# asplundh JEY whisper chipper problems



## vettes1995 (May 22, 2013)

i was operating my old Asplundh JEY whisper chipper when it went BANG! Guessing something slipped because all 4 of the 16"blades were broken and the cutter bar is mangled. I could use some help with the height and adjustment specs for the blades and the bar. any takers on this one ? Any help would be appreciated.


----------



## bustedup (May 22, 2013)

vettes1995 said:


> i was operating my old Asplundh JEY whisper chipper when it went BANG! Guessing something slipped because all 4 of the 16"blades were broken and the cutter bar is mangled. I could use some help with the height and adjustment specs for the blades and the bar. any takers on this one ? Any help would be appreciated.



Hey there, Ask they equip guys give em as much info as poss and I'm sure they'll help ......welcome to AS btw


----------



## Bandit Man (May 22, 2013)

vettes1995 said:


> i was operating my old Asplundh JEY whisper chipper when it went BANG! Guessing something slipped because all 4 of the 16"blades were broken and the cutter bar is mangled. I could use some help with the height and adjustment specs for the blades and the bar. any takers on this one ? Any help would be appreciated.



Sorry to hear that.

I would start with four new knives and cutting bar. I would also replace the hex head wedge bolts. Insert new knives into the drum, set wedge, and torque wedge bolts to 120 lbs, then tap the wedge several times with a hammer and re-torque the bolts(maybe twice). With all knives set and torqued properly, go under and set the cutter bar in place. Use the setting bolts to raise the cutter bar to 1/32 of an inch from the closest knife. tighten the pressure bar bolts with the locking nuts. As the knifes wear, there are blade adjusting screws in the JEY's drum also, but with new knifes I would just set to bottom at start. Good luck
Also, if you haven't ever taken these blades out, there is a long bolt in the locking wedge, screw it into the short bolt hole, and the wedge and knife will pop free.

Bandit man


----------



## VA-Sawyer (May 23, 2013)

First, I'm going to flag this thread so it can be moved to the Heavy Equipment section.

Second, I suggest a very careful inspection of the drum before proceeding. At least have a Zyglo or Dye Penatrent inspection done. Magnaflux would be even better. We had one here that had failed and put a groundie in the hospital.

Rick


----------



## Steve NW WI (May 23, 2013)

Moved.


----------



## Sagetown (May 25, 2013)

VA-Sawyer said:


> First, I'm going to flag this thread so it can be moved to the Heavy Equipment section.
> 
> Second, I suggest a very careful inspection of the drum before proceeding. At least have a Zyglo or Dye Penatrent inspection done. Magnaflux would be even better. We had one here that had failed and put a groundie in the hospital.
> 
> Rick



............ and while yer at it ~ '_Happy Birthday to ya VA-Sawye_r ". :bday:


----------



## CalTreeEquip (May 27, 2013)

First thing is to figure out what happened. Did the bed knife slip or did something hard go through it? You'll want to pull the belts off and check the drum bearings. There is a good chance they were damaged. You'll need to closely inspect the drum for damage, the bolts, blocks and bed knife mounting plate as well.


----------



## vettes1995 (May 27, 2013)

*closer look*

i removed all 4 blades, 8 blade depth screws, and the cutter bar. After closer inspection i think one of the blades came loose. The cutter bar didn't show much sign of damage but it will need replacing. The 4 bolts that wedge the blade in on the one that came loose were bent slightly. 4 of the blade depth adjustment screws were damaged also. The drum was bent slightly were one of the blades sits against it and that is one of the reasons i think the blade slipped. I also see a mark on the housing above the drum that looks like the full length of the blade hit it. I ran the chipper with no blades on low idle and didn't notice much vibration. It didn't sound quite the same as it used to though.


----------



## vettes1995 (May 27, 2013)

VA-Sawyer said:


> First, I'm going to flag this thread so it can be moved to the Heavy Equipment section.
> 
> Second, I suggest a very careful inspection of the drum before proceeding. At least have a Zyglo or Dye Penatrent inspection done. Magnaflux would be even better. We had one here that had failed and put a groundie in the hospital.
> 
> Rick



Where or how exactly would i get this done? I am also worried that the drum is no longer usable and i don't know where to find a replacement.


----------



## CalTreeEquip (May 27, 2013)

You may need a new drum then. If its just the lip that is bent a little you can try and straighten it with heat but if you can't get it to support the blade properly then that drum is toast. Take a very close look at the bed knife mount. And again, take off the belts and feel the bearing by hand. Also take a pry-bar, wedge it under the drum and lift. You'r looking for movement in the bearings. You'll want to look at the belts as well, check if you smoked them at all.
Typically when this happens it destroys the machine.

(running it with the blades out should sound different)


----------



## VA-Sawyer (May 27, 2013)

You really need somebody that knows what they are looking at, to inspect that machine. The risk of really hurting somebody isn't worth saving a few bucks. Your liability insurance might refuse to pay if it hurts somebody and they find out that you didn't have it checked out by a qualified person. It's a little thing called 'due diligence'.
Rick


----------



## CalTreeEquip (May 27, 2013)

I would agree but the problem is there are so few mechanics that know anything about these chippers.
A good industrial machine shop may be helpful.


----------



## Bandit Man (May 27, 2013)

*rotor*



vettes1995 said:


> Where or how exactly would i get this done? I am also worried that the drum is no longer usable and i don't know where to find a replacement.



Sure glad the knife hit the upper housing and didn't come back at you. You said it is a 16" model, so your standard rotor(drum) part number should be 016-0014-34. I'm not sure where you might find a good used one, but I will PM you with the info where you should be able to order new. Although it may be cheaper to just buy another used chipper!


----------



## vettes1995 (May 30, 2013)

The bearings seem to be fine and i didn't notice any play in the drum. If i can't replace the drum i will look into sending it to a machine shop to get it fixed. A bit of good news though . . . . stripping this chipper down has given me the opportunity to do some body work. It's gonna look good if i can fix it. If i can't fix it it will be nice looking scrap.


----------



## vettes1995 (May 30, 2013)

Does anyone have any info on torque specs for this chipper that they would like to share with me?


----------

