Trencher and poorboys stump grinder

Taylortractornut · Dec 28, 2005

David Ive got a trencher like yours started. Well it started off as a stump grinder project and I saw a freinds homemade honda powered trencher. I had a 3/ths plate and an old sawmill cutoff blade that was about 19 inches in diameter. I put it in my pattern torch and made a 3/ths duplicate. I was gonna mount a few old stump ginder carbides to it but didnt have enough and found saw your post abd decided to finish it up. Im mounting my blades like yours but I have a set of chipper blades out of a chipmill. THe are 6 inches long and40 inches wide and hardened. Im gonna make them 3 inches wide. They weld easily but have to be cut with a cutoff sow or plasma.They weld very good with a 7018, I use them on bushhogs to make the blades last longer. On your trencher letting dirt all back into the trench you can put a long curved blade behind the weel and it keeps the dirt pulled up to the blade and out of the trench. Lots of chaintrenchers and rockwheeled trnchers have this. Alot of of times on a chain trencher its called a leg guard and foot.

sandman2234 · Dec 28, 2005

Well I am glad that I got you interested in finishing it. That makes my efforts of explanation worth every keystroke.
A couple of pictures, or at least a complete description of yours would probably get a few more people off the fence.
Thanks,
David from jax

Taylortractornut · Dec 30, 2005

Im thinking about making the mount that the gear box sits on angle a little bit or swing so I can make a huricane ditcher like you mentioned. The county has one here does a good job of it. I have several tiller teeth i might try on it befor I put the chipper teeth on it. Id make a seperate wheel but The gearbox I used was the spindle drive off a JD cotton picker. THe hub is actually the gear that ran the stripper spindles is part of the bearing support on that end of the gearbox. It was hard steel so I heated it cherry red with a rosebud and let it cool then turned it in the lathe and rehardened it. It will set back a bit further than your because the drive line had slipcluth and all on it plus the drive line was already partially made in it. I love cotton pickers and combines lol. I may add a silt fence installer to mine if it works as good as your machine. If I can find a few more of the slpined gear bowx hubs Ill make a stump disc and a tiller disc.

sandman2234 · Dec 30, 2005

Could you just add a pin a little further back on one side, so it would cut a valley, instead of messing with the alignment of the part?
David from jax

Taylortractornut · Dec 30, 2005

Well what I was thinking of was makeing the marm hinged like a 3point stumpgrinder then using a toplink or a cylinder to adjust the offset a bit, that would give me enough angle to cut a shallow ditch. One reason for this is the gear box has to be out abit furthers from the tractor than yours. My drive shaft is kinda long with the clutch and all in it I could shorten it but it would invlovle alot more changing. I ran out of the wide planerblade so I had to do a little funky work with my tooth spacing how many are on your wheel and the diamter of the wheel. Ive lost a little depth on ming because opf the gearbox Ised is a little chunky. I have a freind thought that has an obsolete Huricane saw head thats 3 feet in diameter lol for when I get a large tractor.

sandman2234 · Jan 2, 2006

Wheel with blades is 28" diameter tip to tip. There are about 15 blades mounted on the wheel.
Having an arm that moves side to side would be very nice, so that repositing the tractor wasn't necessary. Plus it would probably allow for more control of the trencher, as it follows the tractor. Tightening the chains that keep the drawbars from drifting might also help if that were a problem, but it doesn't seem to be.
David from jax

Taylortractornut · Jan 2, 2006

Thanks David Im gonna have to add a few teeth to mine and remount the box. I ran out of planer blade so I may try adding the other six teeth with tiller tines. They would only cut the dirt, and the planerblades your blow it out. Im looking for my test pilot lol. thanks again for the dimensions.

sandman2234 · Jan 2, 2006

I think I would put more than that number of teeth on it, if you are able. I made mine out of 1/2" flatbar, but am considering doing it again, using 3/4", and more of them. Just makes more sense.
Sure would like to see what you have done so far, either by posting or just email.
David from jax

Taylortractornut · Jan 4, 2006

Ill try to get a few pics posted soon, the way my slp clutch and all is Ill have to do some fancy work lol. every thing in it so far has been stuff Ive taken in from folks wanting to drop off some scrap. Im gonna try to find a few extra teeth and a few other ideas on it I have acces to alot of carbide cutter head teeth from the logging industry. I collect any thing hard and weldable lol grader blades planer blade and carbides of all sizes lol . I need to gusset my teeth on the back side and mount my hub shaft. I dug up a few stump grinder teeth today in a mystery bucket I had in the shop. they may be incorporated into this iffin my trenching isnt what I want. Do a Google search for Chinese tractors and implements they have a neet looking tiller tined trncher there.

lmiller · Jan 10, 2006

Sandman, How well do you think this design would do in rocky soil? I'm a little concerned about the forward discharge throwing stones at me (or the tail lights,etc). I really like the dual use but even stumps up here are full of stones in the roots!

This looks like a nice simple attachment, I'd think about making one, I'd love to have my powerlines away from the trees and icestorms /forums/images/graemlins/crazy.gif

Lou