3 point beast of a STUMPGRINDER checked off my "attachments to buy" list today

[Piston]

I haven't posted any updates in a while, but have been getting some good use out of this stumpgrinder.

This oak that I'll attach a picture of, actually went a lot faster than I thought it would.

You can see my chainsaw sitting on the stump for reference, it has a 25" bar on it.

It took a little under 45 minutes to grind the stump a solid 10"+ below the surface...and a good amount of that was repositioning and trying to "find" the stump amidst a sea of wood chips!

Here are a couple pics, this 2 yr old white oak went WAY faster than an equivalent sized white pine, which surprised me.

 

[LouieJunior]

Good work! I know what you mean about positioning around those large stumps. I usually have to get down several times and rake debris away to see what's missed. Also noticed some large rocks near your stump -- hopefully your teeth are all still there.
My stump grinder is my favorite attachment and I've got it hooked up about one weekend every four.

 

[Piston]

Re: 3 point beast of a STUMPGRINDER checked off my "attachments to buy" list today

I'm actually surprised at how little damage I've done to the teeth with all the rocks of encountered. I obviously try to avoid them, but many times avoiding them is unavoidable in itself

I didn't spend too much time making it look "perfect" after I was done grinding, only because I'll be ripping up the entire lawn with a power rake and reseeding it from scratch this fall.

 

[GreatWhitehunter]

Re: 3 point beast of a STUMPGRINDER checked off my "attachments to buy" list today

Thanks for the update, I'm surprised on the oak going faster than the pine as well. How's the rake working out for you?

Matt

 

[Piston]

Re: 3 point beast of a STUMPGRINDER checked off my "attachments to buy" list today

Hi Matt,
Well, sadly, I actually haven't even used it yet. I tried it out one time but ended up blowing the seal on that cylinder. I was going to replace it with a Wood's one but they wanted over $300 for that cylinder! I ended up buying one from Brian just recently. It's a bit longer than the original (which I knew when I ordered it but it saved me 200 bucks) so I need to weld on a couple new mounting tabs. I figured I didn't want to bother changing the seal because of the bent rod, but once I get these new mounting tabs on, I'll be putting it to use :thumbsup:




How do you like that new 110? Those seem like really nice packages.

 

[GreatWhitehunter]

Re: 3 point beast of a STUMPGRINDER checked off my "attachments to buy" list today

You should have let me know, I would've fixed it for you. I have a local guy that would've rebuild the cylinder and the rod. I would've covered the cost.
The 110 is quite a machine the backhoe is no joke. It's not a nimble as the 3320 but I knew that going in. I'm still on the hunt for a LT15, if you here of any for sale let me know. All the ones I've found are within 1K of new. So I decided if it's going to cost that close to new I'll just order one.
After I went to Woodmizers open house I'm kind of leaning towards a lt28. But I really want the MP100 molder which is only compatible with the lt15.

And round and round I go.

Matt

 

[Piston]

Re: 3 point beast of a STUMPGRINDER checked off my "attachments to buy" list today

I appreciate that Matt, but it wouldn't have been right for you to have it fixed, there was no way for you to know that would have happened. In no way did I even consider calling you about it, that just wouldn't be right.

I've considered the idea of selling my LT15, but just haven't come to grips with it. I haven't used it in over a year, aside from starting it up every month or two just to run it, but haven't sawn a board in forever. I probably should sell it, but it goes against my "no sale" policy :laughing: I don't like to get rid of things unless I"m replacing it with something nicer.

The molder planer sure would be nice to have! If I were to buy a new WM right now, it would hands down be the LT35 with hydraulics. Although, you really need to be making some money with it to justify that kind of coin.

It's funny, I bought the mill because I wanted to mill some trees to build a timber frame...So, I upgraded my tractor to what I have now, then needed the grapple for a way to move the logs around without dragging them through the dirt, then I had all these stumps to deal with, so got the stumpgrinder, then realized I should have a chipper to chip the brush, of course I'll need a box blade to level the area out..... and so on and so on.

I end up having more fun with the implements and tractor that I originally got for use around the mill, and I've still yet to build a timber frame :laughing: I know what you mean about going around in circles.

Oh well though, I'm having fun with it and getting a lot of work done around the house. I lucked out on my last job with the stump grinder as well, I"ve done a fair amount of jobs with it, but the last one completely paid for the purchase price all by itself, a solid 8 hours of work is all it took. Those are the jobs we like to get
(crazy thing is, the guy said I had the second lowest price out of 5 estimates he got).

 

[GreatWhitehunter]

Re: 3 point beast of a STUMPGRINDER checked off my "attachments to buy" list today

That's awesome that it paid for itself. If you decide to part with the Woodmizer let me know. I'm about o by 8.5 acres and build a log home on it. I'm looking to use a lot of wood off the property so the mill will be a must. I'm still evaluating whether or not the molder is worth the cost. I wanted to mill most of the log myself but the package deals are just too cost effective to pass up. And I really cant see myself having the time.

Matt

 

[Piston]

Re: 3 point beast of a STUMPGRINDER checked off my "attachments to buy" list today

I'll let you know if I decide to sell it, but I have hard time parting with things :laughing:

Honestly though, I think if you were really interested in the LT15, you'd probably be better off buying new. The reason is because they hold they're value pretty well, so if you decide you don't want to keep it after your done with it, you would probably get close to what you paid for it in a year or two. More than likely though, if you have some nice saw logs on your lot, you'd want to keep it.

The LT15 is NOT a production machine (as I'm sure you know) and I would not recommend it if time is an issue. You really need hydraulics to help streamline the process, especially positioning and turning the log. Handling isn't too bad as long as you have a grapple, which if you don't, I'd buy one of those first.

Congrats on buying the land though! That's awesome!

 

[Piston]

This stump was a large White Pine that was cut down 4 yrs ago. It was at my grandfathers house where he wanted me to put up one of those fabric carport things, and the stump was in the way-even though you could barely see it under the brush/grass.

The tree was actually planted by my father when he was a boy. My grandfather never thought it would grow, and sure enough, it grew large and fast. It was a very bushy tree and not that tall since it had no other trees to compete with. It would always drop sap on his cars, and he could never park under it or grow grass in that area. He hated that tree.

Anyways, here are a few pics of grinding it down, this was one of those stumps that had large roots going every which way, right at the surface, so I had to chase them all over creation. This one stump took me well over two hours to do.