Anyone have a MechMaxx 3-pt stump grinder?

[Windblown]

I have one of these on order and made a comment on a FB post they made about not getting an order confirmation and I having a question about the amount charged to my card. Within a couple of hours someone from Mechmax reached out to me via FB messenger and we got an error with my email address sorted and he got me my order confirmation quickly. The additional amount charged which was not considerable turned out to be sales tax for the state I'm in. The fellow I communicated with mentioned that orders are running about 3 weeks as of now and that volume had gone thru the roof in a the last month or so.

We'll see. Not gonna stress over it. It shows or it doesn't. Worse case if it doesn't ship in a reasonable time frame I'll just cancel the order and have my CC company reverse the charge.

I'd hate to be a US importer right now. Hard to know how to price stuff when the tariff rates and what is or isn't exempt seems to change faster than the weather. *shrug*

 

[Balazar]

I figure you will be fine.

The question I have is how are the tariffs figured - is it the retail you paid (I don’t think so) or the wholesale value, which is maybe around $500, a big difference in the overall cost.

It's the wholesale price from the factory. Also called the FOB (freight onboard). I've imported manufacturing machines from China. I have a pretty good grasp on how it works. For all we know the FOB is $300. Importers usually have a large margin in their retail pricing because shipping costs fluctuate wildly. If your container gets selected for a random search you have to pay a fee for that. There are so many different handling fees it will make your head spin. I'm not worried about not receiving it. I am a proponent of the tariffs. I don't want to get political in this forum though. I believe there is another form on here for those who wish to get into the weeds on the issue.

 

[Code54]

Interesting - thank you.

I never dealt with importing so I no nothing about it.

 

[5030]

It's the wholesale price from the factory. Also called the FOB (freight onboard). I've imported manufacturing machines from China. I have a pretty good grasp on how it works. For all we know the FOB is $300. Importers usually have a large margin in their retail pricing because shipping costs fluctuate wildly. If your container gets selected for a random search you have to pay a fee for that. There are so many different handling fees it will make your head spin. I'm not worried about not receiving it. I am a proponent of the teriffs. I don't want to get political in this forum though. I believe there is another form on here for those who wish to get into the weeds on the issue.

It's TARIFFS btw.

 

[Balazar]

I just received a message to schedule delivery from the shipper. It was actually picked up from the warehouse two days ago. I didn't receive a notification when that happened. Nothing from Mechmaxx. Strange that it would be shipped without an email or anything.

 

[deezler]

Well I guess I should feel lucky that I scored the $1400 price and that mine arrived within a week!

This thing kicks butt. Finally got rid of a 10-year old oak stump in my garage yard that was still hard as heck.

I realized after that I forgot to take the pins out on the top that allow it to swing/rock. Didn't seem to be a problem but I'll try to remember to let it move around next time.

 

[5030]

I own one as well, Bought it 2 years ago but I purchased the swing model similar to popular Land Pride model. My big issue with the smaller units was the carbide cutting teeth. The swing model I have uses the industry standard indexable cutting teeth which are readily available domestically and easily replaceable as well as indexable, plus the swing model cuts stumps up to 9" below grade which is an important consideration at least for me.

 

[deezler]

I was cutting my oak stump to at least 5" below grade and I could still drop my 3-pt further, doesn't seem like a limitation that will bother me.

Oh and by the way, the extra carbide teeth I bought for my mechmaxx were inside the box with the unit. I have a feeling they will sit on my shelf forever and I may not even need them. We'll see...

 

[deezler]

Oh and per earlier comments, I also had some difficulty getting the PTO shaft on. On the grinder side, I had to pry open the coupler a bit. On the tractor side, I had to file some burrs out of the shaft coupler before it would go onto my tractor. No big deal but worth knowing about before anyone wastes time trying to brute force it.

I tried to measure the slip clutch spring heights, but it's too fine a range to be confident in. Seemed to be set around the middle of the HP range. Anyone see risk in just running it as-is?

 

[5030]

I was cutting my oak stump to at least 5" below grade and I could still drop my 3-pt further, doesn't seem like a limitation that will bother me.

Oh and by the way, the extra carbide teeth I bought for my mechmaxx were inside the box with the unit. I have a feeling they will sit on my shelf forever and I may not even need them. We'll see...

Dulling the cutting teeth will all depend on how much foreign material like steel and stones are in or under the stump. The do loose their cutting edge anyway over time. One thing you never want to do is attempt to hand sharpen them as the Tungsten Carbide swarf produced from grinding them is very hazardous to your lungs. Companies that regrind them have grinding machines that operate in a negative enviroment where the swarf is captured and removed and collected in a remote collection system.

 

[dieselscout80]

Dulling the cutting teeth will all depend on how much foreign material like steel and stones are in or under the stump. The do loose their cutting edge anyway over time. One thing you never want to do is attempt to hand sharpen them as the Tungsten Carbide swarf produced from grinding them is very hazardous to your lungs. Companies that regrind them have grinding machines that operate in a negative enviroment where the swarf is captured and removed and collected in a remote collection system.

Thanks

I was given a stump grinder and sharpening the teeth was on my list of things to do.

 

[5030]

Thanks

I was given a stump grinder and sharpening the teeth was on my list of things to do.

At the minimum, wear a NOSH approved resperator not a particle mask. Most grinder will have indexable cutting teeth, so look at them carefully. The ones on mine are indexable to 3 positions.

 

[John_Mc]

I was considering one of those hydraulic swing grinders, but don't have the PTO HP for it (33 HP engine, 27 HP at the PTO - at least that's what it's rated for. It's now 24 years old, so I have no idea what it's putting out now.) MechMaxx recommends 35-60 HP.

 

[5030]

You could actually run it no problem. One thing I did with mine was I added tubular brackets on each side on the main frame and hung 2 100 pound suitcase weights one on each side to more firmly plant the grinder when grinding stumps while it weighs about 500 pounds, it still wants to move around. The added weight pretty much eliminates that. One thing I had to do was I had to reset the built in slip clutch because of the power I was inputting is way above their recommended max input so I reset the slip clutch to slip at a lower input power so as not to destroy the gearbox. Had mine for a couple years now and I've ground many, many stumps, not just here but around here as I can tote it to other local stumps.

When I bought it back then it was substantially less than what they are listed for now. Inflation for you I guess.

You do need at least 2 sets of hydraulic outlets remotes to operate it. One set for the depth control and one set for the swing and mine came with restriction adjustable valves so I can precisely control both the depth of cut as well as the swing speed which is really important so I don't take too big a 'bite' at one time.

Never had issue one with it either and interestingly, it came in Kubota orange as well.

Ground a lot of old hardwood stumps with it.

 

[Balazar]

I just wanted to give an update. I did receive my SG24 on April 25th. Glad I got in on the $1400 sale. The shipping company was a PITA. They rescheduled my delivery twice. Not Mechmaxx's fault, but still a PITA. The packaging was very good. It's bolted to a steel pallet with a steel frame around it and heavy cardboard on top of that. The truck driver managed to tip it over inside his truck before arriving at my driveway. I didn't find any damage cosmetic or otherwise.

I used a dial caliper to adjust the clutch springs to the recommended length in the manual. I too, had a bit of a time getting the PTO shaft onto the grinder. I had to take two cold chisels and drive them into the slots on the coupler to get it to open up a little. Other than that everything went together in about 20 minutes. I didn't need to trim the shaft to fit my TYM T574.

In my excitement to get a few tests in before the rain started, I neglected to take more pictures. I will see if I can get some video soon. I tested it on a few large stumps and it performed much better that I expected. My PTO horsepower is near the top end of the recommended range. Overall I am happy with the purchase. Index-able cutters would be nice. I did buy some spares with it. I can also see how the shock would be helpful. I may attach some chains to the side where the debris is ejected.

 

[Runner]

I just wanted to give an update. I did receive my SG24 on April 25th. Glad I got in on the $1400 sale. The shipping company was a PITA. They rescheduled my delivery twice. Not Mechmaxx's fault, but still a PITA. The packaging was very good. It's bolted to a steel pallet with a steel frame around it and heavy cardboard on top of that. The truck driver managed to tip it over inside his truck before arriving at my driveway. I didn't find any damage cosmetic or otherwise.

I used a dial caliper to adjust the clutch springs to the recommended length in the manual. I too, had a bit of a time getting the PTO shaft onto the grinder. I had to take two cold chisels and drive them into the slots on the coupler to get it to open up a little. Other than that everything went together in about 20 minutes. I didn't need to trim the shaft to fit my TYM T574.

In my excitement to get a few tests in before the rain started, I neglected to take more pictures. I will see if I can get some video soon. I tested it on a few large stumps and it performed much better that I expected. My PTO horsepower is near the top end of the recommended range. Overall I am happy with the purchase. Index-able cutters would be nice. I did buy some spares with it. I can also see how the shock would be helpful. I may attach some chains to the side where the debris is ejected.

View attachment 3421240View attachment 3421241View attachment 3421242View attachment 3421243

The bottom of the shipping crate makes a good dolly, if you need one.

 

[Balazar]

The bottom of the shipping crate makes a good dolly, if you need one.
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Great idea! I'm heading out to the shop to make one now! Maybe bolt the cage back on and make it a cart?

 

[deezler]

The bottom of the shipping crate makes a good dolly, if you need one.
View attachment 3421534

Did you cut off the two tall longitudinal metal-tubing supports underneath? A pic from the bottom would be awesome if you have it, thanks.

 

[Runner]

Did you cut off the two tall longitudinal metal-tubing supports underneath? A pic from the bottom would be awesome if you have it, thanks.

No, I just welded the base plates for the casters to the bottom of the longitudinal tubes. This picture shows them.

 

[newkiotiguy]

I ordered mine on the 8th of April. It says it was loaded on a truck the 6th of May. Should be here this week