1987 Mitts & Merrill belt?

[Taylor123]

I was hoping someone could tell me where to buy a new belt for a 1987 Mitts and Merrill 12" chipper.

Thanks!

 

[Taylor123]

New info

So, I finally deciphered the label on the belt, it is a B138 matchmaker, but after looking at other chipper belts, this one is only a single v-groove belt, and the others I saw were 3 or 4. Is there a disadvantage to having a smaller belt?

------

Ok so I found some disadvantages, slippage less torque etc. also, I realized the guy I bought it from was wrong about it being a 12", it's a 16".

Does anyone know where to get the 4 groove engine sheave from? (and the belt?)


Obviously I am new to this, so thanks if anyone has any input whatsoever!

 

[Taylor123]

More...

Hello again, so I have found a sheave and belt, and now looking into the knives I am about to install a new bed knife as the old one is rounded off... Right now it looks like there is about 1/4" clearence, I read on another thread the clearence should be .05", or a little more than a sheet of paper. Can anyone confirm this?

To be honest it makes me a little nervous to have such a powerful drum spinning so closely to another knife, so I hesitate to set it so close. But if someone can confirm, I'll do it.

Thanks if anyone is listening..

 

[lone wolf]

Hello again, so I have found a sheave and belt, and now looking into the knives I am about to install a new bed knife as the old one is rounded off... Right now it looks like there is about 1/4" clearence, I read on another thread the clearence should be .05", or a little more than a sheet of paper. Can anyone confirm this?

To be honest it makes me a little nervous to have such a powerful drum spinning so closely to another knife, so I hesitate to set it so close. But if someone can confirm, I'll do it.

Thanks if anyone is listening..

Without knowing that machine I would just say close to a sheet of paper is a little too tight! go a bit more open run it and see what the chips come out like.

 

[Taylor123]

Thanks!

Hi Lone Wolf, thanks for the reply. I'll take your advice, I'm working on the chipper today, I'll let you all know how it goes.

Thanks again.

 

[Taylor123]

Clearance

Hello again forum, so I just got Off the phone with someone that knows the machine. He said the clearance should be about a matchbook cover. The torque on the drum knives is min 125 and recommended 150, and about 300ft lbs on the bed knife. Hope this might help someone.

 

[BDChainsaw]

I have a 1982 Mitts & Merrill K-12. I went through alot of the same problems your dealing with myself and would be glad to help you any way I can. As far as belts and sheaves go look to your local industrial suppliers. Many of the components on these machines are comon and readily avalible through them.
On the subject of your blades. Make sure your bearings are good first. Put a pry bar under the drum and pry up watching for movement. You don't want contact occuring during operation. Knives are made in large batches and often not matched sets. Any good machine shop can grind your knives make sure they do so as a set. Make sure your pockets are clean as well as the blocks. inspect your threaded holes and bolts. The bed knife needs to be maintained as well keep an eye on it.
Mitts & Merrill's chipper business was purchased by Karl Kumerling it is still in opperation in Massilon Ohio. I've been there in person their all good people and knowledgable about their products. You can get factory information dirrectly from them. Books, spec's, sticker kits, ect.

 

[Taylor123]

Thanks!

Thanks for the reply BDchainsaw!

I have an extra set of knives I want to change out so your reply is very much appreciated.
Why are the knives matched sets? The guy I bought from has matched them and labeled 1-6, and on the drum there are markings that go from A-M skipping the letter G. If you could shed some light on which knife locations are meant to be matched, it would be great!

After reading your post I went and checked the drum bearings, there is no play which I'm thankful for...

Would you ever have the time to take a couple pictures of your chipper, in particular the clutch housing? Mine has been modified and I'm curious to see how it should be.

Thanks again.

 

[Taylor123]

Manual?

Hi there again. Would you by any chance have the manual for your chipper?

thanks!

Taylor

 

[Eq Broker]

Hi Taylor,

You can visit our online store as we carry many different knife sizes and anvils for Mitts and Merrill. You can visit New and Used Heavy Equipment For Sale and Export: Construction Equipment, Trucks, Heavy Machinery at Global Equipment Exporters and view the items. Please understand that some might have to be manufactured as this is a pretty old chipper. We usually set our knives on chippers at about a credit card thickness. Turn drum backwards after installing new knives so you don't damage the anvil or knives if they were to hit each other.

I hope this helps!

Dave
Global Equipment Exporters

 

[Taylor123]

Thanks

Thanks Dave!

When I set it up I ended up with the closest knife to the anvil about that distance, the other knives don't have the same clearance. Should they all be the same?

I am having clutch problems now though.. Blew out bearings and had to get it all milled, bored, and machined so it would work again..

I haven't spent much time chipping but I've sure spent a lot of time working on the darn thing!

 

[Eq Broker]

Knives

It seems like some of the knives are worn more than others. All of the knives really need to be the same distance away from the anvil in order for the chipper to perform properly. You should notice thicker and thinner chips.

Let me know if I can help.

Thanks,

Dave

 

[Taylor123]

Matched sets?

Thanks again Dave!

Can you perhaps tell me why knives should be matched sets? I need to change them, well, right now.. And still can't seem to find any posting or advice on the 'correct' way to do it or why there are matched sets, and if those matched sets have a particular place they should be. Maybe I'm thinking of it wrong too. The extra set I have are matched in sets of 2, when people say matched sets, do they mean all the knives? (in my case 12)..

Thanks again for any and all help!

Taylor

 

[Eq Broker]

Taylor,

I think all of the knives are the same size. If so, some knives might be worn more than others. The knives that are really worn are farther away from the anvil creating a larger wood chip. You may want to also check the anvil or bed knife as after 500 hours of use can create a rounded edge instead of straight edge. When changing knives we sharpen the edge of a painters tool and clean the knife seat from the sap build up. Mounting knives without cleaning could create a knife to break causing damage to the drum. Adjusting the knives usually takes two people to adjust. Remember to turn the drum backwards in case the knives were to hit the anvil.

You can call me tomorrow at 770-966-9056 and I'll walk you through it.

Thanks,

Dave

 

[BDChainsaw]

Sorry to leave you hanging things got a little crazy here.

A set of knives would be 9 for a K-12 or 12 for a K-16. No idea what the numbering and lettering system this guy had was about, new one on me. Only thought there would be check and see if he had stamped numbers in to the drum for maintanance purpouses. Maybe they had multiple machines and one used #, one used letters. Who knows for sure?

When knives are made they could be produced in batches of say 1000. Out of that 1000 knives you have 12. Different opperators, temp of machine, shop, coolant, wheel wearing down ect, ect. All variables an opperator has to keep in check and still try to keep the sizes in spec. Think of it this way. Manufacture spec is a feild goal as long as it goes between the poles its good. That can be quite a bit when your setting clearance with a sheet of news paper.

Your drum is spinning on an axis. The pockets that hold the knives are in a set relationship parralel to that axis, all the same. The knives need to be all the same width and face angle to maintain that relationship. If not, one is doing all the work. Thats why I say sharpen them as a set.

These machines take a beating and are far from new. Odds are against your drum being pristeen so your going to have variables. Uniformity , cleanliness and attention to detail will help you a lot. If your clearance gap is wide to acomidate a longer knife you'll have large chips and lots of sticks. A large gap will also make life harder on your belts clutch engine ect. by openinging the gap you allow it to pull more material in per bite than it was designed for. When its right you will see a huge differance in how your machine runs in engine heat, fuel consumption, and speed of opperation.

I use an air die grinder with a fine straight brush to clean my pockets and a fine wire wheel on a bench grinder to clean my wedges and knives (including the bed knife). Inspect all knives for uniformity by taking one knife and comparing the rest of the set to it. I then blow the holes out with compressed air. Anti seeze on threades. Torque bolts in stages. Snug, 120, then 150 ft lbs. Re-torque before each time you opperate the machine.

When you have all the knives bolted in and need to set the clearance gap I find this to be helpfull. Knock out one of the pins on the feed shute and swing it like a hinged door to one side. This allows me to set on the ground with a sheet of paper between the knives and bed knife and rotate the drum and make adjustments by myself. From this vantage point during adjustment all the details will make sence. Undoubtably you'll have one knife that is slightly longer than the rest (usually caused by ware in the pocket) but the uniformity of all the details will make this difference much less an issue. Adjust the gap to that "long" tooth and your good. Make sure to give your drum at least two full hand rotations before powering up for safty.

I suppose if you wanted to get really picky you could grind teeth specific to each pocket but that would be a lot of work for very little results.

On the manuals. Yes, I have a manual for my machine. You can have one too if you call Karl Kummerling Inc. 1-888-222-6166. That's how I got mine.

Once again hope this helps.