stump grinder teeth

[Stumper]

I once did 1000 in a three week period.

 

[stump grinder]

You da man Stumper!

 

[Stumper]

In fairness I should point out that close to 700 of those were 8 inches in diameter or less. The rest ranged up to a little over 30 inches. Technically I didn't do the whole 1000 either-My dad came and spent a day doing 30 of the bigger ones so I only ground 970 in 3 weeks. That was a golf course job and is the biggest project I've ever had. I've had lots of days when I've ground 20 or more stumps but never anything like those three weeks!

 

[Lumberjack]

Last saturday, my father ground 112 stumps in one day with his RG 85. I think the average size was around 18-20" and he gound them 8-12" under the ground.

 

[Lumberjack]

To sharpen them you use either a dimond stone or a green stone. You can sharpen them fairly well with a bench grinder. I think it would be better if you could get a angle grinder with a stone, and sharpen them on the will.

I will look up our supplier, it is kinda like soldering, just a lot hotter. We use an acetelene torch to do it. I am about to change classes so I will start a tread with all the details latter.

 

[Stumper]

LJ will have to answer for himself about their methoids and sources but FWIW the Tungsten carbide is simply brazed onto the tooth, You can remove it with a torch and reattach the same way. A green wheel is a silicon carbide wheel. Silicon carbide cuts Tungsten carbide pretty well but steel tears up the wheel (Steel is too soft and the wheel is somewhat fragile so while it grinds steel it keeps ripping off its outer layer). Because of those properties it is best to grind a relief on the tooth shank on an Aluminium oxide wheel then sharpen the carbide on the green wheel. Even so the green wheels wear out after a 100-200 teeth sharpenings in my experience. The dust generated is also very bad for your lungs. A diamond wheel is the best solution. It doesn't break down like a green wheel and doesn't care whether you are grinding carbide or steel. Unfortunately they are awfully expensive and generally made for equipment other than a bench grinder. I've looked at a $600 system that would probably work well but wound up sticking with the green wheel on my bench grinder. The guys who say just buty new teeth have a good point BUT I can sharpen teeth during slow times and save a few bucks AND i can also make them sharper than new teeth, That initial sharpness only lasts for a couple of stumps but it does cut faster.

 

[Stumper]

LJ posted while I was typing.

 

[rborist1]

:Eye:

 

[Stumper]

What was your source?

 

[stump grinder]

wow, just got another go ahead on an estimate. 11 more stumps, $340! will take me 3 hours i think or less. Anyone have some kind of machine to pick up mulch,(vacuum,etc) Anything creative? I heard about the plywood and tarps.


Dean

 

[Stumper]

An ensilage fork. Not very creative but effecient.

 

[Stumper]

Brian, Would you believe that I bought mine at Home Depot? It didn't have a price on it and I had to wait 15 minutes while they chased down a manager to figure out if they could sell it. I wound up paying $25.

 

[Lumberjack]

We use a pitch fork. That is what I have always called it, it is like a big fork. I once thought about vacuming, froma company called Vactron I think. I think that the smallest model was around 14k so I thought that a fork would do for now. I don't think that anything from Home Depot would cut it on any of the stumps we do here. When we do cleanup, (rare) we grind all the stuff above ground and use the backfil blade to push the wood chips out of the way so we have to bring in less dirt. Something that helps me is get a good tarp and when you are trying to clean up the last bit, rake it on the tarp and pick it up. I also use that on trees to clean up the last little twigs, leaves, and bark.

 

[Stumper]

LJ, Pitch forks have 3 or 4 tines. Manure forks may have up to 8 tines but typically have 5 or 6. An ensilage fork (also called a cottonseed fork)has 10 or 12 tines. The outer tines frame things so that it works like a scoop shovel but unlike a shovel it is easy to set into mulch. You probably have the right tool -It is better to learn the right name. Yes I got my ensilage fork at Home Depot. I may never find another one there but they had it . I bought it. It does indeed work.

 

[Menchhofer]

An additional tool to have beside a cottonseed fork is a 5-6 tine pitch fork with the "forks" bent to a 90 degree angle. This is great when moving chips and compacted dirt. Have used one for many years and works great..

 

[Lumberjack]

Originally posted by Stumper
LJ, Pitch forks have 3 or 4 tines. Manure forks may have up to 8 tines but typically have 5 or 6. An ensilage fork (also called a cottonseed fork)has 10 or 12 tines. The outer tines frame things so that it works like a scoop shovel but unlike a shovel it is easy to set into mulch. You probably have the right tool -It is better to learn the right name. Yes I got my ensilage fork at Home Depot. I may never find another one there but they had it . I bought it. It does indeed work.

According to what you say, I have an manure fork, it has 6 heavy tines. It works wonders for us, we tryed your ensilage fork but we bent the heck out of the tines. I ment that a vaccum from Home Depot wouldn't cut it.

Around here a pitchfork is a pitchfork no matter how many tines. I dunno.


Carl

 

[Ax-man]

Stump grinding clean-up

Ever since I bought our first stump grinder Iv'e searched high and low for the perfect hand tool to clean the mess up with. We have virtually loaded many ' semi- loads " of this stuff over the years, with forks and shovels. The cottonseed fork will get most of the coarse shreaded material, if there isn't a lot of dirt in the pile and it isn't wet. The bent cultivator fork works good to pull chips to the side leaving the dirt to settle out so it is not heavy to scoop up with a scoop shovel.The final touch comes with the leaf rake and scoop shovel. Even with all these different tools it still comes out the same, just one big mess to clean up. I'd rather climb and prune a tree than than clean-up a stump mess.

I talked to a guy at a trade show that was selling these big loader truck vacums for leaves and such, if it would work on stump junk. He told me he honestly doubted it would work good because of the dirt in the pile, if was wet forget it. It would probaly only work on good clean chips from the main part of a large stump that would be about it.

The ultimate clean-up tool for stump junk has a diesel engine and a big bucket. In other words Bobcat or Swinger.

Oh Brian,

The cottonseed fork doesn't last forever, I wish they did they are the ultimate for tree debris clean-up. I've got three in my shop right now that are broke. Every one of them broke the same way the tines came out of wood handles. I used to be able to buy the forks and the handles locally, but no more, the only place to get them now is mail order. The handles are totally different from other hand tools, because they have a funky bend in the handle that is different from other repair handles for spades and shovels.

One of these years I'm going to figure out a way to bend some pipe [ cold ] and rebuild them with metal handles that way I know they will last. I suppose I could break down and order new ones from Sherril, but I'd rather buy new tree toys than mundane things like clean-up forks.