I made the right call leaving that job, and not risking further damage. I texted my client a few hours afterwards and apologized. The tree was so old, there's no way they could of known about anything being embedded in the stump.


----------



## iowagold (Apr 4, 2020)

Topbuilder said:


> Here is some of the thinks I have hit: I hit a 3/4 conduit one time that had 220v electric in it. It was buried about 4" deep. Turns out it was powering a 1800 sq ft home! OK, that lady was not happy when I left. She asked me if I was going to fix it. I said "no, you need to call the electrician who did the job wrong". It was her husband...
> 
> Point is, things happen. Make sure you charge enough to cover them. Stay safe and good luck with it,
> Top


always get locates for the property! not just the basic utilities but the private stuff as well..
here in iowa mandatory locates is the law here...
I always also verify the locates with my gear as well...
best bucks you can spend is for a fero probe or the new versions that will also do electrical and telecom.
and learn how to use it..
you were a lucky cat on the 220 line... ouch!! that stuff hurts!!

bad locates are a good way to test your relation ship with your insurance guy...
$50k per splice on fiber and you need 2 of those...
one of the plumbers here in town hit one of the new fiber trunks 3 days after it was drilled in...
$100k in splices and $10 bucks a foot for the 6 blocks worth of replacement sheath drill work.
he was lucky they were still in the area drilling..
the locates company will take a hit on that too.. they did not show fiber on the locates map for that site as it was new construction.
there was a new repeater 2 blocks up the street... that would to have been the tip off for me...
some of that stuff is not too deep in spots..

I have some telecom in my yard that is 18 inches down...


----------



## VitalityTree (Apr 4, 2020)

Usually I get locates, especially if the stump or digging is going to occur in the front yard. Unfortunately a locate will not detect large rocks or pieces of steel and construction debris underground. I have grinded right through cement, and even metal planting stakes (T bars) so what ever I hit was extremely hard. 

I'm more concerned about the machine, it was a huge investment. Anyone know how durable these machines are? They must be designed for incidents like this. In an urban or suburban environment there is tons of garbage and debris buried underground so I would assume that most stump grinders are very heavy duty.


----------



## iowagold (Apr 4, 2020)

VitalityTree said:


> I will keep you in mind if my Rayco 1635 is broken. My father is a mechanic, and I'm pretty handy. First time my machine broke I repaired it my self after getting a quote for $1300.00. I think I made the right call leaving that job, and not risking further damage. I texted my client a few hours afterwards and apologized. The tree was so old, there's no way they could of known about anything being embedded in the stump.


most of this stuff is not that hard to work on if you can wrench...
it just get interesting if the computer controls start to hang up or spools stick etc..
rare issues... but they do get the blood pumping!! lol!!
always have the e-stop handy!! lol!!
$1000.00 for a used fero probe is a cheap tool...
the good units run $1k up to $6k and are worth every penny!
and they do hold value if you take care of them!!
try to buy them at cost if you can... 
last one I sold I used it for 5 years and sold it for $500 more that I gave for it!!
but it looked like new... always in a case... always wiped down after every use.

a good gold metal detector in all metals mode works well for metal trash in stumps.
you can find them for less than $1k for the state of the art units.
try a tesoro lobo super trac they work well!! some times you can get a deal on those!!


----------



## iowagold (Apr 4, 2020)

VitalityTree said:


> Usually I get locates, especially if the stump or digging is going to occur in the front yard. Unfortunately a locate will not detect large rocks or pieces of steel and construction debris underground. I have grinded right through cement, and even metal planting stakes (T bars) so what ever I hit was extremely hard.
> 
> I'm more concerned about the machine, it was a huge investment. Anyone know how durable these machines are? They must be designed for incidents like this. In an urban or suburban environment there is tons of garbage and debris buried underground so I would assume that most stump grinders are very heavy duty.


Vermeer units will take a beating.. they make those here in Iowa


----------



## capetrees (Apr 4, 2020)

VitalityTree said:


> Usually I get locates, especially if the stump or digging is going to occur in the front yard. Unfortunately a locate will not detect large rocks or pieces of steel and construction debris underground. I have grinded right through cement, and even metal planting stakes (T bars) so what ever I hit was extremely hard.
> 
> I'm more concerned about the machine, it was a huge investment. Anyone know how durable these machines are? They must be designed for incidents like this. In an urban or suburban environment there is tons of garbage and debris buried underground so I would assume that most stump grinders are very heavy duty.



I don't know what it is about homeowners tossing every rock in the yard to the base of the trees?? I had to dig out every stump before grinding for fear o hitting rocks, bricks, concrete and dog chains. Those are fun!!

Worst was a customer has me grind a stump, told me he and his son in law couldn't get it down low enough to mow over. I got there an it was all dug around, hacked at with an ax and basically beat up. I'm grinding away, going pretty good and BANG!! while something BIG goes by my ankle. Turns out the guy drove a steel splitting wedge down into the tree hoping to split it and remove it but forgot to tell me he drove into the stump!!! Three replaced teeth later, it was done.


----------



## Del_ (Apr 4, 2020)

I have a Rayco 1672 tow behind and a self propelled Carlton 4400 with radio remote.

The radio remote is awesome.

Keep those pillow blocks greased!


----------



## VitalityTree (Apr 4, 2020)

Metal detecting would be a fun hobby too


----------



## iowagold (Apr 5, 2020)

here is a link for a good metal detector retailer
https://www.kellycodetectors.com/catalog/metal-detectors?
they have good pricing, and ship almost everywhere.
for what we do 
and this is one of the good mfg 
http://tesoro.com/
as well as whites, and minelab.
mine lab is one of the best units...
less than $10k on most of the pro models..
but they find deep stuff as well.
I see kellyco now has deep radar units now.
$30-40k but for a 3d scan unit that is cool!


----------



## VitalityTree (Apr 5, 2020)

iowagold said:


> here is a link for a good metal detector retailer
> https://www.kellycodetectors.com/catalog/metal-detectors?
> they have good pricing, and ship almost everywhere.
> for what we do
> ...


----------



## VitalityTree (Apr 5, 2020)

Should I be worried about damage to the stump grinder, when something like I previously described occurs?


----------



## iowagold (Apr 6, 2020)

I always metal detect the stumps...
it just is smart... a couple of extra min can save lots of damage..
or hurt to you..

and as far as how hard it is on equipment...
lots of inertia on the grinders big and small.
risk damage to the gear box as well as the teeth.
for me a couple of hundred bucks in the till is not worth the risk on a $50K or more grinder..
same with a good chain saw...


----------

