Stump Chipper

[Dwellonroof]

I NEVER did get a paying GIG with mine. But none of my friends have stumps anymore! lol

For one thing, most of the time I owned it, I had a Dakota and it wasn't up to the task of pulling it. Pulled terrible too, wanting to break into a speed wobble! Not something you want behind a Dakota.

Came across this. Same machine I had. The Remote I had sure is an improvement over the standard controls. That's why I bought the machine. Saw that, and I was hooked.

Vermeer 665 Stump Grinder For Sale Test Operation Video - YouTube

For What it's worth, I sold the machine for more than I paid, so owning this for twenty years or so, didn't cost me anything except the room to store it.

That's a nice machine but I can do with the Woodland Mills.

 

[TX Chris]

I'll give another nod to the Woodland Mills unit. I have the WG24 unit and have ground 60-70 stumps on my property. Some tiny ones (like 4" diameter, one quick pass) and some big ones (42" diameter "horse apple" bois a'arc) and everything in between. I've yet to find a stump I couldn't grind. And the nice part is that it will grind them down easily 6" below ground level so you just cover up the hole and it's like there was never a tree there.

All have been ground using my L3901 and have never missed a beat.

Better yet, my neighbor paid me to grind stumps on his property - he gave me a virtually brand new 3-point auger from Everything Attachments with 3 auger bits in trade for stump grinding services. I told him I'd grind every stump he finds.

 

[Industrial Toys]

6" is often not nearly enough depth. You want the ground perfectly level and often have to chase roots for some distance and can't go by the raised hump of grass around the stump. No point grinding a stump if you are still going to have a hump there. It is often a lot of work to get it perfect.

Using amy little Steiner Grinder lately, I found that a cordless leaf blower is a great tool to blow away chips and see what's what.

 

[TX Chris]

6" is often not nearly enough depth. You want the ground perfectly level and often have to chase roots for some distance and can't go by the raised hump of grass around the stump. No point grinding a stump if you are still going to have a hump there. It is often a lot of work to get it perfect.

Using amy little Steiner Grinder lately, I found that a cordless leaf blower is a great tool to blow away chips and see what's what.

I guess those Canadian stumps are trickier than Texan stumps. I'm 60+ in with this grinder and it's virtually impossible to see where any of the stumps used to be. For the money invested (and made back), I couldn't be happier. I've chased out roots on a few of the larger stumps as well. So far, so good.

 

[Dwellonroof]

I ordered the Chinese take off of the Woodland Mills, we will see when it arrives in a couple months.:confused2:

 

[cjoffutt]

I ordered the Chinese take off of the Woodland Mills, we will see when it arrives in a couple months.:confused2:

I'll be curious to see how it compares to the 'real' one. Even though I'm sure they are both made in the same facility.

What did the knockoff one cost including delivery and all that jazz?

 

[Dwellonroof]

$1050 for the unit $120 shipping I also ordered an extra set of 34 teeth @ $5 each, I'm also thinking it will cost another $200 at customs.

 

[cjoffutt]

$1050 for the unit $120 shipping I also ordered an extra set of 34 teeth @ $5 each, I'm also thinking it will cost another $200 at customs.

Almost half the price the real one. Can't complain about that if it works.


Didn't see it on the listing, does it include the pto shaft?

 

[Dwellonroof]

Yes, PTO shaft is included, it's supposed to have a 1 year wear parts (probably bearings) warranty.

 

[arizona98tj]

Firstly, I have not purchased the A-Fab machine, nor am I likely to. I am shopping for a stump grinder having dug out stumps with a BH, but the A-Fab links wave several red flags.

The A-Fab does not have a pivot to allow the blade to tip should the operator take too deep a bite or move forward too fast.

The absence of any reactive movement of the A-Fab vs. videos of the Woodland Mills, Bumalight indicates the the depth of cut must be very small. (Could one tether a belt sander atop a stump, sit down, and sip one's favorite beverage for a more satisfactory experience?)

The machine does not come with a PTO shaft. The required Cat IV, recommended slip-clutch shaft could put the cost up with the Woodland Mills machine.

"The cutting knives must be kept sharp. Dull knives are inefficient and dangerous to use. The design of the unit easily facilitates knife removal and they are easily sharpened and replacements are readily available on E-Bay or other tractor/lawn & garden dealers." No hits on 2 pages with Google "Knives for A-Fab stump grinder"; when I added "e-bay" to the search, the pages I viewed showed Rayco, Greentooth, and other machines, nothing for A-Fab.

"Clear stump of all surrounding soil, several inches deeper than the desired finish height. Clear area of all obstructions to facilitate smooth travel for the tractor." Sounds like "dig the stump out."

Content, grammatical errors, and ambiguous wording in the copy indicates off-shore origin and dubious support.

You hit all of the items I was going to comment on and I agree with you. I have a Woodland Mills WG-24 and have used it for several years on many, many stumps. I wouldn't try to save a few bucks on this A-Fab thing.

To the OP, look at these two photos. Notice any difference? I have a pretty good idea which one of these two grinders will do the better job over the long haul. And we haven't even gotten to the point of the A-fab unit not even having a pivot, which is a deal-breaker right there, all by itself.

This one is of the business end of the Woodland Mills grinder.

This one is from the A-Fab model.