Chipper Woods 5000 / Crary Bearcat 70554 chipper problems

[louloulou]

I gotta say, as for replacing the blades, I can now do it with only a 1/2 inch socket wrench. with a little practice, on this unit, you can change the blades by reaching into the chipper and the shredder - no need to remove any access panels. (of course, with the PTO disengaged and the keys in your pocket!)

---Lou

 

[Gordon Gould]

Glad you are set now. :thumbsup:
You will find it is just like a chain saw. Has to be very sharp to cut good. With a praticed eye and feel you will recognize sharp. Just like your saw. You don't run your saw through the dirt so don't chip dirty or muddy brush. A little road gravel is a killer. Try to chip green stuff. Your blades will last much much longer. If you let a pile of brush sit til it is dry before you get to chipping it you are just working against yourself. It takes longer and your blades dull quicker. Try to plan so you chip as you cut.
I cut big stuff about 2' or 3' long and drop it in the hopper. Better than trying to yank it out it if it starts to bog. Safer too.
Have fun.

 

[gwdixon]

Yep, that is what happens with the BearCat chipper, too. I can get about 6 hours out of a set of knives before they have to be turned over.

I have 4 full sets of knives. That is too many, of course, but it allows me to chip for several days while flipping/changing the knives at the end of the day. As you found, chipping with new knives is a joy and a whole different world.

Then they can be sharpened in a down time. Some people take them to be professionally sharpened but you can do it yourself if you are careful not to overheat them. Overheated blades will last about an hour - trust me on that.

My advise would be to forget about fooling around with the knives. Burn anything over 4" in the fireplace or sell it as firewood.

>Using half of the knives would cause them to be double worked and they would dull that much faster.

>Only half of the chute would used if the knives were the close to the center set. That would require that you turn thick logs.

>One close and one long knife would make one cut per revolution and it would take twice as long to process a log.

>And as you said, the flywheel would be out of balance.

 

[GreatWhitehunter]

I've been keeping an eye out for a used Woods 5000 also and the comments about short blade life have me questioning buying one. I figured this model will suit me well since I have alot if stuff to shred. And the 5" chipping cap is also appealing. That said 6 hr isn't much blade life and seems low compared to the dedicated chippers. Are the Wallensteins and other popular chippers needing to sharpen them this much?


Matt

 

[RoyJackson]

I've been keeping an eye out for a used Woods 5000 also and the comments about short blade life have me questioning buying one. I figured this model will suit me well since I have alot if stuff to shred. And the 5" chipping cap is also appealing. That said 6 hr isn't much blade life and seems low compared to the dedicated chippers. Are the Wallensteins and other popular chippers needing to sharpen them this much?


Matt

Just remember, that 5-15 hours applies to actual chipping...not the stacking, handling, etc.
When I spend a few hours in my typical yard clean up, I'll estimate 20%-25% is actually chipping (material being processed through the machine).
I don't time my chipping...I'll have those blades sharpened when I think they need it.
It would be a good idea to have a spare set of blades on hand though...

 

[gwdixon]

I've been keeping an eye out for a used Woods 5000 also and the comments about short blade life have me questioning buying one. I figured this model will suit me well since I have alot if stuff to shred. And the 5" chipping cap is also appealing. That said 6 hr isn't much blade life and seems low compared to the dedicated chippers. Are the Wallensteins and other popular chippers needing to sharpen them this much?


Matt

The limited knife "life" is not uncommon for chippers. The knife is still good, it just needs to be sharpened. In fact, a single bladed flywheel does four times the work that a 4 knifed flywheel does.

My neighbor has a stand-alone DR chipper - the large one whatever the model is. His single 6" knife is constantly needing to be sharpened compared to the BearCat/Woods.

A lot depends on the material being chipped. A different four knife chipper is not going to have significantly extended knife life. My aftermarket knives don't last any longer than OEM.

The "life" also depends on the individual's tolerance level. In my case, I really like to use sharp knives so probably change them more often than most.

 

[louloulou]

I have a Chinese harbor-freight copy of a tormek sharpener. It does a great job on my wood chisels, I wish I had thought of it, and tried to sharpen the knives instead of just flipping them over. Either way, I love using that thing, so I am sort of looking forward to trying to sharpen the blades.

---Lou

 

[TerryR]

Lou,

My Tormek does a great job on my Bear Cat chipper blades - makes them nice and sharp and they cut like a charm. But I'd sharpened them with a bench grinder before that, and it took "forever" to get them trued up the first time.

Terry

 

[louloulou]

Didn't you loose the heat-treat when you bench-grinder'ed them?

 

[TerryR]

Not if you are very careful, and keep some water handy to cool them often. But of course it's easy to get them too hot. I burned a few spots on the blades of my previous chipper before I got the trick of it. It helps that they are made from pretty thick stock.

Terry