Stump Grinder Woodland Mills WG24?

[CincyFlyer]

This is an interesting machine. Any more reviews?

I've been needing to hire someone to grind a bunch of stumps, been waiting to see how many more I need to get done.

Worst part of hiring someone is needing them the week after they finished the job. If I owned a stump grinder, I'd grind when I needed to and not wait till I'd accumulated enough to justify having someone com in and do it.

Thanks for the info and keep it coming.

I love this forum.

I bought one, and have used it a lot (though I seemed to find a lot of metal fence bits with it!) I have a shuttle transmission, which is not recommended, but most of my stumps are on slight slopes and I can point the tractor downhill and use the brake to feed the cutter. Otherwise, I can roll the bucket on the ground to put the tractor along; I've gotten good at that! The lowest gear gives me 1.3 MPH at PTO speed, which is waaaay too fast for grinding stumps.
One advantage of this style of grinder is that you can grind a stump that's almost against another tree. I ground three small stumps next to a large tree, and a large (36"+stump) next to a small tree.

This is not the be-all/end-all stump grinder; a dedicated unit is probably twice as effective. But like you, I'm "sneaking up" on finishing my landscaping/clearing, and I never know when I may need it. I've done nearly 100 stumps, walnut, maple, pine, whatever. When I want something done, with my quick hitch I can get it hooked up in a couple of minutes. So for that type of work it's very nice. For a large land clearing project where all of the targets are known, I'd go rent a big, powerful dedicated unit.
Note that you'll make a ton of shavings if you have large stumps; I've probably used ten or so bucket loads as mulch in the garden, the rest spread on freshly cleared ground.

 

[Shady oak]

This is an interesting machine. Any more reviews?

I've been needing to hire someone to grind a bunch of stumps, been waiting to see how many more I need to get done.

Worst part of hiring someone is needing them the week after they finished the job. If I owned a stump grinder, I'd grind when I needed to and not wait till I'd accumulated enough to justify having someone com in and do it.

Thanks for the info and keep it coming.

I love this forum.

. I got one about 2 months ago. I certainly like it better than the rented Vermeer 3 wheeler with the 25 hp Kohler. It's not hard to mount or use. It's quick, and simple. It will buck if over stressed on a big stump. I have about 20 to do this year, and I would not want to wait till late fall till all are ready and waiting. It's nice to do them when you want. Sometimes simple is good. Btw, I also picked up a #88 wood chipper from them. Used it several times on a JD955. So far very good.

 

[BufordBoone]

Thanks for the information. I think I'll show all the above to the wife.

The input will be very helpful.

Have a great Labor Day.

 

[TX Chris]

This is an interesting machine. Any more reviews?

I've been needing to hire someone to grind a bunch of stumps, been waiting to see how many more I need to get done.

Worst part of hiring someone is needing them the week after they finished the job. If I owned a stump grinder, I'd grind when I needed to and not wait till I'd accumulated enough to justify having someone com in and do it.

Thanks for the info and keep it coming.

I love this forum.

If any local grinder companies will give you a quote, that would go a long way towards making your decision. I use my grinder often and I don't have any plans to sell it. I have no doubts that the grinder has paid for itself in the year or so that I've owned it and we're only working on 5.5 acres. The bulk of the work is initial cleanup as the previous owners never ground a single stump and they cut down a lot of trees in the 40 years they owned the property. I'll probably only use it a few times per year once we're done with the initial clean-up but it'll be a great tool to have on hand. Heck, my next door neighbor has 25-30 stumps in his back yard and I'll probably go grind them just for the fun of it.

The grinder ships on a metal pallet. I'm bolting casters to each corner of the pallet so I can easily roll the grinder around in my shop instead of moving it with my FEL forks.

 

[Shady oak]

If any local grinder companies will give you a quote, that would go a long way towards making your decision. I use my grinder often and I don't have any plans to sell it. I have no doubts that the grinder has paid for itself in the year or so that I've owned it and we're only working on 5.5 acres. The bulk of the work is initial cleanup as the previous owners never ground a single stump and they cut down a lot of trees in the 40 years they owned the property. I'll probably only use it a few times per year once we're done with the initial clean-up but it'll be a great tool to have on hand. Heck, my next door neighbor has 25-30 stumps in his back yard and I'll probably go grind them just for the fun of it.

The grinder ships on a metal pallet. I'm bolting casters to each corner of the pallet so I can easily roll the grinder around in my shop instead of moving it with my FEL forks.

There are only about 5 people know I have the grinder, and 4 of them have asked me to grind a stump for them! . I also used the steel pallet for storage. Wheels and some plywood under the cutter.

 

[BufordBoone]

Thanks for all the info.

Showed the responses to my wife. She said "looks like a no-brainer".

I ordered one today. I'll update this thread once I've used it.

 

[BufordBoone]

Ordered Tuesday. Got a call from the freight company that they would like to deliver it tomorrow.

That is much faster than I expected...and much appreciated.

 

[Code54]

Wow - they do ship quick!! That is impressive.

 

[BufordBoone]

Truck driver easily put the pallet on my Pickup. Receipt and transport were simple.

Opened the crate up and am very impressed with their packaging. As others have mentioned, they have a steel pallet.

Minor assembly was required, instructions were excellent. Was warned about slipping the slip clutch before use and that was no problem. I didn't have to cut the shaft for my setup (Kubota L5740 with Pat's Quick Change hooks.

First thing I noticed was that lengthening the Toplink was necessary to be able to see the blade. Don't have great view of the blade but it is more than adequate.

Short learning curve on this implement. A few notes:

1 - For those of you that run 540 implements at less than 540 to save fuel (I've been guilty before) - Don't. This machine does a much better job and bounces less if run at 540.

2 - Tighten down your lift arms so that there is as little sway as possible. The machine wants to pull to the right. This makes perfect sense when you think about it.

3 - Keep your hand on your lift lever. You can make fine adjustments that way.

In 1.5 hours, I ground 9 stumps. A couple were very larger than 24".

This attachment will pay for itself very quickly. I'm very pleased with the prompt shipment, packaging and, most of all, performance.

I wouldn't want to spend 6 hours straight with it. Can develop a crick in your neck from looking back all the time.

For my purposes, this is perfect.

Hope this helps.

 

[BufordBoone]

I ground more stumps today. For large stumps, it chattered/bounced less when I started on a side instead of starting in the middle.

I continue to be impressed with how quickly stumps can be removed. Perhaps it is because I'm taking them level or just below grade. I'm not totally removing them, just making the area so that I can run a bush hog over it.

I also used it on a number of smaller stumps on a trail I'm cutting in dense woods. 6" diameter stumps are gone with one, sometimes two passes.

Only real complaint is the crick in my neck from looking backward.

I get the same problem when grading my driveway.

My wife said "That's the best purchase since the wood chipper".