Redbug
Veteran Member
I would never have guessed it could go that deep. I would say for the money it is a great deal with what you can do with it.
Woods Stump Grinder
- Thread starter foggy1111
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foggy1111
Elite Member
Just so I dont mis-lead anyone. I likely have an about ideal situation on stump grinding. My property is a former timber company plantation and they planted red pine and jackpine. There are a few hardwoods...but most of those remain standing. They harvested much of the marketable timber before selling the land to me. Strangely....they left enough standing timber that it still looks like a farily thick forest - apealing to us and good cover for critters. (coyotes, deer, grouse, bear, bobcat, turkey, bunnies)
My stumps are all from 10 to 16" diameter and were sheared when harvested......and they were sheared a few years ago. The stumps are mostly 4 to 6 inches above ground so I dont need to chain saw any of em. Being pine...they dont have any roots to grind out.
I have cleared long trails through the woods for my foodplots (mostly clover and brasica) and for 4 wheelin through the forest. Fun! I plant lots of clover on the trails and have disced and tilled the trails pretty smooth. The grouse like me due to the clover seeds.
Lots of deer here now with all the food available.If you have lots of hardwood stumps or freshly cut trees.....this is going to take you longer to grind em out. Possibly 5 x what I report here ??
Plus I work my stuff pretty hard (my wife thinks I'm possessed :laughing and I have gotten to be a pretty fair operator. :thumbsup:
deereman75
Veteran Member
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So it sounds like the stumps might have started to rot (correct me if I am wrong). The DR stump grinder video I saw was on a fresh pine stump, so it might have been a bit harder to grind. Also the DR had a 6 or 9hp engine on it, so that would also make it a lot slower.
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foggy1111
Elite Member
So it sounds like the stumps might have started to rot (correct me if I am wrong). The DR stump grinder video I saw was on a fresh pine stump, so it might have been a bit harder to grind. Also the DR had a 6 or 9hp engine on it, so that would also make it a lot slower.
On average my stumps are easier to grind than fresh cut stumps. Still...they vari allot and some seem like they are starting to decay somewhat while others seem almost "tempered"....almost like dried hardwood at times. The bigger issue is that they have been cut relatively closer to the ground than stumps which have been sawn off.
Oh....And those small hand-contoled HP grinders with a small wheel would not hold a candle to the tractor mounted rigs with diesel HP for grunt. You'd be all worn out after an hour or so....those things will beat you up and spit you out.....on a big job....IMO...
deereman75
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- Deere 2120, Warner & Swasey 6000# offroad forklift, Case W9B loader, various non-running decorations
Ya i bet they would. we just had 2 small stumps to take out, so I did it with a pickaxe, an axe, a crowbar, and a shovel.:laughing:
chuck diesel
New member
How much swing do you have? Left to right. Thanks
Chuck D.
Chuck D.
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foggy1111
Elite Member
Probably the same as right to left. :laughing: OK.....Without looking up the specs....or taking a measurement.....I'd say about 24" total swing.
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foggy1111
Elite Member
Today while grinding I noticed one of the big pins on the main swing arm was starting to work loose. The retainer bolt had fallen out. There are four or five of these 3/8" retainer bolts holding large diameter pins in place. Most of mine were loose and another was ready to fall apart. I had not noticed these coming loose before. I did not have the right size bolts with me.....so I put a 5/16" retainer bolt in place and tightened down the others. After 25 stumps that bolt was again working loose too....even though I had it pretty snug and used a lock washer.
I'm now up to about 375 stumps ground with the Woods.....and this is the first issue needing attention - other than routine grease, etc.
I"m buying the right replacement bolts tommorow and I am going to double nut all these retainer bolts......as I had too many that have worked loose. Having those big pins come out during a grind could make for some interesting issues. There is allot of stress on those joints. :confused2:
You ohter guys with the Woods ginders should check these fasteners. Youhave been warned. :thumbsup:
I'm now up to about 375 stumps ground with the Woods.....and this is the first issue needing attention - other than routine grease, etc.
I"m buying the right replacement bolts tommorow and I am going to double nut all these retainer bolts......as I had too many that have worked loose. Having those big pins come out during a grind could make for some interesting issues. There is allot of stress on those joints. :confused2:
You ohter guys with the Woods ginders should check these fasteners. You
have been warned. :thumbsup:
kennyd
Advertiser
How about Ny-Lock nuts foggy?
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foggy1111
Elite Member
Good Idea KennyD! They will be used! :thumbsup:
daBear
Gold Member
I suspect the loss of those keeper bolts is common. My TSG50 was in almost new condition but it was used when I bought it. While going over it before I started using it, I found two of these bolts missing. Now, you have made me wonder if I used a lock nut on the bolt and I am going to have to check it out this afternoon. I continue to be impressed with the performance if this stump grinder. I have mostly hardwood that I am working on and it does better than the Vermeer 252 I rented a while back. Well worth the money.
OP
foggy1111
Elite Member
Replaced my bolts and put on the nylock nuts. You can get one size bigger bolt diameter than that furnished in the holes....and the nylock nuts should eliminate the problem of coming loose.
I took out another 50 stumps this afternoon....for a total of 400 this year with the Woods. Teeth still cut like new. :thumbsup: To me there is NO comparison to the Vermeer or Rayco 25 HP self propelled machines that I used to rent. I agree this is a good grinder for the money. I'd buy mine again. :thumbsup:
I have another 100 to 200....or so, to do this year....but I got some other stuff to do for the next few weeks. I took my grinder off this afternoon to give it a rest.
I took out another 50 stumps this afternoon....for a total of 400 this year with the Woods. Teeth still cut like new. :thumbsup: To me there is NO comparison to the Vermeer or Rayco 25 HP self propelled machines that I used to rent. I agree this is a good grinder for the money.
I'd buy mine again. :thumbsup:I have another 100 to 200....or so, to do this year....but I got some other stuff to do for the next few weeks. I took my grinder off this afternoon to give it a rest.
Replaced my bolts and put on the nylock nuts. You can get one size bigger bolt diameter than that furnished in the holes....and the nylock nuts should eliminate the problem of coming loose.
I took out another 50 stumps this afternoon....for a total of 400 this year with the Woods. Teeth still cut like new. :thumbsup: To me there is NO comparison to the Vermeer or Rayco 25 HP self propelled machines that I used to rent. I agree this is a good grinder for the money.
I have another 100 to 200....or so, to do this year....but I got some other stuff to do for the next few weeks. I took my grinder off this afternoon to give it a rest.
Mine is some 80 or so miles away, I want to get back to it as soon as we get a 4 day dry break (swampy area).
Any chance you could list out the lengths of the replacement bolts for me, so I can replace them on my next trip there ?
I'm assuming that by "one size bigger" you mean 7/16 diameter ?
OP
foggy1111
Elite Member
Reg, Yep....I'm pretty sure that's the diameter I put in. I'm not near my machine now either, but I believe the bolt length was 1.5" long. I used nylock nuts like KennyD suggested and a flat washer under the bolt head. I think the nylock nuts alone would suffice....but I do NOT want those pins working loose again. :thumbsup: I believe I replaced 5 or 6 bolts and nuts. (I went whole-hog and put in grade 8 bolts....replacing the grade 5's)
One other thing I have wanted to mention on setting up the grinder: I put my three point linkage in the slot where it does NOT "float". (ie. I can rotate my draft link pins 90* to eliminate the 2" float feature and make things more rigid.) I also keep my sway bars snugged up tight. This reduces the 3 point hitch from jumping around as much with a big cut. :thumbsup:
Recently, I have considered adding some cast iron hanging weights to the grinder frame to keep it more solidly attached to the ground. It would be neat if another 200 lbs or so was easy to add. I believe keeping the "frame" rigid and "stuck" to the ground would be a good thing.
Thanks, I'll grab a handful of 1 1/2 and 1 3/4 too, both 3/8 and 7/16.
I'm CHEEP, my hardware store knows I'll return what I don't use.
I'm thinking FINE thread should be more shake resistant than COARSE, but I guess that would be mutually redundant with the nylocks.
I know what you mean with the jumping around thing, but I doubt that a couple of hundred pounds would hold it down THAT MUCH (-:
Whenever I think about added ballast in places away from home I think of water tanks, light and easy to carry when empty, refillable almost anywhere and you don't have to lug it home when you're done.
I've only done it with 55 gallon drums on things like disk harrows, but a marine flexible bladder tank might be workable.
Well, 50 gallon drums hold 400 lbs., so there is a lot of VOLUME to handle if you go with disposable liquid.
I'm CHEEP, my hardware store knows I'll return what I don't use.
I'm thinking FINE thread should be more shake resistant than COARSE, but I guess that would be mutually redundant with the nylocks.
I know what you mean with the jumping around thing, but I doubt that a couple of hundred pounds would hold it down THAT MUCH (-:
Whenever I think about added ballast in places away from home I think of water tanks, light and easy to carry when empty, refillable almost anywhere and you don't have to lug it home when you're done.
I've only done it with 55 gallon drums on things like disk harrows, but a marine flexible bladder tank might be workable.
Well, 50 gallon drums hold 400 lbs., so there is a lot of VOLUME to handle if you go with disposable liquid.
This is ~ WEIRD ~
I went back to my TSG-50 and Kukje tractor with a little bag of nuts and bolts all ready to replace any that were missing and/or tighten things up.
I did NOT find the bolts in question, so I'm wondering if there was a design change somewhere along the way that eliminated them in favor of a better way of holding the pivot pins in.
I worked about a 13 hour day on Wednesday - HOT - plus 2 hours driving each way.
Looking back on it; Yes, the base needs more stability.
I am scratching around for ideas on how to best do this.
It would SEEM to be a good idea to add width, e.g. about a 6ft length of square tube or channel under the existing base - HOWEVER, that would still rock if set down on something like a surface root(likely) or whatever other high spot.
Feet at each end of an extended base would probably solve that, but would reduce clearance when moving around.
I can barely get the existing base high enough in very rough ground right now, making that base wider and lower would almost certainly cause it to drag and dig.
I am thinking about flip over feet, much like back hoe stabilizers, I might even be able to use those.
Of course this would mean getting off/on the tractor more often - there are good and bad about that (-:
Grinding on banks SUX - - BIG TIME !!!
Generally figuring the original slope and trying to grind to match that is difficult and it doesn't seem to get any easier with experience (-:
I have TRIED to match the slope by aligning the tractor across it, but that has limits and it can get scary as the grinder swings up/down the slope and hits a vibration spot.
The other big bad nasty thing about slopes is the surface roots on the down side, they protrude a LOT and can be a bear to get down to desired grade.
The whole thing about surface roots and doing things right changes things considerably.
Sure, an 18 inch stump can be ground down way below grade fairly quickly, but if the area is to be used for anything very much you can spend a lot of time and effort grinding out surface roots to an acceptable distance and depth.
I went back to my TSG-50 and Kukje tractor with a little bag of nuts and bolts all ready to replace any that were missing and/or tighten things up.
I did NOT find the bolts in question, so I'm wondering if there was a design change somewhere along the way that eliminated them in favor of a better way of holding the pivot pins in.
I worked about a 13 hour day on Wednesday - HOT - plus 2 hours driving each way.
Looking back on it; Yes, the base needs more stability.
I am scratching around for ideas on how to best do this.
It would SEEM to be a good idea to add width, e.g. about a 6ft length of square tube or channel under the existing base - HOWEVER, that would still rock if set down on something like a surface root(likely) or whatever other high spot.
Feet at each end of an extended base would probably solve that, but would reduce clearance when moving around.
I can barely get the existing base high enough in very rough ground right now, making that base wider and lower would almost certainly cause it to drag and dig.
I am thinking about flip over feet, much like back hoe stabilizers, I might even be able to use those.
Of course this would mean getting off/on the tractor more often - there are good and bad about that (-:
Grinding on banks SUX - - BIG TIME !!!
Generally figuring the original slope and trying to grind to match that is difficult and it doesn't seem to get any easier with experience (-:
I have TRIED to match the slope by aligning the tractor across it, but that has limits and it can get scary as the grinder swings up/down the slope and hits a vibration spot.
The other big bad nasty thing about slopes is the surface roots on the down side, they protrude a LOT and can be a bear to get down to desired grade.
The whole thing about surface roots and doing things right changes things considerably.
Sure, an 18 inch stump can be ground down way below grade fairly quickly, but if the area is to be used for anything very much you can spend a lot of time and effort grinding out surface roots to an acceptable distance and depth.
OP
foggy1111
Elite Member
My pine trees dont have much for surface roots....so no experience to share in that way. What kinda trees you working with Reg? Can you pull those roots with a chain or possibly one of the "tong-style" grippers?
I agree that sloping lands are rough to set up for grinding. Finding the most level approach to a stump is helpfull. I've had some bank settings that turned into allot of frustration too. Seems that when angled you cannot make a nice sweep without burying the cutter or doing no work at all. Lotta change in elevation.
I considered adding a triangular "foot" to the right side (from the seat) of the ginder. I figured a foot would not interfere with tractor manuverablity. Never got it done....and may just leave it as is....cause it seems to work pretty fair.
I agree that sloping lands are rough to set up for grinding. Finding the most level approach to a stump is helpfull. I've had some bank settings that turned into allot of frustration too. Seems that when angled you cannot make a nice sweep without burying the cutter or doing no work at all. Lotta change in elevation.
I considered adding a triangular "foot" to the right side (from the seat) of the ginder. I figured a foot would not interfere with tractor manuverablity. Never got it done....and may just leave it as is....cause it seems to work pretty fair.
OP
foggy1111
Elite Member
I cut all my clover this morning, then after lunch, I put the Woods grinder on the tractor.
Yesterday we had dropped and hauled away about 25 trees that could fall on my pole shed (thanks grapple)....and there were some other remaining stumps in the area near my building that needed to go. We had to "pull" about half the trees to keep them from falling on my building.
So....with the grinder mounted, in about three hours of operating time I took out about 50 to 60 stumps. Next time I cut trees down....I am going to cut 'em a bit lower. That extra six to 10 inches of wood takes allot longer to grind.
I have not kept close track - but thus far I have ground over 500 pine stumps on the same set of teeth.....and the teeth still cut like new. I bought about 10 replacement teeth and they are still in the package.
OH......my wife did an 'offical" time for taking out a 12 inch pine stump. It took me 1.5 minutes to take a sheared 6" high stump to 8" below ground level. Hmmmm......that may be a new world record in the 30 HP class?
The only issues I have had are the keeper bolts on the big pins shaking loose.....and my rubber flap is now all chewed up. The hardest part for me is constantly looking over my shoulder and positioning the grinder from the tractor seat is a little dicey......a half-day is about my operating limit.
This Woods grinder has exceeded my expectations for a tractor-mounted grinder. Lotsa bang for the buck. :thumbsup:
Yesterday we had dropped and hauled away about 25 trees that could fall on my pole shed (thanks grapple)....and there were some other remaining stumps in the area near my building that needed to go. We had to "pull" about half the trees to keep them from falling on my building.
So....with the grinder mounted, in about three hours of operating time I took out about 50 to 60 stumps. Next time I cut trees down....I am going to cut 'em a bit lower. That extra six to 10 inches of wood takes allot longer to grind.
I have not kept close track - but thus far I have ground over 500 pine stumps on the same set of teeth.....and the teeth still cut like new. I bought about 10 replacement teeth and they are still in the package.
OH......my wife did an 'offical" time for taking out a 12 inch pine stump. It took me 1.5 minutes to take a sheared 6" high stump to 8" below ground level. Hmmmm......that may be a new world record in the 30 HP class?
The only issues I have had are the keeper bolts on the big pins shaking loose.....and my rubber flap is now all chewed up. The hardest part for me is constantly looking over my shoulder and positioning the grinder from the tractor seat is a little dicey......a half-day is about my operating limit.
This Woods grinder has exceeded my expectations for a tractor-mounted grinder. Lotsa bang for the buck. :thumbsup:
Last edited:
Piston
Elite Member
I'm glad you guys brought this thread up again...
I've been thinking about the idea of one of these models. I will have a lot of stumps to either grind or dig up and have to walk the land again to get the 'feel' for what I would rather do!
If you guys keep posting pictures and talking about it, you may just convince me that I need one of these in a year or two!
Why is it that, I don't even know this equipment exists, let alone think I need it, and then I go to TBN and start glancing through threads, and find a new piece of equipment that I just have to have, and all of a sudden I can't do the job without??? :laughing::laughing::laughing:
I've been thinking about the idea of one of these models. I will have a lot of stumps to either grind or dig up and have to walk the land again to get the 'feel' for what I would rather do!
If you guys keep posting pictures and talking about it, you may just convince me that I need one of these in a year or two!
Why is it that, I don't even know this equipment exists, let alone think I need it, and then I go to TBN and start glancing through threads, and find a new piece of equipment that I just have to have, and all of a sudden I can't do the job without??? :laughing::laughing::laughing:
